Wal-Mart's financial statements tell a story, and you will study some aspects of the financials and see if you can retell that story.
Question 1 Study the income statement. Concentrate on the operating expenses. Please write a paragraph in your own words - about 50 words - explaining the trends in operating expenses. Why is looking at trends in the financial statements important?
Question 2 Study the balance sheets for 2016 and 2015. Discuss the current ratios for both years (you must calculate the current ratio for both years in order to discuss it). Write a paragraph of at least 50 words explaining what elements of the current ratios caused the ratio to change from one year to another.
Question 3 Study the statements of cash flows. Discuss the three activities detailed in the statement of cash flows and describe the information and where the preparer of a statement of cash flows can find the information. Your discussion should be one or more paragraphs totaling at least 50 words.
Question 4 Study the Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity. Several factors are responsible for the changes in the shareholders equity between 2016 and 2015. How many classes of stock does Wal-Mart have? What are they?
Did the number of shares of that stock increase or decrease during the year 2016? Did the company pay a cash dividend during the year? If so, how much per share? Please discuss those elements, writing a paragraph of at least 50 words, explaining where you can find the details of these answers.