In my opinion, Wal-Mart should be a good choice for seeking employment. Their market capitalization is greater than any other firm in the industry. It looks like the managers are effectively running the business to maximize firm performance because of their consistent balance sheet. In the past 4 years, retained earnings have been on an upward trend with nearly 50% in growth. The company has managed a consistent debt ratio even though the firm has added new stores internationally. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted record sales and earnings for fiscal year 2008. Total net sales for the Company were $374.5 billion, an 8.6 percent increase over the previous fiscal year and a record for any retailer and nearly a 50% increase since 2004. Overall they are the leader in the retail industry and other competitors are unable to touch their economies of scale and their buying power. Their closest competitor which is Costco experienced 64.9 billion in net sales in the same year.
Moreover, it is vital to understand that 40 plus years of making right decisions for Wal-Mart to get in the position they are in today. In the past four years net income has risen by 25 percent, we can see by the table the closest competitor is Costco. “ The Company generated $5.4 billion in free cash flow in fiscal year 2008, compared to $4.3 billion in fiscal year 2007,” (annual report). This represents a 25 percent increase year over year. In my opinion, competitors attempting to out gain Wal-Mart’s revenue will unlikely succeed because of the differentiation in Wal-Mart’s economies of scale. Also, Wal-Mart’s buying power is unprecedented; their ability to slash cost from their suppliers is strength.
WAL-MART COSTCO ...