Stock Analysis on Net

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Financial Reporting Quality: Aggregate Accruals

Microsoft Excel

Earnings can be decomposed into cash and accrual components. The accrual component (aggregate accruals) has been found to have less persistence than the cash component, and therefore (1) earnings with higher accrual component are less persistent than earnings with smaller accrual component, all else equal; and (2) the cash component of earnings should receive a higher weighting evaluating company performance.


Balance-Sheet-Based Accruals Ratio

Walmart Inc., balance sheet computation of aggregate accruals

US$ in millions

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Jan 31, 2025 Jan 31, 2024 Jan 31, 2023 Jan 31, 2022 Jan 31, 2021 Jan 31, 2020
Operating Assets
Total assets 260,823 252,399 243,197 244,860 252,496 236,495
Less: Cash and cash equivalents 9,037 9,867 8,625 14,760 17,741 9,465
Operating assets 251,786 242,532 234,572 230,100 234,755 227,030
Operating Liabilities
Total liabilities 163,131 161,828 159,206 152,969 164,965 154,943
Less: Short-term borrowings 3,068 878 372 410 224 575
Less: Long-term debt due within one year 2,598 3,447 4,191 2,803 3,115 5,362
Less: Finance lease obligations due within one year 800 725 567 511 491 511
Less: Long-term debt, excluding due within one year 33,401 36,132 34,649 34,864 41,194 43,714
Less: Long-term finance lease obligations, excluding due within one year 5,923 5,709 4,843 4,243 3,847 4,307
Operating liabilities 117,341 114,937 114,584 110,138 116,094 100,474
 
Net operating assets1 134,445 127,595 119,988 119,962 118,661 126,556
Balance-sheet-based aggregate accruals2 6,850 7,607 26 1,301 (7,895)
Financial Ratio
Balance-sheet-based accruals ratio3 5.23% 6.15% 0.02% 1.09% -6.44%
Benchmarks
Balance-Sheet-Based Accruals Ratio, Competitors4
Costco Wholesale Corp. 11.49% -0.39% 20.71% 5.32% 2.31%
Target Corp. 0.70% 2.06% 19.69% 10.33% -10.90%
Balance-Sheet-Based Accruals Ratio, Sector
Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail 0.00% 6.12% 2.78% 4.30% -5.94%
Balance-Sheet-Based Accruals Ratio, Industry
Consumer Staples 0.00% 1.15% 2.58% 7.61% -0.13%

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-01-31).

1 2025 Calculation
Net operating assets = Operating assets – Operating liabilities
= 251,786117,341 = 134,445

2 2025 Calculation
Balance-sheet-based aggregate accruals = Net operating assets2025 – Net operating assets2024
= 134,445127,595 = 6,850

3 2025 Calculation
Balance-sheet-based accruals ratio = 100 × Balance-sheet-based aggregate accruals ÷ Avg. net operating assets
= 100 × 6,850 ÷ [(134,445 + 127,595) ÷ 2] = 5.23%

4 Click competitor name to see calculations.

Financial ratio Description The company
Balance-sheet-based accruals ratio Ratio is found by dividing balance-sheet-based aggregate accruals by average net operating assets. Using the balance-sheet-based accruals ratio, Walmart Inc. improved earnings quality from 2024 to 2025.

Cash-Flow-Statement-Based Accruals Ratio

Walmart Inc., cash flow statement computation of aggregate accruals

US$ in millions

Microsoft Excel
Jan 31, 2025 Jan 31, 2024 Jan 31, 2023 Jan 31, 2022 Jan 31, 2021 Jan 31, 2020
Consolidated net income attributable to Walmart 19,436 15,511 11,680 13,673 13,510 14,881
Less: Net cash provided by operating activities 36,443 35,726 28,841 24,181 36,074 25,255
Less: Net cash used in investing activities (21,379) (21,287) (17,722) (6,015) (10,071) (9,128)
Cash-flow-statement-based aggregate accruals 4,372 1,072 561 (4,493) (12,493) (1,246)
Financial Ratio
Cash-flow-statement-based accruals ratio1 3.34% 0.87% 0.47% -3.77% -10.19%
Benchmarks
Cash-Flow-Statement-Based Accruals Ratio, Competitors2
Costco Wholesale Corp. 2.33% 1.10% 14.69% -2.96% -7.15%
Target Corp. -1.62% 1.09% 18.64% 7.52% -18.12%
Cash-Flow-Statement-Based Accruals Ratio, Sector
Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail 0.00% 1.06% 3.13% -0.42% -10.54%
Cash-Flow-Statement-Based Accruals Ratio, Industry
Consumer Staples 0.00% -0.17% 2.27% 4.81% -4.89%

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-01-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-01-31).

1 2025 Calculation
Cash-flow-statement-based accruals ratio = 100 × Cash-flow-statement-based aggregate accruals ÷ Avg. net operating assets
= 100 × 4,372 ÷ [(134,445 + 127,595) ÷ 2] = 3.34%

2 Click competitor name to see calculations.

Financial ratio Description The company
Cash-flow-statement-based accruals ratio Ratio is found by dividing cash-flow-statement-based aggregate accruals by average net operating assets. Using the cash-flow-statement-based accruals ratio, Walmart Inc. deteriorated earnings quality from 2024 to 2025.