TARGET CORPORATION vs WALMART INC., two Discount Stores stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Eighteen and a half times earnings is the market price of Target's price to earnings, less than half of Walmart's 40.2, for two businesses with nearly interchangeable margins (3.2% and 3.1% net). Target pays 3.3% in dividends and carries a 4.8% free cash yield while you wait; Walmart pays 0.8% and 1.4%. The spread is a judgment about staying power: scale as insurance at one price, execution as risk at the other. On the current numbers, the doubt is what carries the yield.
Comparison updated 2026-07-19.
| Metric | TGT | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $144.51 | $111.23 |
| Market cap | $65.9B | $889.7B |
| Sector | Discount Stores | Discount Stores |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +8.8% | +16.7% |
| P/E | 19.1 | 39.2 |
| P/B | 4.02 | 8.84 |
| P/S | 0.62 | 1.23 |
| EV/EBITDA | 9.7 | 30.7 |
| Revenue growth | +0.7% | +5.9% |
| Operating margin | 4.5% | 4.2% |
| Net margin | 3.2% | 3.1% |
| Return on equity | 21.1% | 22.6% |
| Return on assets | 6.0% | 7.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 11.8% | 15.6% |
| FCF yield | 4.6% | 1.4% |
| Dividend yield | 3.1% | 0.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.87 | 0.47 |
| Current ratio | 0.93 | 0.77 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 8.10 | 8.97 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.