Answer:
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.
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Particulars
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2017
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2016
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Current Ratio
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0.86
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0.93
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Return on Asset (ROA)
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7.2%
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7.5%
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Return on Equity (ROE)
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17.23%
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18.15%
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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).
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Particulars
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2017
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2016
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Gross Profit Margin
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24.9%
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24.6%
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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).
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Particulars
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2017
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2016
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Long-Term Debt
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$ 36,015 million
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$ 38,214 million
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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).
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Particulars
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2017
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2016
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Inventories
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$ 43,046 million
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$ 44,469 million
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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).
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Particulars
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2017
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2016
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Dividend Paid
Dividend per Share
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$6,216 million
$2.00
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$6,294 million
$1.96
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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.
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 https://stock.walmart.com/investors/financial-information/sec-filings/
