Walmart Financial Performance Analysis

This assignment analyzes Walmart's financial performance in 2017 using data from their 8K, 10K, and 10Q filings. The analysis examines key financial ratios such as the current ratio, return on assets (ROA), and return on equity (ROE). It also delves into gross profit margin, long-term debt, inventories, and dividend payouts. The findings suggest a mixed performance in 2017, with some areas of improvement like gross profit margin but a decline in liquidity and profitability compared to 2016.

Running head: ACCOUNTING CONTROLLERSHIP
Accounting Controllership
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1ACCOUNTING CONTROLLERSHIP
For this study, Wal-Mart has been selected.
Date of 8K, 10K and 10Q fillings of Wal-Mart are October 18 2017, 31 March 2017 and
January 02 2017 respectively (walmart.com, 2017).
The fiscal year end of Wal-Mart is 31 January 2017.
Particulars 2017 2016
Current Ratio 0.86 0.93
Return on Asset (ROA) 7.2% 7.5%
Return on Equity (ROE) 17.23% 18.15%
As per the current ratio of Wal-Mart, liquidity position decreased in 2017 as compared to
2016. The same trend can be seen for Return on Assets as it has also decreased in 2017 from
2016. Return on equity also decreased in 2017. It implies that the financial position of Wal-Mart
in 2017 has not been at its best (walmart.com, 2017).
Particulars 2017 2016
Gross Profit Margin 24.9% 24.6%
From the above table, it can be seen that the gross profit margin of Wal-Mart has
increased in 2017 as compared to 2016. This has increased due to the effect of increase in both
total revenue and net sales of the company (walmart.com, 2017).
Particulars 2017 2016
Long-Term Debt $ 36,015 million $ 38,214 million

2ACCOUNTING CONTROLLERSHIP
According to the above table, the amount of long-term debt of Wal-Mart decreased in
2017 as compared to 2016. The major reason of this decrease in long-term debt is the more
dependency of the company in equity capital than debt capital (walmart.com, 2017).
Particulars 2017 2016
Inventories $ 43,046 million $ 44,469 million
The above table shows the decrease in inventories for Wal-Mart from 2016 to 2017. Due
to the increase in net sales, Wal-Mart has become able to clear its inventory quickly and thus,
decrease in inventory can be seen (walmart.com, 2017).
Particulars 2017 2016
Dividend Paid
Dividend per Share
$6,216 million
$2.00
$6,294 million
$1.96
The above table shows that Wal-Mart has paid a large amount as dividend to their
shareholders and the company has also increased the dividend per share (walmart.com, 2017).
Overall, it can be said that the overall financial position of Wal-Mart is good and one would be
comfortable to purchase the stocks of Wal-Mart.

3ACCOUNTING CONTROLLERSHIP
References
Annual Report 2017. (2017). s2.q4cdn.com. Retrieved 20 October 2017, from
https://s2.q4cdn.com/056532643/files/doc_financials/2017/Annual/WMT_2017_AR-
(1).pdf
Walmart Investor Relations - Investors - Financial Information - SEC Filings.
(2017). Stock.walmart.com. Retrieved 20 October 2017, from
http://stock.walmart.com/investors/financial-information/sec-filings/