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analyze the walmart's accounting and finance practices
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discuss the functioning of wal _mart
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Investor Relations
A. Investor Interest
From a financial perspective, I think it could be a wise decision to invest in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. However, it is important to realize that all facts should be carefully explored making a decision. They could experience a positive fiscal year this year and a rather poor one next fiscal year. Upon review of the company’s Statement of Cash Flows, the net decrease of $430,000 is comparably small in comparison to the ending Cash balance of $8,705,000. The net income of $15,080,000 for fiscal year 2016 is a little less than the $16,814,000 net income received in fiscal year 2015, but the brand attributed the decrease to bad management decisions and lack of sales. Net cash provided by operating activities
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Also known as the Statement of Cash Flows, the document is separated into three distinct sections: operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities. An additional section may be added to the financial statement which is often referred to as supplemental information. The purpose of the financial statement is to illustrate cash inflows and outflows that come from popular accounts like Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Accounts Payable, Equipment, and Bonds Payable. The resulting net increase or net decrease in Cash represents the difference between the beginning of the year and the end of the year (Statement of Cash Flows …show more content…
to rethink its current strategy. With over 11,500 stores currently opened worldwide and the potential for 200 more, the company’s lease obligations and relating liabilities and expenses are increasing. The more stores that are opening increase the number of employees which in turn increases the amount of stocks purchased and dividends paid. There is always the option for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. to join forces with another company to mitigate costs and deflect some of the risk to another party. Contributing capital from a similar company could help lower both company’s financial burden as well as create a new working relationship. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. could also appeal to more investors to increase capital to lower costs of expansion (Annual Report 2016 2016) (Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
Analyzing Wal-Mart's annual report provides a positive outlook on Wal-Mart's financial health. Given the specific ratios and its comparison to other companies in the same industry, Wal-Mart is leading and more than likely continue its dominance. Though Wal-Mart did not lead in all numbers, its leadership and strong presence of the market cements the ongoing success. The review of the current ratio, quick ratio, inventory turnover ratio, debt ratio, net profit margin ratio, ROI, ROE, and P/E ratio all indicate an upbeat future for the company. The current ratio, which is defined as current assets divided by current liabilities, is a measure of how much liabilities a company has compared to its assets. Wal-Mart in the year of 2007 had a current ratio of .90, and as of January 2008 it had a current ratio of .81. The quick ratio, which is defined as current assets minus inventory divided by current liabilities, is a measure of a company's ability pay short term obligations. Wal-Mart in the year of 2007 had a quick ratio of .25, and as of January 2008 it had a ratio of .21. Both the current ratio and quick ratio are a measure of liquidity. Wal-Mart is not as liquid as its competitors such as Costco or Family Dollar Stores Inc. I believe the reason why Wal-Mart is not too liquid is because they are heavily investing their profits for expansion and growth. Management claims in their financial report that holding their liquid reserves in other currencies have helped Wal-Mart hedge against inflationary pressures of the US dollar. The next ratio to look at is the inventory ratio which is defined as the cost of sales divided by average inventory. In the year of 2007, Wal-Mart’s inventory ratio was 7.68, and as of January 2008 it was 7.96. Wal-Mart has a lot of sales therefore it doesn’t have too much a problem of holding too much inventory. Its competitors have similar ratios though they don’t have as much sales as Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s ability to sell at lower prices for same quality, gives them the edge against its competition. As of the year 2007, Wal-Mart had a debt ratio of .58, and as of January 2008, it had a debt ratio of .59. The debt ratio is calculated by dividing the total debt by its total assets. Wal-Mart has a lot more assets than it does debt so Wal-Mart is not overleveraged.
Since 1962 and the beginning of the discount retailer market Wal-Mart has been ahead of the retail game. By 1967 there were 24 Wal-Marts that had grossed 12.6 million dollars. In just 7 years Wal-mart had spread into 9 states. By 1979 Wal-Mart was the fastest store to reach a billion dollars in sales. In 2005 Wal-Mart has 3,800 domestic stores along with 3,800 stores internationally, and had made over 312 billion dollars. As you can see the Wal-Mart empire has grown monumentally. To move into this segment of the market would be tough.
There are several key competitive edges that keep Wal-Mart successfully maintaining its leading position in the industry. First of all, Wal-Mart’ multiple store formats allows Wal-Mart to extend their customer base. Since Wal-Mart opened its first store in Rogers, Arkansas, July 2 1962, it has extended its store number from 9 stores to a total 4,906 throughout the four types of store: (Discount stores, Supercenters, Sam’s club, and neighborhood markets) Wal-Mart is able to embrace more customers to fulfill all kinds of demand such as live supplies, groceries, pharmaceuticals, and entertainments. As a result, Wal-Mart’s sales and profit increase significantly. Backward expansion strategy is another key for its success. Unlike other retail stores, Wal-Mart opens its stores in small town first before entering into metropolitan area.
Wal-Mart is beneficial to many types of people. Wal-Mart is good for the economy and good to it workers. Wal-Mart hires many people from different walks of life and offers their workers many benefits that others retailers don’t offer. Wal-Mart with their low prices benefits consumers and help consumers to save. Wal-Mart is a positive to local economies and improves profits of local businesses. Wal-Mart is not a monster as critics’ states and all these attacks by critics are incorrect. Wal-Mart is not perfect but it is better than most of the other corporations.
