Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

The quarterly financial data reveals several notable trends in the key financial ratios over the analyzed periods.

Return on Assets (ROA)

The ROA shows an overall fluctuating pattern starting from April 2020, where the value was 6.29%. It initially increased, peaking at 7.87% in January 2021. Following this peak, ROA declined to a low of 3.28% in January 2022. Afterward, the ratio displayed some recovery and moderate variability, increasing again to 7.46% in October 2024. By the latest period, ROA stabilized slightly lower but remained elevated above earlier lows, sitting around 7.17% in January 2025. This indicates that the asset efficiency in generating returns has experienced volatility but generally trended toward improvement in the most recent quarters.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage ratios ranged narrowly from approximately 2.87 to 3.44 over the full timeline. Initially higher around 3.44 in April 2019, the leverage ratio showed a gradual downward trend, with periodic minor fluctuations. It reached its lowest recorded level near 2.87 in January 2025. Overall, this suggests a cautious reduction in reliance on debt financing relative to equity, indicating a potentially more conservative capital structure approach in recent quarters.

Return on Equity (ROE)

ROE exhibited more pronounced volatility across the observed timeframe. Starting from 19.93% in April 2020, the ratio climbed to a peak of 24.24% in January 2021, signifying strong returns on shareholder equity. This was followed by a substantial decrease to a low of 9.75% in January 2022, reflecting reduced profitability or efficiency in equity utilization. Subsequently, ROE recovered steadily, reaching levels above 22% by October 2024 and January 2025. The pattern suggests periods of both strong and weak equity performance, with recent quarters showing renewed strength.

In summary, the data reveals cyclical behavior in profitability metrics, with ROA and ROE experiencing significant ups and downs but demonstrating recovery and improvement toward the end of the period. Financial leverage has been managed within a relatively stable and moderate range, with a slight trend towards reduction. These patterns indicate a dynamic but improving performance environment in terms of both asset utilization and equity returns, supported by stable leverage management.

The financial metrics exhibit notable fluctuations and trends over the reported quarters.

Net Profit Margin (%)

The net profit margin shows variability with an initial increase from April 2020, peaking at 3.62% in January 2020. Afterward, it experiences a general decline, hitting a low around 1.41% in January 2022. Subsequently, the margin recovers somewhat, stabilizing around the 2.4% to 2.9% range in recent periods, indicating some recovery and stabilization in profitability levels.

Asset Turnover (ratio)

The asset turnover ratio presents a relatively steady upward trend from around 2.2 in early 2020 to nearly 2.6 in late 2024. This suggests improving efficiency in using assets to generate revenue over time, with only minor fluctuations that do not significantly disrupt the upward trajectory.

Financial Leverage (ratio)

Financial leverage displays moderate variability. Starting above 3.4 in early periods, it declines to below 3.0 in the early months of 2024, indicating a potential reduction in reliance on debt. However, leverage rises again slightly towards late 2024 metrics. Overall, leverage remains within a narrow band approximately between 2.9 and 3.5, reflecting a relatively consistent capital structure.

Return on Equity (ROE) (%)

ROE follows a pronounced cycle, initially exhibiting strong growth with a peak near 24.24% in early 2020. This is followed by a remarkable decline to a low of 9.75% in January 2022. Thereafter, the ROE recovers steadily, reaching above 22% by late 2024, signifying overall improvements in profitability relative to shareholder equity after a mid-term downturn.

In summary, the data reflect a phase of heightened profitability and efficiency around early 2020, followed by a contraction period, especially pronounced in net profit margin and ROE until early 2022. Thereafter, both profitability metrics and asset utilization improve steadily, while financial leverage remains stable with slight fluctuations, suggesting conservative financial management amid the changing profitability landscape.

