Walmart Financial Analysis

A Financial Ratio Quarterly Trend Analysis of:

Walmart Stores, Inc

Stock Symbol: WMT

Listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Introduction

This report provides a financial quarterly trend analysis for Walmart Stores, Inc. (Walmart) for the period ended January 31, 2011. Researching various financial websites, we obtained historical, statistical, financial and trading information for Walmart and Target Industries, Inc., which will serve as our industry comparative for the report. Various financial ratios for both companies were computed for the four most recent quarters ended January 31, 2011, and these analyses give us financial trend comparisons and industry performance comparative assessments. Additionally, we completed a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Trend (SWOT) analysis and an ethics overview for Walmart. Later in this report, we provide recommendations to investors and lenders.

Background

Walmart, a well known discount store that was first founded in 1962 in Rogers Arkansas, by Sam Walton, began sharing stocks in the open market in 1970 and by 1980 had opened 276 stores in 11 states. Today the organization has ranked among first retailers in Fortune 500 as one of the most admired companies. Another interesting fact about the company is that today it serves over 200 million customers per week in 15 different countries, employs over 2.1 million people, and its 2010 sales were $405 billion (Henry Blodget, 2010).

Walmart Stores Inc. is comprised of:

* Walmart Discount Stores: first opened in 1962 with currently over 700 stores nationwide. On average, each discount store is 108,000 square feet and employs about 225 associates

* Sam’s Club: first founded in Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1983. Today, there are 608 locations nationwide. Typical clubs are about 132,000 square feet and employ about 175 associates. Additionally, there are more than 100 international Sam’s Clubs in Brazil, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

* Walmart...