Walmart Case Study

General Instructions

To complete this assignment, you will need to find and have access to the following two documents:

1. Form 10-K for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (the Company) for the year ended January 31, 2012

2. Proxy Statement (Schedule DEF 14A) for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (the Company) for the 2012 shareholders' meeting

Form 10-K

1. What are the Company's three operating segments?

Answer:

The Walmart U.S. segment; the Walmart International segment; and the Sam's Club segment

2. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2012, for the Walmart International segment, in what three foreign countries did the Company have the greatest number of stores? How many stores were located in each of these three countries? What was the total square footage of the stores in each of these countries?

Answer:

Country Number of Stores Total Square Footage

(in thousands)

Mexico 2,088 85,253

Central America 622 9,501

Brazil 512 31,575

3. What is the breakdown of net sales by Merchandise Category Unit for the Sam's Club segment for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2012? Compare this information to that for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2011.

Answer:

Strategic Merchandise Unit Fiscal Year Ending

January 31, 2012 Fiscal Year Ending

January 31, 2011

Grocery and Consumables 55% 55%

Fuel and Other Categories 24% 23%

Technology, Office and Entertainment 8% 9%

Home and Apparel 8% 8%

Health and Wellness 5% 5%

Total 100% 100%

4. Using information presented in the five-year financial summary, calculate the percentage increase in net sales, gross profit margin, operating income, diluted income per share from continuing operations attributable to Walmart, dividends per share, inventories, and unit counts for the Walmart U.S. segment from the fiscal year ended January 31, 2008 to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2012. (Do not include percentage increases for interim years). Show your calculations and round your percentages to two decimal places.

Answer:

Percentage Increase