Walmart (WMT) 10-Q2025 Q1 Quarterly report

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The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Walmart Inc. and its subsidiaries ("Walmart" or the "Company") and the accompanying notes included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are unaudited. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been included. Such adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, and the accompanying notes, are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") and do not contain certain information included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024 ("fiscal 2024"). Therefore, the interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are based on a fiscal year ending January 31 for the United States ("U.S.") and Canadian operations. The Company consolidates all other operations generally using a one-month lag based on a calendar year. There were no significant intervening events during the month of April 2024 related to the consolidated operations using a lag that materially affected the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP. Those principles require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities. Management's estimates and assumptions also affect the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ materially from those estimates.

On February 23, 2024, the Company effected a 3-for-1 forward split of its common stock and a proportionate increase in the number of authorized shares. All share and per share information, including share based compensation, throughout this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q has been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split. The shares of common stock retain a par value of $0.10 per share. Accordingly, an amount equal to the par value of the increased shares resulting from the stock split was reclassified from capital in excess of par value to common stock.

The Company has supplier financing programs with financial institutions, in which the Company agrees to pay the financial institution the stated amount of confirmed invoices on the invoice due date for participating suppliers. Participation in these programs is optional and solely up to the supplier, who negotiates the terms of the arrangement directly with the financial institution and may allow early payment. Supplier participation in these programs has no bearing on the Company's amounts due. The payment terms that the Company has with participating suppliers under these programs generally range between 30 and 90 days. The Company does not have an economic interest in a supplier's participation in the program or a direct financial relationship with the financial institution funding the program. The Company is responsible for ensuring that participating financial institutions are paid according to the terms negotiated with the supplier, regardless of whether the supplier elects to receive early payment from the financial institution. The outstanding payment obligations to financial institutions under these programs were $5.2 billion, $5.3 billion and $4.7 billion, as of April 30, 2024, January 31, 2024 and April 30, 2023, respectively. These obligations are generally classified as accounts payable within the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The activity related to these programs is classified as an operating activity within the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators used to determine basic and diluted net income per common share attributable to Walmart:

The following table provides the changes in the Company's long-term debt for the three months ended April 30, 2024:

Information on significant long-term debt repayments during the three months ended April 30, 2024 is as follows:

The Company measures the fair value of certain equity investments, including certain immaterial equity method investments where the Company has elected the fair value option, on a recurring basis within other long-term assets in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The amounts of gains and losses included in earnings from fair value changes for these investments are recognized within other gains and losses in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. The fair value of these investments is as follows:

The Company also has derivatives recorded at fair value. Derivative fair values are the estimated amounts the Company would receive or pay upon termination of the related derivative agreements as of the reporting dates. The fair values have been measured using the income approach and Level 2 inputs, which include the relevant interest rate and foreign currency forward curves. As of April 30, 2024 and January 31, 2024, the notional amounts and fair values of these derivatives were as follows:

In addition to assets and liabilities recorded at fair value on a recurring basis, the Company's assets and liabilities are also subject to nonrecurring fair value measurements. Generally, assets are recorded at fair value on a nonrecurring basis as a result of impairment charges. The Company did not have any material assets or liabilities resulting in nonrecurring fair value measurements as of April 30, 2024 in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company records cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term borrowings at cost. The carrying values of these instruments approximate their fair value due to their short-term maturities.

The Company's long-term debt is also recorded at cost. The fair value is estimated using Level 2 inputs based on observable prices of identical instruments in less active markets. The carrying value and fair value of the Company's long-term debt as of April 30, 2024 and January 31, 2024, are as follows: 

The Company is involved in a number of legal proceedings and certain regulatory matters. The Company records a liability for those legal proceedings and regulatory matters when it determines it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. The Company also discloses when it is reasonably possible that a material loss may be incurred. From time to time, the Company may enter into discussions regarding settlement of these matters, and may enter into settlement agreements, if it believes settlement is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders.

