Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, ramen sales are skyrocketing. And no, I don’t think that America has suddenly developed a fondness for over-salty, almost zero nutrition instant noodles, jests Tony Sagami, editor of Weiss Ratings' Daily Briefing.
Walmart (WMT) reported that their instant noodle sales are up 578%! There are only two reasons why I can think Americans are stocking up on instant noodles: 1) They won’t go bad for years, and 2) It’s about the only survival food that people with little money can afford to buy.
Case in point, when times are tough, everyone thinks more carefully about how they spend their money. When it comes to trying to shop as inexpensively as possible, you have to think of Walmart. In fact, it’s not too much of a surprise to learn that Walmart hit a new all-time high earlier this week.
That’s right; even during one of the most brutal bear markets of our lifetime, Walmart stock hit a new all-time high and is up by almost 10% this year.
Get this: Walmart reported that its same-store sales were up by 20% over the last year. Business is so strong right now that the company is planning to hire 150,000 new employees by the end of May.
By the way, Walmart followed the same all-weather strength during the 2008-09 financial crisis, seemingly making it one of the most resilient stocks you could own.
A big part of Walmart’s strength is their under-the-radar transformation into an e-commerce powerhouse, aggressively competing against Amazon for your online dollars. Amazon holds a dominant 38% market share of the total e-commerce market, but Walmart has the second largest market share at 5.3%.
Remember that 20% revenue increase I mentioned above? Revenues at the firm's website were up over 30% last year. It is time for you to think of Walmart as an e-commerce giant, not just a destination for blue-collar rednecks.
Lastly, Walmart is enjoying gigantic transportation savings from the drop in fuel prices. Walmart has historically been praised for their extremely efficient supply-chain. Fuel being cheaper only adds to that already great efficiency.
I’m not suggesting that you rush out and buy Walmart stocks tomorrow morning. As always, timing is everything, but with Walmart climbing to a new all-time high, it shows you that there’s always smart places to invest your money. Even in an extreme market crisis. You just need to know where to look.