The analysis of the financial ratios over the provided quarterly periods reveals several notable trends and fluctuations in the company's financial performance metrics.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio demonstrates a high degree of stability overall, fluctuating slightly within a narrow range of approximately 0.61 to 0.77. Starting from a level around 0.75, there is a noticeable dip to the low 0.60s between early 2021 and early 2023, followed by a gradual increase back to around 0.76-0.77 in the most recent quarters. This pattern may indicate some tax rate variability or changes in the company's effective tax rates during these periods.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio remains relatively stable, ranging mostly between 0.86 and 0.92 throughout the observed quarters. This stability suggests consistent management of interest expenses relative to earnings before interest and taxes. Minor fluctuations do not indicate any significant changes in the company’s interest obligations or debt servicing capabilities.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin exhibits variability with a general downward trend in some intervals followed by recovery phases. Initially, it peaks near 5.32%, then declines steadily to a low around 2.47% in early 2023, before rebounding to just over 4.00% towards the latest periods. This pattern implies fluctuating operational profitability possibly driven by varying cost control, pricing strategies, or revenue changes over time.

Asset Turnover

The asset turnover ratio shows a generally upward trend, starting around 2.2 and rising to levels near 2.59 in the latter periods. This improvement indicates increased efficiency in utilizing assets to generate sales, reflecting perhaps improved operational processes, better asset management, or scaling effects in revenue generation.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage sees gradual fluctuations but with a subtle downward trend from about 3.44 in 2019 to lows near 2.87 in early 2025. The leverage ratio’s moderation suggests a possible reduction in the relative use of debt financing or equity base changes, pointing toward a more conservative capital structure in recent periods.

Return on Equity (ROE)

The ROE ratio shows pronounced volatility, with highs close to 24.24% and lows below 10%, demonstrating sensitivity to the company’s profitability and capital efficiency. Notably, ROE peaks around early 2020 and mid-2024, but also reaches significant dips around early 2022. These swings mirror the combined effects of changes in tax burden, interest burden, EBIT margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage over the periods and imply variable shareholder returns influenced by operational and financial factors.

In summary, the company has experienced fluctuating operational margins and profitability (EBIT margin and ROE) with some recovery phases after downturns. Efficiency in asset use has improved as reflected in rising asset turnover, while financial leverage has been subtly reduced, indicating cautious capital structure management. Tax and interest burdens remain relatively stable, contributing to consistent cost factors in profitability calculation.

The financial data indicates several observable trends in the company's profitability and efficiency metrics over the analyzed quarterly periods.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin begins with a value around the mid-2% range, showing a slight fluctuation across quarters. From the initial data point at 2.86%, the margin increased moderately to peak at 3.62% early in 2020, followed by a period of decline reaching a low near 1.41% in early 2021. Subsequent quarters reflect a recovery and moderate growth, with values stabilizing around 2.8-2.9% in the most recent periods. This pattern suggests temporary pressures impacting profitability, but overall, the company managed to regain and maintain a consistent margin above 2% in recent quarters.

Asset Turnover

The asset turnover ratio exhibits stability with a generally positive trend. Beginning slightly above 2.2, the ratio shows incremental improvements over the time frame, reaching values around 2.5 to 2.6 in the latest quarters. This underlying upward movement indicates increasingly efficient use of assets in generating sales, reflecting operational efficiency improvements or asset base optimization over time.

Return on Assets (ROA)

ROA mirrors similar variability to the net profit margin but displays a more pronounced recovery trend. From initial figures in the low to mid-6% range, ROA peaked near 7.87% in early 2020, before a downturn to approximately 3.28% in early 2021. A marked recovery follows, with ROA climbing steadily back to stable levels around 7.1-7.5% in the later quarters. This trajectory underscores the company's ability to rebound profitability relative to its asset base after the temporary performance dip observed around 2021.

In summary, the company experienced a period of financial strain affecting net profit margins and return on assets around early 2021, potentially reflecting external or internal challenges during that time. However, the comeback in these metrics along with the steady increase in asset turnover suggests enhanced operational effectiveness and improvement in overall financial health in subsequent periods.

