Wal-Mart's big stores are patronized for large stock-up trips, not for on-the-go grocery shopping, he said, and the delivery could help address that issue.
He said smaller stocks would probably lag in 2004, perhaps rising a few percentage points, compared with high-single-digit returns for large stocks.
Investors bid the equipment companies to price-earnings ratios never before seen for large stocks, creating great wealth for employees and executives.
After the recent rally, the S.& P. 600's price/earnings ratio stands at 27. That's a 75 percent premium to the P/E ratio for large stocks.
To be sure, in 2004, the average blue-chip domestic stock fund posted a total return of 10.6percentt, which was in line with the 10.4percentt average annual return for large stocks since 1926.
Ibbotson Associates calculates that since 1926, small stocks have delivered average annual returns of 12.1%, compared with 10.2% a year for large stocks.
During those recessionary years, small caps declined at an average annualized rate of about 10%, versus a 3% loss for large stocks.
Aletheia has appeared most prominently in the business media for a number of large stock investments alongside Mr. Burkle, including a big stake in Barnes & Noble in 2010.
