this is for a budget and analysis class at PBA
WALMART VS. TARGET
Wal-Mart's business operations are 4 times the scope of rival
Target. But, which company is financially healthier?
1. Let's retrieve the latest annual financial statements for
each corporation and then calculate the profitability, liquidity,
and solvency ratios for the two giant retailers. (See the syllabus
for guidance to retrieve the latest financial statements for these
companies; or see "Notes" below.)
2. After calculating the profitability, liquidity, solvency,
and efficiency ratios, create some sort of formatted (Word document
using the Table function, excel spreadsheet, etc.) that will enable
us to easily make "head-to-head" comparisons of the various
ratios.
There is no need to recreate the Income Statement and Balance
Sheet financial statements for the companies; just print off the
Yahoo documents for your use. But, do create a 3 columned "table"
that lists the ratios in the left column, one of the companies in
the middle column, and the other company in the right column. And,
use the various financial statement numbers as well as the ratio
result. For example, list "net income/revenue" in the left column
and then, for instance, $2,222/$6,666 = 33% (not just 33%) in say
the middle column, and then, for instance, $3,333/$5,555 = 60% (not
just cite 60%).
3. Which company seems to be healthier? (Defend your
conclusion.)
4. Submit your ratio calculations, answer, and
explanation.
Notes on retrieving latest financial statements:
a. Access https://finance.yahoo.com
b. Then, in the box (search field) next to Yahoo, type in
Wal-Mart (or Target) to get a drop down menu of options; top menu
item should be the symbol selection you need to get the needed
company pages to appear (WMT and TGT, I believe)
c. Then, click on the "Financials" tab from among the several
tab options
d. Using the available tabs, access and then print off the
annual data for Income Statement and then Balance Sheet.
e. Notice language in the financial statement formats; for
example, "sales" is cited as "revenue", "COGS" is noted as "cost of
reveue", "profit" is cited as "net income", "owners' equity" is
cited as "total equity", and so on. But, the placement of
information in the financial statements should suggest what the
meanings of the labels are. (When in doubt, ask me/us. :-) )