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Walmart Financial Analysis Essay

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The following report contains an analysis with an overview of Wal-Mart Inc. and it’s financial statements. Wal-Mart, one of the biggest corporations and the largest employer in the world, has used exceptional ways of generating revenue and systems of tracking inventory, two very distinct characteristics of the company, while still maintaining a powerful imagine over all these years.
I. Inventory
In order to track such a large amount of inventory, Wal-Mart has employed the perpetual inventory system. This type of system consists of constantly recording the purchase and sale of products in the inventory and cost of goods sold accounts. In the year 2011, Wal-Mart's inventory totaled $36,437. In the following year, the company’s inventory …show more content…

This means that Wal-mart stocks and sells its inventory 8.34 times a year. The days to sell such inventory is about 44 which is computed by 365 days and dividing it by the turnover ratio = 365/8.34 = 43.7. As for Wal-Mart’s competitors, Target had a turnover ratio of 6.39 in 2012, and Sears had a ratio of 3.68, which makes Wal-Mart the winner among the following rivals. This concludes that Wal-Mart operates in a very productive manner, and acquires and sells its inventory quickly and efficiently.
II. Intangibles
Other types of assets that are important to a company like Wal-Mart are those not of physical nature, otherwise called intangible assets. Based on my analysis Wal-Mart has indicated that it uses Goodwill, definite and indefinite types of intangible assets. The company states in its financial report that it does not amortize Goodwill and indefinite assets, which is correct in accordance to GAAP standards and principles. The company evaluates such assets and analyzes the reduction of value and impairment on a yearly basis. Wal-Mart also includes that it amortizes its definite intangible using straight-line basis over the life of the project, or the amount of time that the service will last. In terms of the changes to the intangible assets, Walmart states that there were “no impairment changes related to indefinite intangible

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