Investors got a case of the jitters on Monday when global stock market exchanges collapsed. While most recovered a bit from the worst of the decline and United States exchanges even rallied again on Tuesday, the threat of a recession hangs ominously over the market. That is why now is the perfect time to buy Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stock. As investors scramble, the tried and true Walmart stock is still looking like a win.

The retail king will provide the ballast your portfolio so desperately needs. It is no longer just a one-trick pony of selling cheap goods to a vast number of consumers. It is legitimately a tech stock with a broad reach that will power future growth.

Walmart Stock is Still Reeling in the Sales

Retail, of course, is still the straw that stirs Walmart stock’s drink. Total revenue in its fiscal first quarter, which ended on April 30, grew 6% to $161.5 billion on a 3.8% increase in comparable store sales. It caused a 42 basis point expansion in gross profit margins of 24.1% while net profits of 60 cents per share jumped 22% from 49 cents per share last year.

Particularly in a high-inflation environment such as we’re in, Walmart’s everyday low-price strategy continues to resonate with consumers.

Management now anticipates adjusted sales and operating income to likely exceed its previous estimates of 3% to 4% sales growth and 4% to 6% operating income gains. That might not seem impressive, but you are talking about a retail behemoth with $642 billion in annual sales.

An Omnichannel Leader

Walmart got into e-commerce nearly 25 years ago. It has since become the second-largest online retailer behind Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which still maintains a wide lead. The e-commerce giant has a 37.8% share of the market compared to Walmart at 6.4%. Yet that is well ahead of third-place Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) at 3.8% and fourth-place eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) at 3%.

Walmart’s e-commerce sales, however, jumped 21% year-over-year. The retailer doesn’t release specific numbers but depending on who’s counting, Walmart achieved $100 billion in e-commerce sales last year. Others put it closer to $82 billion. Either way, it’s a lot of money Walmart is taking in online.

Chain Store Age reports data from Brick Meets Click and Mercatus shows Walmart owned 37% of the U.S. online grocery market in the second quarter. That is a 1.5 percentage point increase from the same period last year and is the highest market share ever Walmart has attained.

Leveraging Technology for Profit

By having such a massive platform, Walmart can leverage it to grow revenue even more. Global advertising revenue surged 24% in the first quarter, with its Walmart Connect business–its ad management program seeing a 26% increase. 

In April, though, it globally launched its data analytics program called Luminate. Walmart collects a vast amount of data about the shopping habits of its customers. In 2021, it began offering U.S. merchants and suppliers access to this data trove about consumer shopping trends and the overall health of specific categories.

Using a subscription model, Walmart’s partners can gain insight into the growth of their products and channels. The retailer notes 90% of its largest suppliers subscribe to Luminate while some of its smaller accounts represent approximately half of all subscriptions.

Now it has gone global and is a technology that can further increase Walmart’s profits and margins.

The Bottom Line on Walmart Stock

In good times and bad, people need to eat. Especially in hard times, they will seek out the best prices to stretch their wallets further. More often than not, that means heading to Walmart.

The retail leader has become a true omnichannel stock. It is able to reach consumers where, how, and when they want to shop. It can take that information now and offer it to its suppliers so they can make better decisions about the products they offer.

That translates into steady sales and profit growth, which in turn leads to a higher stock price. Walmart stock is up 28% over the past year, 30% if you include the retailer’s dividend that yields 1.2% annually.

Over the past decade, Walmart has beaten the S&P 500 by about six percentage points. Since Walmart stock’s IPO, however, the retailer has nearly doubled the index’s returns with a 6,500% gain for investors. A $10,000 investment in Walmart stock in 1970 would be worth over $48 million today.

There is no indication that upward trajectory is changing. It’s why Walmart stock is a “buy.”

On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

On the date of publication, Rich Duprey did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.