Both Walmart stores and walmart.com may continue to benefit from international expansion and increasing brand awareness.
Besides all the points that I have stated, Wal-Mart has had to pay fines due to breaking Child Labor laws and Illegal Immigrant laws; fines up to $11.5 million for just those two types of laws. Wal-Mart is not good for this economy, for the people, and the company, in a whole, is criminal. If the people let Wal-Mart stay on the track it is on, the United States will not have anything but Wal-Marts. Wal-Mart will become a monopoly and put everyone, who started with something more than greed, out-of-business.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in the discount, variety stores industry. It was founded in 1945, Bentonville in Arkansas which is also the headquarters of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart operates locally as well as worldwide. It operated 1209 discount stores, 1980 super centers, and 567 Sam’s Club by January 31, 2006. It has also extended its operations to many international countries. It runs its retail stores in two forms: Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Stores. The Sam’s Club sells assorted product lines such as hardwares, electronics, jewelry, and to mention a few. The Wal-Mart stores also offer similar products in addition to the following: health and beauty products, apparel for women, men and children, household appliances etc (www.yahoo.finance.com). The Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values and Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance: Directors, Executive Management, Committees and Stakeholder will be the key elements that will discussed in this report as it relates to Wal-Mart. In addition to that, the major trends in the general/macro environment and industry will be analyzed.
Wal-Mart definitely makes their shareholders money. The fundamental question is whether the shareholders care about Wal-Mart’s scrutiny. Shareholders should have some concern on how the world views Wal-Mart and how long they will hold up under the scrutiny.
The first Wal-Mart was opened in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. By 1969 it was incorporated into Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and in 1972 went public on the New York Stock Exchange. The company grew steadily across the United States, and by 1990 was the nation's largest retailer. In 1991 and 1994, Wal-Mart moved into Mexico and Canada respectively. By 1997 it was incorporated into the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As of 2005, Wal-Mart has stores in the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico, and brings in revenue of close to 300 billion dollars a year. In 2006, Wal-Mart invaded the China and India's markets. During the last two decades, Wal-Mart has been able to take advantage of the rise of information technology and the explosion of the global economy to change the balance of power in the business world (Wikipedia, 2006). Today Wal-Mart continues to grow and their success is not only from their sound strategic management planning but also from its implementation of those strategic plans. In other words operational planning has been an important key to their success.
The statement of cash flows reports a firm’s major cash inflows and outflows for a period. This statement provides useful information about a company’s ability to generate cash from operations, maintain and expand its operating capacity, meeting its financial obligations, and pay dividends. There are three types of activities to look at in this statement, which are cash flows from operating activities, investing activities, and financial activities (3, 2005).
The gross profit during the year 2015 was actually a $10 billion increase from their fiscal year 2014 (University of San Francisco, 2015). Over the past six years, Walmart continues to generate these types of numbers, representing increases in growth, time and time again. The company’s income was generated by more than 4,500 stores in the United States alone which is supported by a supply chain that moved from number 14 to number 13 on research and analyst company Gartner’s annual ranking (University of San Francisco, 2015). Many business professionals have analyzed and interpreted Walmart’s supply chain management approaches, making it apparent which elements of their strategy have proven effective. These major supply chain components that have shaped Walmart’s success over recent years are their buyer bargaining power (one of Porter’s Five Forces), focus on the overall customer experience, and investments in emerging technologies along with the implementation of these technologies in their business
The name Walmart has become a brand name that is synonymous with the American culture since it opened its first store in Rogers Arkansas in 1962. Walmart since then, has remained competitive in the global market and has managed to sustain its competitive edge globally even in times of recession. Walmart over the years has had to compete with new emerging retailers such as Target, Kmart, Home Depot, Dollar General and Costco to name a few, in addition to online giants such as Amazon and Alibaba Express. It however has managed to sustain itself as a marketable and highly competitive brand in the global market.
Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer and second largest corporation. It is the largest private employer in the United States and Mexico. Wal-Mart is the largest grocery retailer in the United States, with an estimated 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business, and the largest toy seller in the United States, with an estimated 45% of the retail toy business, having surpassed Toys"R" Us in the late 1990s. Wal-Mart has 1,929 stores which as of 2005 sales figures totaled about $155,477,000,000 in sales. Wal-Marts revenue as of 2006 was an estimated $315,654 billion USD, net income $11.231billion USD, and employs more than 1.8 million employees.1
Walmart serves about 14 million customers each day. When Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962 I’m sure he didn’t expect it to become as big of a retail store as it is now. 42 years after being founded, Walmart now has 4,253 stores across the world, and brings in $405 billion dollars a year. This kind of success doesn’t just happen overnight.
When Sam Walton died in 1992, some industry insiders doubted that the Wal – Mart chain that he had founded some 30 years earlier would retain its prominence as a discount retailer. Lost for good they feared, would be the “magic spark” that Walton used to light fires under the chain’s 1.3 million associates. And, as Wal – Mart stock failed to enjoy the same bull – market growth as many other companies in the mid – 1990s, the pundits appeared to be correct. Today, however, with stores in all 50 U.S. states and nine other countries, Wal – mart has rebounded, leading the pack of discount stores with record earnings. In fact, with $218 billion in annual sales and 100 million customers per week, Wal – Mart is the world’s largest retailer and was named “Retailer of the Century” by Discount Store News.