Wal-Mart Returns Over 88,000 Percent

The story of Wal-Mart WMT is one of American financial success. Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart is a global conglomerate. The company is comprised of 8,970 stores and boasts the largest revenue of any publicly traded company.

The secrets to Wal-Mart's success have been explored by numerous economists, yet no other corporations have been able to replicate it. Since early 1978, shares of the Wal-Mart have returned more than 88,000 percent. To put this into perspective, if an investor purchased $1,000 in Wal-Mart stock at that time and did not reinvest dividends, his or her shares would have been worth well over $881,000 on Monday.

Other companies, such as Target TGT and Kohl's KSS have been unable to match these returns. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart has become largest retailer in the world. In addition, the company has committed to distributing earnings to investors. At Monday's share price levels, the stock was yielding around 2.3 percent.

Shares of Wal-Mart have recently pushed to new highs, ending more than a decade of sideways trading. In this sideways period, dividends were still paid, so investors were compensated for sticking with the company. Moreover, considering Wal-Mart's recent upward price movements, the company may opt to boost dividends so as to maintain its yield. If this boost occurs, it might be another catalyst for the stock.

Monday, shares of Wal-Mart closed near $69.35, down around 0.5 percent for the day. Target closed near 0.1 percent higher and Kohl's closed around 0.2 percent lower following Monday's trading session .