Unless stated otherwise, the matters discussed below, if decided adversely to or settled by the Company, individually or in the aggregate, may result in a liability material to the Company's financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. The Company can provide no assurance as to the scope and outcome of these matters and cannot reasonably estimate any loss or range of loss, beyond the amounts accrued, if any, that may arise from these matters.

The Company entered into settlement agreements with all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, three U.S. territories, and the vast majority of eligible political subdivisions and federally recognized Native American tribes to resolve opioid-related claims against the Company.  Remaining eligible political subdivisions and federally recognized Native American tribes have until July 15, 2025 and February 24, 2026, respectively, to join these settlements. In fiscal year 2023, the Company accrued a liability of approximately $3.3 billion for these settlements, which include amounts for remediation of alleged harms, attorneys' fees, and costs. As of January 31, 2024, substantially all of the approximately $3.3 billion accrued liability had been paid.

The Company will continue to vigorously defend against any opioid-related matters not settled or otherwise resolved, including, but not limited to, each of the matters described below; any other actions filed by healthcare providers, individuals and third-party payers; and any action filed by a political subdivision or Native American tribe that elects not to join the settlement described above. Accordingly, the Company has not accrued a liability for these opioid-related matters nor can the Company reasonably estimate any loss or range of loss that may arise from these matters. The Company can provide no assurance as to

the scope and outcome of any of the opioid-related matters and no assurance that its business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows will not be materially adversely affected.

A trial involving claims brought by two counties against certain defendants, including the Company, in the MDL resulted in a judgment on August 17, 2022 that ordered all three defendants, including the Company, to pay an aggregate amount of approximately $0.7 billion over 15 years, on a joint and several liability basis, and granted the plaintiffs injunctive relief. On September 7, 2022, the Company filed an appeal with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The monetary aspect of the judgment is stayed pending appeal, and the injunctive aspect of the judgment went into effect on February 20, 2023 and has not materially impacted the Company's operations. On September 11, 2023, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order certifying certain questions in the appeal for review by the Supreme Court of Ohio. On November 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of Ohio accepted the request for certification, and the matter remains pending with the court.

Additional opioid-related cases against the Company remain pending in the MDL and in state and federal courts. The plaintiffs include healthcare providers, third-party payers, individuals and others and seek compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief, including abatement. The MDL has designated four cases brought by third-party payers as bellwether cases to proceed through discovery. The MDL may designate additional bellwether cases in the future.

The Company has been responding to subpoenas, information requests, and investigations from governmental entities related to nationwide controlled substance dispensing and distribution practices involving opioids.

Wal-Mart Canada Corp. and certain other subsidiaries of the Company have been named as defendants in two putative class action complaints filed in Canada related to distribution practices involving opioids. These matters remain pending.

On September 27, 2021, three shareholders filed a derivative action in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleging that certain members of the Board of Directors and certain former officers breached their fiduciary duties in failing to adequately oversee the Company's prescription opioids business. In two orders issued on April 12 and 26, 2023, the Court of Chancery granted the defendants' motion to dismiss with respect to claims involving the Company's distribution practices and denied the remainder of the motion. On May 5, 2023, the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") appointed an independent Special Litigation Committee (the "SLC") to investigate the allegations regarding certain current and former officers and directors named in the various derivative proceedings regarding oversight with respect to opioids. The Board has authorized the SLC to retain independent legal counsel and such other advisors as the SLC deems appropriate in carrying out its duties. This action is stayed while the SLC conducts its investigation.

In addition, there are two other shareholder derivative actions pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware that allege breach of fiduciary duties against certain of the Company's current and former directors with respect to oversight of the Company's distribution and dispensing of opioids and violations of the federal securities laws and other breaches of duty by certain current and former directors and officers in connection with the Company's opioids disclosures. Those cases have been stayed pending developments in other opioid-related matters.

