This Day In Market History: Sam Walton Opens The First Walmart

Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened? On this day in 1962, Sam Walton opened the first Walmart Inc WMT store.

Where The Market Was: The Dow closed at 573.75. The S&P 500 traded at around 55.86.

What Else Was Going On In The World? Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. The Beatles released their first single, “Love Me Do.” The average American's income was $5,556 per year.

Birth Of A Retail Giant: Sam Walton opened the original Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas. As any American knows, Walton had larger aspirations.

Within five years, the Walton family owned 24 stores that generated $12.7 million in annual sales. The family incorporated its retail chain as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 1969 and went public at a price of $16.50 one year later.

A decade after the first Walmart opened, 51 stores generated a total of $78 million in sales in 1972. In 1980, Walmart reached another milestone, reporting $1 billion in annual sales for the first time.

Today, there are more than 4,700 Walmart stores and nearly 600 Sam’s Club locations globally. Even after 11 2-for-1 stock splits throughout the years, Walmart stock now trades at around $140 per share and the company has a market cap of $390 billion.

Photo: Mike Kalasnik/Wikimedia.