MUSA vs WMT: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: MUSA is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. MUSA and WMT share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined MUSA and WMT exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Murphy USA operates around 1,803 stores as of March 2026, split between roughly 1,655 Murphy USA and Murphy Express fuel-focused kiosks and 148 QuickChek convenience stores concentrated in the US Northeast. The core model is deliberately low-cost: many locations sit directly adjacent to Walmart Supercenters, drawing value-conscious drivers with competitive pump prices, then converting that traffic into higher-margin merchandise sales like tobacco, snacks, and beverages. In the first quarter of 2026 the company reported net income of about $136 million (~$7.28 per diluted share) on revenue of roughly $4.82 billion, up about 21% year over year, driven largely by stronger fuel margins.

Full MUSA guide

Walmart is the largest retailer in the world by revenue and the biggest private employer in the United States. It runs more than 10,000 stores and clubs globally under the Walmart and Sam's Club banners, plus a large and fast-growing e-commerce and digital business. Its core proposition is everyday low prices on groceries and general merchandise, achieved through enormous purchasing scale and a highly efficient supply chain. Walmart makes most of its money from US grocery and general merchandise, but it is increasingly building higher-margin profit engines on top of that traffic: Walmart Connect (a retail advertising business), Walmart+ (a subscription membership), marketplace and fulfillment services for third-party sellers, and financial and health services. Roughly a quarter of revenue comes from outside the US, led by operations in Mexico (Walmex), China, and India (Flipkart). Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Walmart is a defensive, scale-driven retailer competing with Amazon, Costco, and Target.

Full WMT guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• MUSA drivers: Structural fuel-margin advantage; New-store unit growth.
• WMT drivers: Advertising and high-margin profit pools; Omnichannel scale and grocery dominance.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Earnings are highly sensitive to fuel margins per gallon, which can compress quickly when wholesale gasoline prices fall or competition intensifies. For WMT, walmart's core retail margins are thin, so it depends on enormous volume and on the new high-margin businesses scaling to lift profitability.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick MUSA if you believe its drivers more; WMT if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the MUSA and WMT guides.

MUSA. MUSA traded around a market cap of ~$10.4 billion in mid-2026 at a P/E of roughly 20x, above its ~15x five-year median, reflecting strong recent fuel-margin-driven earnings. Revenue is very large relative to market cap because fuel is a low-margin, high-turnover business, so profit swings with cents-per-gallon margins rather than headline sales.

WMT. Walmart trades at a historically high P/E for a retailer, reflecting the market's enthusiasm for its higher-margin advertising, marketplace, and membership businesses layered on a defensive grocery base. The thin core margin means earnings growth depends heavily on these new profit pools scaling. Walmart is valued as a quality, recession-resilient compounder rather than a pure low-margin retailer.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): MUSA shows market cap ~$10.4 billion, q1 2026 net income ~$136 million (~$7.28 diluted EPS), q1 2026 revenue ~$4.82 billion (up ~21% YoY), p/e ratio ~20x (above its ~15x 5-year median); WMT shows revenue (ttm) ~$680 billion, operating margin ~4-4.5% (thin, by design), net income (ttm) ~$17-20 billion, eps (ttm) ~$2.30-2.60 adjusted.

MUSA and WMT are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined MUSA and WMT exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.