“Where Are All the Customers? And Where’s Their Money?”
Q: “WHERE ARE ALL THE CUSTOMERS? AND WHERE’S THEIR MONEY?” A: IN THE WALTONS’ POCKETS.
dividends
Walmart helps keep Waltons from falling off fiscal cliff
On Monday, Walmart announced that it is moving up the payment date on its next quarterly dividends to shareholders from early 2013 to the tail end of 2012, citing concerns about the fiscal cliff. The New York Times reports that many business owners and investors are maneuvering to avoid higher taxes next year, and Reuters points out that Walmart is the biggest company so far to move its planned dividends earlier.
This week in Walton news: It’s only Wednesday edition
We know it’s only Wednesday, but it’s already been a busy enough week for the Waltons that we thought a roundup was in order:
The Waltons give themselves a raise
On March 1, Walmart announced that it’s giving the Waltons a raise. The company will be increasing its dividend again, as it has every year since 1974. The dividend for the coming year will be $1.59 per Walmart share, a 9% increase from last year. That might not sound like a lot, but the Waltons own about 1.7 billion shares in Walmart, so they stand to take home over $2.7 billion in Walmart dividends over the coming year, potentially adding millions to their political war chest and donations to right-wing causes.