An initial investment of 1,000 U.S. dollars in Walmart stock when the company went public in October 1970, factoring in all historical stock splits and assuming full dividend reinvestment over the decades, would have grown exponentially into a multi-million-dollar fortune. Because Walmart expanded from a regional discount retailer into the largest corporation on earth by revenue, early lump-sum investments yielded historic compound returns for long-term buy-and-hold shareholders.