Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Accounting - Assignment Example According to data revealed from the New York Stock Exchange, the company is traded under the ticker symbol of WMT. Currently it yields a price earnings ratio of 15.48 with a beta coefficient of 0.24. With 3,810,170,000 of outstanding shares, the company has a market capitalization of USD 202.47 billion. The performance of Wal-Mart has improved steadily over the last three years. In the year 2007 the company reported an annual turnover of $344759 million which has risen to $401211 million in the year 2009. This marks an increase of nearly 16 percent. The operating cost of the company has remained stable at approximately 95 percent for the last three years. Wal-Mart has been successful in managing the operating costs of the company. There has been a rise in the interest cost on debt of the company that has moved up from $1549 million in 2007 to $1896 million in 2009 which is a rise of nearly 22 percent. This is due to the rise in the debt component of the company. The net income of the company has steadily moved up over the years. In 2007 the company reported a net income of $11284 million that increased to nearly $13400 million in 2009, an increase of nearly 18 percent. The cash position of the company has improved significantly over the previous year. Cash and cash equivalents of the company was $5569 million in 2007 and this increased to $7275 million at the end of the financial year 2009. The current ratio represents the ability of a company to meet its short term liabilities out of its current assets. Investors view current ratio as a measure of the liquidity condition of a company. As per the theories this ratio should be 2:1 which means the company retains current assets which are double the amount of current liabilities, but the bench mark varies from industry to industry. Wal-Mart’s current ratio has improved in 2009 as compared to 2008, hence the company has enhanced its liquidity position and the risk associated with short term solvency