(NYSE: WMT) stock is on a roll, up 16% so far in 2024, outpacing the 8% rally in the S 500. Those returns also surpass the year-to-date gains of retailing peers like Costco Wholesale and Target.

There could be more industry-leading growth to come. Walmart said in late February that it expects the fiscal 2025 year to feature solid sales growth and improving profitability, in fact. But are shares of the dividend-paying retailer a no-brainer buy right now? Let's take a closer look.

You might think Walmart's massive global sales footprint makes it impossible for the company to grow quickly. It's hard to meaningfully add to a $500-billion-plus annual sales haul, after all. But the chain can still surprise investors on this point. Sales last quarter rose a healthy 6%, for example, adding $10 billion to Walmart's Q4 revenue. That growth was powered by rising customer traffic, too.

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Source Fool.com