The analysis of the financial ratios over the indicated periods reveals several notable trends and fluctuations. The data beginning from early 2020 provides insights into profitability, efficiency, and burden measures affecting the overall financial health.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio exhibits moderate variability, starting around 0.75 in early 2020 and dipping to a low near 0.61 during early 2021. Thereafter, it shows a recovery trajectory with occasional fluctuations, ultimately reaching approximately 0.77 by April 2025. This trend indicates some volatility in the effective tax rate impacting net income over time, but generally trending upwards toward a higher retained income after tax.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio remains relatively stable throughout the periods, fluctuating narrowly between 0.86 and 0.92. This consistency suggests stable interest expenses relative to earnings before interest and taxes, reflecting reliable cost management of debt or minimal volatility in interest obligations over time.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin shows a dynamic pattern with a peak around 5.32% in January 2020, followed by a decline to near 2.47% in January 2022. Post this dip, there is a rebound with fluctuations observed, rising to a high around 4.33% in July 2023 before settling near 4.02% by April 2025. This indicates volatility in operating profitability, influenced possibly by changing operational costs or revenue pressures, with notable recovery phases.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover demonstrates a mild but steady upward trend from about 2.2 in early 2020 to approximately 2.59 by the latest periods in 2025. This gradual increase suggests improved efficiency in using assets to generate revenues, highlighting enhanced operational effectiveness over time.

Return on Assets (ROA)

ROA mirrors the trends observed in EBIT margin and asset turnover, starting at 6.29% in early 2020, increasing to a peak nearing 7.87% in January 2020, then dropping to a low around 3.28% in early 2021. Subsequently, it recovers, displaying some fluctuations but generally trending upward to approximately 7.17% by April 2025. This indicates an initial impact on profitability, likely due to external factors, followed by a sustained recovery in overall asset profitability.

In summary, the financial ratios indicate that despite initial challenges reflected in declining profitability measures such as EBIT margin and ROA during 2021, there is evidence of operational improvement and profitability recovery in the subsequent periods. Stable interest burden ratios and increasing asset turnover suggest effective asset utilization and controlled financing costs supporting a return to stronger profitability by 2025. The fluctuations in tax burden also imply variability in tax impacts but do not detract significantly from the overall positive trend in returns.

The analysis of the quarterly financial ratios reveals distinct trends in the company's profitability and burden metrics over the examined periods.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio shows a pattern of relative stability with minor fluctuations. Starting around 0.75 in early 2020, the ratio decreases gradually to approximately 0.61 by early 2021, indicating a temporary reduction in tax obligations relative to pre-tax earnings. Thereafter, the ratio recovers and fluctuates around the mid-0.7 range through 2023 and into 2025, showing a tendency towards an increased tax burden in recent quarters.

Interest Burden

The interest burden remains consistently high throughout the entire period, generally fluctuating between 0.86 and 0.92. This suggests that interest expenses consume a relatively stable portion of earnings before interest and taxes, with no substantial increasing or decreasing trend. The slight variations within this narrow range indicate stable debt servicing costs.

EBIT Margin (%)

The EBIT margin demonstrates variability with notable peaks and troughs. Initial margins in 2020 started between 4.25% and 5.32%, then experienced a decline reaching a low near 2.47% in early 2022. Subsequently, the EBIT margin recovers with some oscillations, achieving values around 4% in late 2023 and early 2024. Despite the volatility, there is evidence of resilience with margins rebounding after declines.

Net Profit Margin (%)

Net profit margin trends follow a somewhat similar trajectory to EBIT margin but exhibit lower absolute values, ranging mostly between roughly 1.4% and 3.6%. The margin shows a decrease from 3.62% in early 2020 to near 1.41% in early 2021, reflecting profit compression. Following this low point, there is a recovery period with margins generally improving and stabilizing around the 2.4% to 2.9% range from 2022 through 2025. This suggests improved net profitability over time after initial pressures.

Overall, the financial data points to an initial period of margin compression around 2021, likely related to external economic factors or operational challenges, followed by gradual recovery in profitability metrics. The stability in interest burden indicates controlled financing costs, while tax burden variations suggest changing effective tax rates across quarters. Net profit margins, while lower than EBIT margins, show a positive trend towards recovery in recent quarters.