The Company intends to vigorously defend these matters. However, the Company can provide no assurance as to the scope and outcome of these matters and cannot reasonably estimate any loss or range of loss that may arise. Accordingly, the Company can provide no assurance that its business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows will not be materially adversely affected.

The Company is engaged in the operation of retail and wholesale stores and clubs, as well as eCommerce websites and mobile applications, located throughout the U.S., Africa, Canada, Central America, Chile, China, India and Mexico. The Company's operations are conducted in three reportable segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam's Club. The Company defines its segments as those operations whose results the chief operating decision maker ("CODM") regularly reviews to analyze performance and allocate resources. The Company sells similar individual products and services in each of its segments. It is impractical to segregate and identify revenues for each of these individual products and services.

The Walmart U.S. segment includes the Company's mass merchandising concept in the U.S., as well as eCommerce, which includes omni-channel initiatives and certain other business offerings such as advertising services through Walmart Connect. The Walmart International segment consists of the Company's operations outside of the U.S., as well as eCommerce and omni-channel initiatives. The Sam's Club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the U.S., as well as samsclub.com and omni-channel initiatives. Corporate and support consists of corporate overhead and other items not allocated to any of the Company's segments.

The Company measures the results of its segments using, among other measures, each segment's net sales and operating income, which includes certain corporate overhead allocations. From time to time, the Company revises the measurement of each segment's operating income and other measures, including any corporate overhead allocations, as determined by the information regularly reviewed by its CODM.

Net sales by segment are as follows:

In the following tables, segment net sales are disaggregated by either merchandise category or by market. From time to time, the Company revises the assignment of net sales of a particular item to a merchandise category. When the assignment changes, previous period amounts are reclassified to be comparable to the current period's presentation.

In addition, net sales related to eCommerce are provided for each segment, which include omni-channel sales, where a customer initiates an order digitally and the order is fulfilled through a store or club.

Of Walmart U.S.'s total net sales, approximately $17.6 billion and $14.5 billion related to eCommerce for the three months ended April 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Of Walmart International's total net sales, approximately $6.4 billion and $5.4 billion related to eCommerce for the three months ended April 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

We intend for this discussion to provide the reader with information that will assist in understanding our financial statements, the changes in certain key items in those financial statements from period to period and the primary factors that accounted for those changes. We also discuss certain performance metrics that management uses to assess the Company's performance. Additionally, the discussion provides information about the financial results of each of the three segments of our business to provide a better understanding of how each of those segments and its results of operations affect the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as a whole.

Throughout this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, we discuss segment operating income, comparable store and club sales and other measures. Management measures the results of the Company's segments using each segment's operating income, including certain corporate overhead allocations, as well as other measures. From time to time, we revise the measurement of each segment's operating income and other measures as determined by the information regularly reviewed by our chief operating decision maker.

Comparable store and club sales, or comparable sales, is a metric that indicates the performance of our existing stores and clubs by measuring the change in sales for such stores and clubs for a particular period from the corresponding prior year period. Walmart's definition of comparable sales includes sales from stores and clubs open for the previous 12 months, including remodels, relocations, expansions and conversions, as well as eCommerce sales. We measure the eCommerce sales impact by including all sales initiated digitally, including omni-channel transactions which are fulfilled through our stores and clubs as well as certain other business offerings that are part of our ecosystem, such as our Walmart Connect advertising business. Sales at a store that has changed in format are excluded from comparable sales when the conversion of that store is accompanied by a relocation or expansion that results in a change in the store's retail square feet of more than five percent. Sales related to divested businesses are excluded from comparable sales, and sales related to acquisitions are excluded until such acquisitions have been owned for 12 months. Comparable sales are also referred to as "same-store" sales by others within the retail industry. The method of calculating comparable sales varies across the retail industry. As a result, our calculation of comparable sales is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

In discussing our operating results, the term currency exchange rates refers to the currency exchange rates we use to convert the operating results for countries where the functional currency is not the U.S. dollar into U.S. dollars. We calculate the effect of changes in currency exchange rates as the difference between current period activity translated using the current period's currency exchange rates and the comparable prior year period's currency exchange rates. Additionally, no currency exchange rate fluctuations are calculated for non-USD acquisitions until owned for 12 months. Throughout our discussion, we refer to the results of this calculation as the impact of currency exchange rate fluctuations. Volatility in currency exchange rates may impact the results, including net sales and operating income, of the Company and the Walmart International segment in the future.

