Question

Analysis and Interpretation of Liquidity and Solvency
Balance sheets and income statements for Costco Wholesale Corporation follow.

Costco Wholesale Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Earnings
For Fiscal Years Ended ($ millions)	August 28, 2016	August 30, 2015	August 31, 2014
Revenue
Net Sales	$116,073	$113,666	$110,212
Membership fees	2,646	2,533	2,428
Total revenue	118,719	116,199	112,640
Operating expenses
Merchandise costs	102,901	101,065	98,458
Selling, general and administrative	12,068	11,445	10,899
Preopening expenses	78	65	63
Operating Income	3,672	3,624	3,220
Other income (expense)
Interest expense	(133)	(124)	(113)
Interest income and other, net	80	104	90
Income before income taxes	3,619	3,604	3,197
Provision for income taxes	1,243	1,195	1,109
Net income including noncontrolling interests	2,376	2,409	2,088
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(26)	(32)	(30)
Net income attributable to Costco	$2,350	$2,377	$2,058

Costco Wholesale Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheets
($ millions, except par value and share data)	August 28, 2016	August 30, 2015
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$3,379	$4,801
Short-term investments	1,350	1,618
Receivables, net	1,252	1,224
Merchandise inventories	8,969	8,908
Deferred income taxes and other current assets	268	228
Total current assets	15,218	16,779
Property and equipment
Land	5,395	4,961
Buildings and improvements	13,994	12,618
Equipment and fixtures	6,077	5,274
Construction in progress	701	811
Gross property and equipment	26,167	23,664
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(9,124)	(8,263)
Net property and equipment	17,043	15,401
Other assets	902	837
Total assets	$33,163	$33,017
Liabilities and equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	$7,612	$9,011
Current portion long-term debt	$1,100	$1,283
Accrued salaries and benefits	2,629	2,468
Accrued member rewards	869	813
Deferred membership fees	1,362	1,269
Other current liabilities	2,003	1,695
Total current liabilities	15,575	16,539
Long-term debt, excluding current portion	4,061	4,852
Other liabilities	1,195	783
Total liabilities	20,831	22,174
Equity
Preferred stock, $0.005 par value:
100,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding	0	0
Common stock, $0.005 par value:
900,000,000 shares authorized;
437,524,000 and 437,952,000 shares issued and outstanding	2	2
Additional paid-in-capital	5,490	5,218
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(1,099)	(1,121)
Retained earnings	7,686	6,518
Total Costco stockholders’ equity	12,079	10,617
Noncontrolling interests	253	226
Total equity	12,332	10,843
Total liabilities and equity	$33,163	$33,017

(a) Compute Costco's financial leverage (FLEV), Spread, and noncontrolling interest (NCI) ratio for 2016; recall, NNE = NOPAT-Net income.

Remember to use negative signs with answers, when appropriate.  

2016 NNO =$Answer

million
2015 NNO =$Answer million  

2016 NNE =$Answer

million
2016 NNEP =Answer% Round NNEP to two decimal places.   

2016 FLEV        = Answer  Round FLEV to four decimal places.   
2016 Spread    = Answer% Round Spread to two decimal places.
2016 NCI ratio = Answer Round NCI ratio to four decimal places.

(b) Assume that Costco's return on equity (ROE) for 2016 is 20.71% and its return on net operating assets (RNOA) is 20.66%. Confirm computations to yield the relation: ROE = [RNOA + (FLEV X Spread)] X NCI ratio.

2016 ROE =Answer

% = [Answer%+(Answer X Answer%)] X Answer


(c) What do your computations of the nonoperating return in parts (a) and (b) imply about the company's use of borrowed funds?

Costco's FLEV is negative - meaning its non-operating assets exceed its non-operating liabilities. Costco has a high level of short term investments to use for new opportunities.

Costco's FLEV is negative - meaning its non-operating liabilities exceed its non operating assets. Costco will need to rely on debt to finance new opportunities.

Costco's FLEV is positive - meaning its non-operating assets exceed its non-operating liabilities. Costco has a high level of cash and short term investments to use for new opportunities.

Costco's FLEV is positive - meaning its non-operating liabilities exceed its non-operating assets. Costco has a high level of cash and short term investments to use for new opportunties.

Answer 1

Solution:

a. 2016 NNO= ($4,061 + $1,100) – ($3,379 + $1,350) = $432

2015 NNO= ($4,852 + $1,283) – ($4,801 + $1,618) = $(284)

2016 NOPAT = $3,672 – [$1,243 + ($133 - $80) × 0.37)] = $2,4092016

NNE = NOPAT – Net income= $2,409 – $2,376 = $33

2016 NNEP = $33 / [($432 + $(284)) / 2] = 45.12%

2016 FLEV = [($432 + $(284)) / 2] / ([$12,332 + $10,843] / 2) = 0.0064

2016 Spread = RNOA – NNEP = 20.66% – (45.12)% = -24.46%

NCI ratio = ($2,350 / $2,376) divided by [($12,079 + $10,617 / 2) / ($12,332 + $10,843 / 2)]= 1.0099

b.

ROE = [20.66% + (0.0064 × -24.46%)] × 1.0099 = 20.71%

c. Costco's FLEV is negative - meaning its non-operating assets exceed its non-operating liabilities. Costco has a high level of short term investments to use for new opportunities.

Costco’s non-operating assets exceed its non-operating liabilities in 2014 resulting in avery small NNO and a large NNEP. Because NNEP is so large, the spread is negative.The effect on ROE is minimal because FLEV is close to zero. Costco is holding a lot ofcash that may be easily liquidated to respond quickly to new opportunities or react to competition