If you’re finding yourself a little unsettled by the notion of “smelling like Jake Paul,” you’re not alone. The widely-known influencer/boxer is readying his own line of skin care products for men, and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) will be carrying them. Investors, however, weren’t particularly happy about the notion of Jake Paul’s lotions and sent Walmart shares down fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
The line, known enigmatically as W, is piggybacking on the upcoming Tyson vs. Paul fight, in which Jake Paul will go toe to toe with aging ear-chomper and former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.
Meanwhile, the skin care products will include several items priced under $10—a particular asset in the current economic environment—and is trying to disrupt a market space packed with alumni that have been on store shelves for decades. Currently, the line will include deodorant, body spray, and body wash, but eventually, it looks to expand into shampoo, conditioner, hair styling gel, and face wash.
But the Real Story Is E-Commerce
Walmart is making a much greater push into e-commerce, something that has been a business buzzword for decades. Walmart is planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) in its e-commerce operations to complement its massive real estate and physical storefronts. The old ambition, back in 2019, was that 90% of Americans lived within 10 miles of a Walmart. Now, the new ambition is to use those stores as shipping hubs as well.
Is Walmart a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on WMT stock based on 25 Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 29.64% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WMT price target of $72.32 per share implies 9.15% upside potential.
