Walmart 2006 Annual Report Download - page 15

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In addition to our financial performance and these exciting changes,
we are also proud of the Company’s progress on a variety of issues that
both our associates and our customers care deeply about. First, we made
our U.S. health coverage more affordable to associates by offering a
new Value Plan. By next year, the Value Plan will be available to half of
our associates for just $11 per month. Second, we created 125,000 new
jobs in the U.S. We are especially excited about the jobs we are creating
by successfully building stores in urban areas. At a store opening this
year just outside of Chicago, we received more than 25,000 applications
for just 325 jobs. Third, we began aggressively to implement sustainable
business practices. One of the goals we set is to double the fuel effi-
ciency of our truck fleet within 10 years. This should save us $300 mil-
lion per year when fully implemented. All of this progress is good for the
working men and women we employ, the thousands of communities we
support, and the millions of customers we serve worldwide. And that’s
why it is also good for our Company and our shareholders.
For some time, more than any other company, Wal-Mart has been at
the intersection of American life. Yet today, we find ourselves operat-
ing 2,285 international stores, buying products from 70 countries, and
doing 20% of our business abroad. Wal-Mart’s marketplace is clearly the
world. And we have every reason to be optimistic about our role – both
for the opportunity it provides our Company to learn and to grow, but
also for the opportunity Wal-Mart has to continue to raise the standard
of living for people everywhere.
Wal-Mart can be – and in many cases, already is – part of the solution
to some of the most complex challenges in the world today. Just like our
U.S. stores, our international stores help working families stretch their
incomes and afford daily needs like fresh foods and quality school clothes.
And we help working families in many other meaningful ways – such as
giving an operations manager at our distribution center in Tianjin, China
the opportunity to learn logistics and supply chain management, or
creating community centers in Uttar Pradesh, India where mothers can
make their crafts in a better work environment and earn more income
for their families. This is tremendous good that Wal-Mart is doing at the
intersection of global life.
On March 17, 1992, the President of the United States presented
our founder, Sam Walton, with the Medal of Freedom. It was one of the
proudest days in his life and in the life of our Company. Accepting the
award, Mr. Sam said: “We’ll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just
in America, but we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like
to save and do better.” Sam Walton saw then what we’re making a reality
today at Wal-Mart. And to borrow just a few more of his words from that
moving day: “We think we’ve just begun.”
My thanks to all of you for your support, your service and your
patronage during the past year and in the promising years ahead.
Lee Scott
President and Chief Executive Officer
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
“ Today, we find ourselves operating
2,285 international stores, buying
products from 70 countries, and doing
20% of our business abroad. Wal-Mart’s
marketplace is clearly the world.”
Financial Highlights
(In Millions Except Per Share Data)
Fiscal Years Ended January 31, 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
Net Sales $312,427 $285,222 $256,329 $229,616 $204,011
Cost of Sales $240,391 $219,793 $198,747 $178,299 $159,097
Net Income $ 11,231 $ 10,267 $ 9,054 $ 7,955 $ 6,592
Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 2.68 $ 2.41 $ 2.07 $ 1.79 $ 1.47
Long Term Debt $ 26,429 $ 20,087 $ 17,102 $ 16,597 $ 15,676
Return on Assets(1) 8.9% 9.3% 9.2% 9.2% 8.4%
Return on Shareholders’ Equity(2) 22.5% 22.6% 21.3% 20.9% 19.4%
(1) Income from continuing operations before minority interest divided by average total assets.
(2) Income from continuing operations before minority interest divided by average shareholders’ equity.