Walmart 2012 Annual Report Download - page 33
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Please find page 33 of the 2012 Walmart annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations
Walmart 2012 Annual Report 3 1
our President and Chief Executive Offi cer appearing in this Annual Report
includes forward-looking statements that relate to management’s
expectation that the Walmart International segment’s “Powered by
Walmart” initiatives will strengthen productivity and reduce expenses,
management’s expectation that growing the Sam’s Club segment’s
membership base will remain a key goal for fi scal 2013, and management’s
plans to increase Walmart’s investment in Yihaodian to 51 percent in fi scal
2013 and to continue Walmart’s investments to leverage additional
opportunities in e-commerce. Forward-looking statements appear in this
Annual Report: under the caption “Walmart International-Our Strategy:
Meeting local needs and leveraging global resources” regarding Walmart’s
intention to be the low cost leader in every market where our Walmart
International segment operates and management’s expectation that our
Walmart International segment will add between 30 million and 33 million
square feet of retail space in fi scal 2013; under the caption “Sam’s Club-
Our Strategy: Leveraging Member insights to deliver value and quality”
regarding the plans of our Sam’s Club segment to open nine new clubs and
relocate or expand six other clubs in fi scal 2013; under the caption “Global
eCommerce-Our Strategy: Winning in Global eCommerce” regarding
Walmart’s goal of combining online, social and mobile innovations with
physical stores to give customers a multi-channel shopping experience
and management’s expectation that Walmart’s acquisition of a majority
stake in Yihaodian will open Walmart’s products and brands to consumers
in China; and under the caption “Walmart-2012 Financial Report” regarding
management’s plan to further strengthen Walmart’s price position by
leveraging expenses as a percentage of sales by an additional 100 basis
points over the next fi ve years and management’s expectation that Walmart
will execute disciplined growth while incorporating new initiatives to
design and build the most cost eff ective stores in the world. The forward-
looking statements described above are identifi ed by the use in such
statements of one or more of the words or phrases “anticipate,” “could be,”
“could reduce,” “estimated,” “expansion,” “expect,” “goal,” “grow,” “intend,”
“is expected,” “may continue,” “may impact,” “may result,” “plan,” “plans,”
“projected,” “will add,” “will be,” “will be paid,” “will depend,” “will execute,”
“will open,” “will … reduce,” “will strengthen,” “would be,” and “would
increase,” and other similar words or phrases. Similarly, descriptions of
our objectives, strategies, plans, goals, or targets are also forward-looking
statements. These statements discuss, among other things, expected
growth, future revenues, future cash fl ows, future capital expenditures,
future performance, future initiatives and the anticipation and expectations
of Walmart and its management as to future occurrences and trends.
The forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report and that
we make elsewhere are subject to certain factors, in the United States and
internationally, which could materially aff ect our fi nancial performance,
our fi nancial condition, our results of operations, including our sales,
earnings per share, comparable store sales, or comparable club sales for
any period, our liquidity, our eff ective tax rate for any period, and our
business operations, business strategy, plans, goals, or objectives. These
factors include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions,
including changes in the economy of the United States or other specifi c
markets in which we operate, economic instability, changes in the monetary
policies of the United States, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, other governments or central banks, economic crises and disruptions
in the financial markets, including as a result of sovereign debt crises,
governmental budget defi cits, unemployment and partial employment
levels, employment conditions within our markets, credit availability
to consumers and businesses, levels of consumer disposable income,
consumer confi dence, consumer credit availability, consumer spending
patterns. consumer debt levels, infl ation, defl ation, commodity prices,
the cost of the goods we sell, competitive pressures, the seasonality of
our business, seasonal buying patterns in the United States and our other
markets, labor costs, transportation costs, the cost of diesel fuel, gasoline,
natural gas and electricity, the selling prices of fuel, the cost of healthcare
and other benefi ts, accident costs, our casualty and other insurance costs,
information security costs, the cost of construction materials, availability
of acceptable building sites for new stores, clubs and other formats,
availability of qualifi ed labor pools in the specifi c markets in which we
operate, zoning, land use and other regulatory restrictions, competitive
pressures, accident-related costs, weather conditions and events, catastrophic
events and natural disasters, as well as storm and other damage to our
stores, clubs, distribution centers, and other facilities, and store closings
and other limitations on our customer’ access to our stores and clubs
resulting from such events and disasters, disruption in our supply chain,
including availability and transport of goods from domestic and foreign
suppliers, trade restrictions, changes in tariff and freight rates, adoption
of or changes in tax, labor, and other laws and regulations that aff ect our
business, including changes in corporate tax rates, costs of compliance
with laws and regulations, the resolution of tax matters, developments
in and the outcome of legal and regulatory proceedings to which we
are a party or are subject, currency exchange rate fluctuations and
volatility, fl uctuations in market rates of interest, and other conditions
and events aff ecting domestic and global fi nancial and capital markets,
and economic and geopolitical conditions and events, including civil
unrest and disturbances, public health emergencies, and terrorist attacks.
Moreover, we typically earn a disproportionate part of our annual operating
income in our fourth quarter as a result of the seasonal buying patterns.
Those buying patterns are diffi cult to forecast with certainty. The foregoing
list of factors that may affect our business operations and financial
performance is not exclusive. Other factors and unanticipated events
could adversely aff ect our business operations and fi nancial performance.
We discuss certain of these matters more fully, as well as certain risk factors
that may aff ect our business operations, fi nancial condition, results of
operations and liquidity in other of our fi lings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form
10-K. We fi led our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fi scal year ended
January 31, 2012, with the SEC on March 27, 2012. The forward-looking
statements described above are made based on knowledge of our
business and the environment in which we operate and assumptions
that we believe to be reasonable at the time such forward-looking
statements are made. However, because of the factors described and
listed above, as well as other factors, or as a result of changes in facts,
assumptions not being realized, or other circumstances, actual results
may materially diff er from anticipated results described or implied in
these forward-looking statements. We cannot assure the reader that the
results or developments expected or anticipated by us will be realized
or, even if substantially realized, that those results or developments will
result in the expected consequences for us or aff ect us, our business, our
operations, or our fi nancial performance in the way we expect. You are urged
to consider all of these risks, uncertainties, and other factors carefully in
evaluating the forward-looking statements and not to place undue reliance
on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements
included in this Annual Report speak only as of the date of this report,
and we undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as
may be required by applicable law.