Sifting through countless of stocks in the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc.

Walmart Inc. engages in the operation of retail and wholesale stores and clubs, ecommerce websites, and mobile applications worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club U.S. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; and ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites. It offers grocery items, including dry grocery, snacks, dairy, meat, produce, deli and bakery, frozen foods, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, as well as consumables, such as health and beauty aids, pet supplies, household chemicals, paper goods, and baby products; and fuel and other categories. In addition, it is involved in the provision of health and wellness products covering pharmacy, optical and hearing services, over-the-counter drugs, and protein and nutrition products; and home, hardlines, and seasonal items, including home improvement, outdoor living, gardening, furniture, apparel, jewelry, tools and power equipment, housewares, toys, and mattresses. Further, the company offers consumer electronics and accessories, software, video games, office supplies, appliances, and third-party gift cards. Additionally, it operates digital payment platforms; offers financial services and related products, including money transfers, bill payments, money orders, check cashing, prepaid access, co-branded credit cards, installment lending, and earned wage access; and markets lines of merchandise under private and licensed brands. The company was formerly known as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and changed its name to Walmart Inc. in February 2018. Walmart Inc. was founded in 1945 and is based in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Albertsons Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates in the food and drug retail industry in the United States. The company’s food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, vaccines, fuel, and other items and services. It also operates stores under various banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, ACME, Shaw's, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Haggen, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci's Food Lovers Market; and in-store pharmacies and branded coffee shops, fuel centers, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities, as well as various digital platforms. Albertsons Companies, Inc. was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

Latest Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail and Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies, Inc. Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Walmart Inc. had a $840.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail median of $5.4 million. Walmart Inc.’s stock is down 5.1% in 2026, up 1.4% in the previous five trading days and up 9.22% in the past year.

Currently, Walmart Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 38.4. Walmart Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $735.8 billion with a 3.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.881 per share for the current fiscal year. Walmart Inc. currently has a 0.9% dividend yield.

As of September 1, 2026, Albertsons Companies, Inc. had a $6.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 70th percentile of all stocks. Albertsons Companies, Inc.’s stock is down 26.6% in 2026, up 1.6% in the previous five trading days and down 35.97% in the past year.

Currently, Albertsons Companies, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 99.7. Albertsons Companies, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $83.2 billion with a 0.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 0.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.793 per share for the current fiscal year. Albertsons Companies, Inc. currently has a 5.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Walmart Inc.	WMT	F
Albertsons Companies, Inc.	ACI	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Walmart Inc. has a Value Score of 20, which is Ultra Expensive. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a Value Score of 60, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Walmart Inc.	WMT	A
Albertsons Companies, Inc.	ACI	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Walmart Inc. has a Quality Score of 83, which is Very Strong. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a Quality Score of 68, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Walmart Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Walmart Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Albertsons Companies, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Walmart Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Walmart Inc.	WMT	C
Albertsons Companies, Inc.	ACI	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Walmart Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 44, which is Neutral. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 31, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Quality and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Walmart Inc. stock has a Value Score of 20, Estimate Revisions Score of 44 and Quality Score of 83.

Albertsons Companies, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 60, Estimate Revisions Score of 31 and Quality Score of 68.

Comparing Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.