Walmart’s Industry Financial Statistics

Topic 

Walmart’s Industry Financial Statistics

Instructions 

Assignment Steps 

Resources: Plunket Research Online located in the Week 3 Electronic Reserve Readings; Microsoft® Excel®

Access the Plunkett Research database in the University Library by following these steps:

  1. Click on the University Library link.
  2. Click “Company Directories and Financials” under Library Resources.
  3. Click “Plunkett Research Online” under Company Directory and Financials.
  4. Review the following “HOW TO USE” videos:
    • Plunkett Research Online Overview
    • How to Export Company and Exec. Lists
    • How to Build-a-Report
    • How to Use Industry Analytics
    • How to Research an Industry
    • How to Use Company Profiles
  5. Click “Research A Company.”
  6. Select a company (i.e. Walmart) and input into the Search Box.
  7. Scroll through the search results to choose the correct company.
  8. Click the link to the company profile (in blue).

Review the Company Profile and answer the following questions in Microsoft® Word:

  • What is the Ticker Symbol for the company you have selected?
  • When was the company established?
  • How many employees does it have?
  • What is the NAICS Code?
  • Who is the CEO?
  • Where does the company rank in terms of Total Revenue when compared to its competitors?
  • Where does the company rank in terms of Net Income when compared to its competitors?
  • Where does the company rank in terms of Return on Assets when compared to its competitors?
  • What is the Revenue in 2014 and 2015?
  • What was the Gross Margin in 2014 and 2015?
  • What was the Earnings per Share in 2014 and 2015? 

Save the Company Profile as a PDF document.

Answer Preview 

Importance of comparing financial statements of different periods

 

  • Tracking the financial statement of a company over multiple years helps to ensure that the business remains financially viable and able to meet its operating objectives.
  • Comparing financial performance also helps in identifying the trend and analyzing the findings. For instance, a downward trend for cash and cash equivalents enables leaders to identify the cause and develop an explanation for the negative change.
  • Assist in performance evaluation; financial performance helps managers to undertake evaluation exercises. By analyzing a decrease or an increase in sales and expenses, the management can easily measure performance and adjust strategies accordingly.
  • Strategic decision making; Business managers normally take multiple years of financial statements compare them and then make a decision. In case of decreasing trend in cash flow, for instance, it will be noted and operations adjusted to meet the challenge that the business is facing.

A fall in revenue and inventory over many years is also discovered and consider measures such as investing money in capital projects are taken.

  1. Accounting discrepancies; Comparison of accounting information for a period of time is instrumental in locating errors. These errors could be errors of omission or intentional misreporting of financial information.

Word Count: 750