Walmart 2015 Annual Report Download - page 37

35
2015 Annual Report
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Risks, Factors and Uncertainties Relating to Consumers Generally
and Our Customers
• consumer confidence, disposable income, debt levels, credit availability,
spending levels, shopping patterns and demand for certain merchandise
in one or more of the markets in which we operate;
• consumer acceptance of our stores and clubs, e-commerce websites
and mobile commerce applications, our digital and physical retail initia-
tives, programs and merchandise offerings, including our fresh food
offerings, globally in one or more of the markets in which we operate;
Risks, Factors and Uncertainties Specically Relating to Our
Operations in Any or All of the Markets in which We Operate
• our historical financial performance, including our U.S. and Walmart
International cash flows, for one or more periods or historical financial
position as of one or more dates completed or occurring after the date
the pertinent forward-looking statement is made;
• the cost of the goods we sell;
• the availability, at an acceptable cost, of adequate supplies of consistent,
high-quality produce from suppliers in the local markets in which we
operate;
• the availability of persons with the skills and abilities necessary to meet our
needs for managing and staffing our operations, including to manage and
staff new and relocated units;
• the mix of merchandise we sell globally or in one or more of the markets
in which we operate;
• the size of and turnover in our hourly workforce;
• our selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel;
• cyberattacks on our information systems, including any of those used
to operate our e-commerce websites and our information security
costs and any costs and liabilities we would incur as a result of a
successful cyberattack;
• disruption in the availability of our e-commerce websites and mobile
commerce applications;
• the availability of attractive opportunities for investment in retail
operations in the markets in which we currently operate and in new
markets and for investment in digital retail acquisitions and initiatives;
• disruption in our supply chain, including of the availability and transport
of goods from domestic and foreign suppliers to our stores and other
facilities;
• the mix of our earnings from our U.S. and operations in one or more of
the markets in which we operate;
• the amounts of our net sales and expenses for a period denominated
in particular currencies other than the U.S. dollar;
• changes in our assessment of certain tax contingencies, increases or
decreases in valuation allowances, outcome of administrative audits,
the impact of discrete items on our effective tax rate and the resolution
of other tax matters;
• developments in and the outcome of legal and regulatory proceedings
to which we are a party or are subject and the expenses associated
therewith;
• the requirements for expenditures in connection with the FCPA-related
matters;
• unanticipated changes in operating philosophy, plans and objectives;
• availability and the cost of acceptable building sites for new and relocated
stores, clubs and other facilities;
• real estate, zoning, land use and other laws, ordinances, legal restrictions
and initiatives that may prevent Walmart from building, or that impose
limitations on Walmart’s ability to build new units in certain locations or
relocate or expand existing units;
• availability of necessary utilities for new or expanded units; and
• availability of skilled labor and labor, material and other construction
costs in areas in which new or relocated units are proposed to be con-
structed or existing units are proposed to be expanded or remodeled.
Other Risk Factors; No Duty to Update
We discuss certain of these factors more fully, as well as certain other risk
factors that may affect the results and other matters discussed in the
forward-looking statements identified above, in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our Annual
Report on Form 10-K under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” We filed
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31,
2015, with the SEC on April 1, 2015. 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, as a consequence of the risks, factors and uncertainties we dis-
cuss above, and in the other reports mentioned above, other risks not
known to us at this time, changes in facts, assumptions not being realized
or other circumstances, our actual results may differ materially from
those results discussed in or implied or contemplated by such 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 affect us, our business or our operations
in the way we expect. You are urged to consider all of these risks, factors
and uncertainties 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.