Each of our segments contributes to the Company's operating results differently. Each, however, has generally maintained a relatively consistent contribution rate to the Company's net sales and operating income in recent years other than minor changes to the contribution rate for the Walmart International segment due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

We operate in a highly competitive omni-channel retail industry in all of the markets we serve. We face strong sales competition from other discount, department, drug, dollar, variety and specialty stores, warehouse clubs and supermarkets, as well as eCommerce businesses and companies that offer services in digital advertising, fulfillment and delivery services, health and wellness, and financial services. Many of these competitors are national, regional or international chains or have a national or international omni-channel or eCommerce presence. We compete with a number of companies for attracting and retaining quality employees ("associates"). We, along with other retail companies, are influenced by a number of factors including, but not limited to: catastrophic events, weather and other risks related to climate change, global health epidemics, competitive pressures, consumer disposable income, consumer debt levels and buying patterns, consumer credit availability, disruptions in supply chain and inventory management, cost and availability of goods, currency exchange rate fluctuations, customer preferences, deflation, inflation, fuel and energy prices, general economic conditions, insurance costs, interest rates, labor availability and costs, tax rates, the imposition of tariffs, cybersecurity attacks and unemployment.

Merchandise costs continued to be impacted by inflation, however at a lower rate than we experienced in recent years. The impact to our net sales and gross profit margin is influenced in part by our pricing and merchandising strategies in response to cost increases. Those pricing strategies include, but are not limited to: absorbing cost increases instead of passing those cost increases on to our customers and members; reducing prices in certain merchandise categories; focusing on opening price points for certain food categories; and when necessary, passing cost increases on to our customers and members. Merchandising strategies include, but are not limited to: working with our suppliers to reduce product costs and share in absorbing cost increases; focusing on private label brands and smaller pack sizes; earlier-than-usual purchasing and in greater volumes or moderating purchasing in certain categories; and securing ocean carrier and container capacity. These strategies have and may continue to impact gross profit as a percentage of net sales.

We are committed to helping customers save money and live better through everyday low prices, supported by everyday low costs. At times, we adjust our business strategies to maintain and strengthen our competitive positions in the countries in which we operate. We define our financial priorities as follows:

Our objective of prioritizing growth means we will focus on serving customers and members however they want to shop through our omni-channel business model. This includes increasing comparable store and club sales through increasing membership at Sam's Club and through Walmart+, accelerating eCommerce sales growth and expansion of omni-channel initiatives that complement our strategy.

Comparable sales is a metric that indicates the performance of our existing stores and clubs by measuring the change in sales for such stores and clubs, including eCommerce sales, for a particular period over the corresponding period in the previous year. The retail industry generally reports comparable sales using the retail calendar (also known as the 4-5-4 calendar). To be consistent with the retail industry, we provide comparable sales using the retail calendar in our quarterly earnings releases. However, when we discuss our comparable sales below, we are referring to our calendar comparable sales calculated using our fiscal calendar, which may result in differences when compared to comparable sales using the retail calendar. We focus on comparable sales in the U.S. as we believe it is a meaningful metric within the context of the U.S. retail market where there is a single currency, one inflationary market and generally consistent store and club formats from year to year.

Calendar comparable sales, as well as the impact of fuel, for the three months ended April 30, 2024 and 2023, were as follows:

Comparable sales in the U.S., including fuel, increased 4.9% for the three months ended April 30, 2024, when compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. The Walmart U.S. segment had comparable sales growth of 4.9% for the three months ended April 30, 2024, driven by growth in transactions, with strong sales in grocery and health and wellness. The Walmart U.S. segment's eCommerce net sales positively contributed approximately 2.9% to comparable sales for the three months ended April 30, 2024, which was primarily driven by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery.

Comparable sales at the Sam's Club segment increased 4.6% for the three months ended April 30, 2024, which benefited from growth in transactions, including strong sales in grocery and consumables and health and wellness. The Sam's Club segment's eCommerce sales positively contributed approximately 1.7% to comparable sales for the three months ended April 30, 2024, which was primarily driven by curbside pickup and club-fulfilled delivery.

Gross profit as a percentage of net sales ("gross profit rate") increased 42 basis points for the three months ended April 30, 2024, when compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. The increase was primarily driven by the Walmart U.S. segment, due to managing prices aligned to our competitive price gaps, lower markdowns as a result of disciplined inventory management and favorable business mix, partially offset by mix shifts into lower margin merchandise categories.

Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales increased 40 basis points for the three months ended April 30, 2024. The increase was primarily driven by higher compensation related expenses in our U.S. segments, including higher variable pay as a result of exceeding our planned performance as well as previously announced wage investments, and business reorganization costs, partially offset by expense leverage from strong sales growth in our International segment.

Operating income increased $0.6 billion or 9.6% for the three months ended April 30, 2024, primarily due to the factors described above as well as from strong growth in membership income globally.

We include Return on Assets ("ROA"), the most directly comparable measure based on our financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. ("GAAP") and Return on Investment ("ROI") as metrics to assess returns on assets. While ROI is considered a non-GAAP financial measure, management believes ROI is a meaningful metric to share with investors because it helps investors assess how effectively Walmart is deploying its assets. Trends in ROI can fluctuate over time as management balances long-term strategic initiatives with possible short-term impacts. ROA was 7.9% and 4.5% for the trailing 12 months ended April 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in ROA was primarily due to an increase in consolidated net income during the trailing 12 month period, as a result of higher operating income and changes in the fair value of our equity and other investments. ROI was 15.0% and 12.7% for the trailing 12 months ended April 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in ROI was the result of an increase in operating income, primarily due to lapping opioid legal charges as well as business reorganization and restructuring charges incurred in the comparative trailing 12 months, as well as improvements in business performance, partially offset by an increase in average invested capital primarily due to higher purchases of property and equipment.

We define ROI as operating income plus interest income, depreciation and amortization, and rent expense for the trailing 12 months divided by average invested capital during that period. We consider average invested capital to be the average of our beginning and ending total assets, plus average accumulated depreciation and amortization, less average accounts payable and average accrued liabilities for that period.

Our calculation of ROI is considered a non-GAAP financial measure because we calculate ROI using financial measures that exclude and include amounts that are included and excluded in the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. For example, we exclude the impact of depreciation and amortization from our reported operating income in calculating the numerator of our calculation of ROI. As mentioned above, we consider ROA to be the financial measure computed in accordance with GAAP most directly comparable to our calculation of ROI. ROI differs from ROA (which is consolidated net income for the period divided by average total assets for the period) because ROI: adjusts operating income to exclude certain expense items and adds interest income; and adjusts total assets for the impact of accumulated depreciation and amortization, accounts payable and accrued liabilities to arrive at total invested capital. Because of the adjustments mentioned above, we believe ROI more accurately measures how we are deploying our key assets and is more meaningful to investors than ROA. Although ROI is a standard financial measure, numerous methods exist for calculating a company's ROI. As a result, the method used by management to calculate our ROI may differ from the methods used by other companies to calculate their ROI.

The calculation of ROA and ROI, along with a reconciliation of ROI to the calculation of ROA, the most comparable GAAP financial measure, is as follows: