Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Debt to Equity

The debt to equity ratio exhibits a generally declining trend from April 2019 (0.85) to January 2021 (0.60), indicating a reduction in reliance on debt relative to equity. After a slight increase through 2022 reaching 0.71 in October, the ratio declines again toward early 2025, settling around 0.56 by July 2025. This pattern suggests an overall moderate deleveraging with some fluctuations.

Debt to Equity (Including Operating Lease Liability)

Including operating lease liabilities, the debt to equity ratio follows a similar pattern but at higher levels, starting at 1.11 in April 2019 and decreasing to 0.78 by January 2021. There is a subsequent increase peaking near 0.90 in October 2022 before a general downward move to approximately 0.72 in July 2025, reflecting a conservative approach to combined indebtedness and lease obligations.

Debt to Capital

This ratio declines gradually from 0.46 in April 2019 to around 0.38 in January 2021, indicating a shift towards lower debt in the capital structure. A slight rise occurs through 2022 to 0.42 before decreasing steadily to 0.36 by mid-2025, confirming prudent capital management with moderate use of debt financing.

Debt to Capital (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The inclusion of operating lease liabilities results in higher ratios, starting at 0.53 and declining to 0.44 by early 2021. Ratios then increase to nearly 0.48 in late 2022, subsequently trending downward to 0.42 in mid-2025. This indicates consistent management of combined debt and lease obligations within the capital base.

Debt to Assets

The debt to assets ratio shows a steady decrease from 0.25 in April 2019 to 0.19 in January 2021, suggesting improving asset financing through equity or retained earnings. Some fluctuation occurs thereafter, with the ratio remaining in the 0.18 to 0.21 range through mid-2025, reflecting stable asset leverage levels.

Debt to Assets (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The ratio including leases starts at 0.32 and decreases to 0.25 by January 2021, rising slightly to 0.27 in October 2023 before settling near 0.24 by mid-2025. This indicates careful incorporation of lease liabilities into assessments of asset leverage.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage ratios decline from 3.44 in April 2019 to around 2.94 by January 2022, showing a reduction in total assets relative to equity, signaling capital strengthening. An upward movement to 3.43 occurs by October 2022, followed by a decline to near 3.01 in July 2025. This depicts fluctuating but generally controlled leverage over the period.

Interest Coverage

Interest coverage ratios start reported in January 2020 at 8.74 and show gradual improvement, peaking at 11.98 in October 2020, implying strong ability to cover interest expenses with operating income. The ratio experiences some variability afterward but remains robust, generally staying above 8.5, and reaching 11.35 by January 2025. This reflects sustained strong earnings relative to interest obligations.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals several notable trends in the capital structure over the periods presented.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibits a fluctuating pattern with intermittent increases and decreases across the quarters. Initially, from April 2019 to January 2020, debt levels declined moderately from approximately $57.9 billion to $54.5 billion. A significant reduction is noticeable from July 2019 through January 2021, where total debt dropped from about $56.8 billion to $48.9 billion. Following this period, debt levels showed variability with some quarters experiencing increases, such as the rise in April 2022 to $52.1 billion, and subsequent declines. Notably, toward the end of the period, debt values demonstrate volatility but tend to remain within a range between $45.7 billion and $55.4 billion, indicating active management of liabilities without a consistent upward or downward trajectory.

Total Walmart Shareholders’ Equity

Shareholders’ equity generally trends upward over the analyzed periods. Starting at approximately $68.2 billion in April 2019, equity increased steadily reaching around $83.3 billion by January 2022. After a slight dip and fluctuations between April 2022 and January 2023, equity levels rebounded strongly, hitting a peak near $91.0 billion by January 2025. This upward trend suggests growth in retained earnings and/or capital increases, reflecting strengthening equity base supporting the company’s capital structure.

Debt to Equity Ratio

The debt to equity ratio mirrors the interaction between the two preceding variables and indicates the company’s leverage position. Starting at 0.85 in April 2019, the ratio generally declined, reaching a low of approximately 0.50 in January 2025. This decline suggests a reduction in leverage, with equity growing faster than debt or debt being actively reduced. Notably, fluctuations occur throughout, with some temporary increases such as the rise to 0.85 in April 2020. However, the overarching trend is a decreasing debt-to-equity ratio, implying a move towards a more conservative financial structure with decreased reliance on debt financing.

Overall, the financial data indicates a pattern of prudent debt management combined with steady growth in equity, resulting in reduced leverage over the multi-year period. This reflects a strengthening balance sheet position that could enhance financial stability and creditworthiness.

Total Debt (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The total debt exhibited a general downward trend from April 2019 through January 2022, declining from approximately 75.4 billion USD to around 57.3 billion USD. After this period, an upward movement is observed, with debt levels increasing to nearly 67 billion USD by April 2022. Subsequently, total debt fluctuated moderately, mostly staying within the 58 to 70 billion USD range through the first quarter of 2024. Towards the later quarters covered, the debt level remained relatively stable between 60 and 67 billion USD, indicating a cautious approach to leverage with some periodic increases.

Total Walmart Shareholders’ Equity

Shareholders’ equity showed a progressive growth trend over the entire timeframe, starting at approximately 68.2 billion USD in April 2019 and generally increasing, with only occasional minor declines. By January 2025, equity reached over 90 billion USD. The rising trajectory demonstrates a strengthening of the company’s capital base, reflecting accumulated earnings and possibly other equity-augmenting activities. The equity expanded even during periods when debt was reduced, indicating an overall improvement in the firm’s net worth.

Debt to Equity Ratio (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The debt to equity ratio reveals a pattern of gradual reduction from above 1.1 in early 2019 to a low point around 0.66 by January 2025. This decline points to a deleveraging trend, as the company decreased its relative debt load compared to equity. The ratio dipped below 1.0 initially in early 2020 and mostly stayed under 0.9 thereafter, showing a sustained effort to maintain moderate leverage and potentially lower financial risk exposure. There are intermittent rises in the ratio but these are generally followed by subsequent decreases, maintaining the overall downward trend.

Summary of Financial Leverage and Capital Structure Trends

Overall, the data indicates a company moving towards a more conservative capital structure by reducing relative debt levels while simultaneously increasing shareholders’ equity. The significant drop in the debt to equity ratio supports the assessment of improved financial stability. The equity growth alongside controlled debt fluctuations suggests effective balance sheet management and a strategic approach aimed at strengthening financial flexibility over the observed periods.

Total Debt

The total debt levels exhibit a fluctuating but overall declining trend from April 2019 through January 2025. The debt decreased notably from approximately 58 billion USD in early 2019 to a low near 43 billion USD by late 2021. Following this, there is a period of moderate volatility with debt rising again up to about 55 billion USD in late 2023, before settling in the range of 45 to 53 billion USD through early 2025. This indicates intermittent periods of debt reduction punctuated by subsequent increases, but the general long-term movement suggests an effort to manage and reduce leverage relative to earlier years.

Total Capital

Total capital remains relatively stable throughout the period but shows some variation in different quarters. Beginning at roughly 126 billion USD in April 2019, capital rises gradually and reaches above 140 billion USD by early 2025. This steady increase reflects a growth in the company’s capital base, potentially driven by retained earnings, equity infusions, or other capital accumulations, contributing to a stronger financial foundation over the years.

Debt to Capital Ratio

The debt to capital ratio demonstrates a clear downward trajectory from 0.46 in April 2019 to around 0.33 by January 2025, with intermittent fluctuations along the timeline. This decline indicates a reduction in the proportion of debt financing relative to total capital. Notably, there is a dip in the ratio to as low as 0.33 in early 2025, highlighting improved leverage management. Periods of slight increases in the ratio, such as those observed in mid-2022 and late 2023, suggest tactical adjustments possibly in response to market or business conditions, but the overall trend points toward deleveraging and enhanced financial stability.

Total Debt (including operating lease liability)

The total debt exhibits a fluctuating pattern over the observed periods. Initially, it ranged around 75,000 million USD, with a slight decline noted by January 2021, reaching approximately 57,000 million USD. Subsequently, the amount rose again to nearly 67,000 million USD by April 2022, followed by another decline around early 2023 to just below 59,000 million USD. After this, there was a general upward trend escalating close to 70,000 million USD in late 2023, then a decrease and stabilization around 61,000 to 67,000 million USD in the latest periods through mid-2025. Overall, total debt shows periodic increases and decreases without a consistent directional trend across the entire timeframe.

Total Capital (including operating lease liability)

Total capital remained relatively stable, fluctuating in a narrow band between approximately 135,000 million and 155,000 million USD. Early periods showed figures around 143,000 to 147,000 million USD and dipped modestly to around 135,000 million USD in early 2023. However, a recovery trend followed, with capital rising to surpass 150,000 million USD in the most recent periods. This suggests a general stability with a mild upward progression towards the end of the examined timeframe.

Debt to Capital Ratio (including operating lease liability)

The debt to capital ratio has consistently ranged between 0.40 and 0.53, indicating moderate leverage levels throughout the periods. The ratio began higher, near 0.53 in early 2019 and declined gradually to approximately 0.41 by early 2022. This decline signals a reduction in leverage during that interval. From early 2022 onward, some volatility is observed with the ratio oscillating between 0.40 and 0.47, ultimately trending slightly downward toward 0.42 by mid-2025. These fluctuations reflect changing capital structure dynamics, balancing between debt and equity components, but generally maintaining moderate credit leverage.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibits a fluctuating pattern over the observed periods. Initially, it ranges around the mid-50,000 million USD mark between early 2019 and early 2020. A noticeable decline occurs between mid-2020 and early 2021, with total debt decreasing from approximately 52,000 million USD to under 43,000 million USD. This downward trend suggests a reduction in leverage during this interval. However, starting in mid-2021, total debt begins to rise again, reaching peaks near 55,000 million USD by late 2023. The most recent periods show some volatility but overall a slight downward correction by early 2025.

Total Assets

Total assets demonstrate a generally increasing trend with some minor fluctuations. From approximately 234,500 million USD in early 2019, assets increase steadily, crossing 250,000 million USD in early 2021 and culminating near 270,800 million USD in early 2025. Despite intermittent slight decreases in a few quarters, the data indicates overall growth in asset base during the five-year period. This expansion may reflect investment in growth initiatives or asset acquisitions.

Debt to Assets Ratio

The debt-to-assets ratio mostly declines from 0.25 in early 2019 to a low of approximately 0.17 in early 2022, indicating improved solvency or deleveraging over this phase. Following this trough, the ratio experiences a moderate increase, fluctuating around 0.18 to 0.21 through late 2024, and settling near 0.19 by early 2025. The ratio adjustments are consistent with the observed swings in both total debt and assets, reflecting efforts to balance leverage while maintaining asset growth.

Summary Insights

The company has managed to reduce its relative debt burden until early 2022, coinciding with a growing asset base, suggesting a conservative financial management approach during that timeframe. Post-2022, the rise in total debt alongside continued asset growth has stabilized the debt-to-assets ratio at a moderate level, implying a strategic acceptance of higher leverage possibly to support expansion or operational needs. The data portrays an overall sound financial position, with assets consistently increasing faster than debt, maintaining manageable leverage ratios throughout the examined periods.

Total Debt (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The total debt level shows a fluctuating but generally declining trend over the observed periods. Beginning at approximately $75.4 billion in April 2019, debt decreases to around $63.2 billion by January 2021. A slight rise is then observed through the subsequent quarters, peaking near $69.7 billion in October 2023, followed by a downward adjustment to approximately $65.0 billion by July 2025. This indicates active management of debt potentially aligned with operational or strategic financing needs.

Total Assets

Total assets exhibit a mostly stable and gradually increasing trend. Starting from roughly $234.5 billion in April 2019, assets display moderate growth with some volatility, ultimately reaching about $270.8 billion by July 2025. This growth suggests asset expansion, possibly through investments, acquisitions, or capital improvements, supporting the company's operational capacity and growth initiatives.

Debt to Assets Ratio

The debt to assets ratio reveals a consistent pattern of gradual improvement, signifying a reduction in leverage relative to the asset base. Initially around 0.32 in April 2019, the ratio declines to approximately 0.23 by January 2022. While there are minor fluctuations afterward, the ratio remains relatively low, fluctuating in the 0.23 to 0.27 range through July 2025. This trend reflects a conservative capital structure with sustained efforts to manage debt relative to the company's asset value.

Summary of Financial Trends

Overall, the data indicate a company managing its debt prudently, reducing leverage over time while steadily growing its asset base. The fluctuations in total debt suggest responsive financial management to operational or market conditions. Concurrently, asset growth implies strategic investments or asset acquisitions underpinning business expansion. The stable and lower debt to assets ratio underscores financial stability and moderate risk-taking concerning debt levels.

Total assets

Total assets exhibit fluctuating patterns over the observed periods. Initially, assets remained relatively stable around the 234,000 US$ million mark from April 2019 to January 2020, followed by minor oscillations through 2020 to early 2021. A slight decline is noticed around April 2021, after which assets gradually grew to reach a peak near 259,000 US$ million by October 2023. Subsequently, total assets slightly receded but maintained a level above 260,000 US$ million towards mid-2025. Overall, this reflects moderate asset growth with periodic adjustments potentially due to operational or investment activities.

Total Walmart shareholders’ equity

Shareholders’ equity indicates more pronounced volatility in comparison to total assets. Equity values climbed steadily from 68,205 US$ million in April 2019 to a high above 83,000 US$ million by early 2022. However, a significant dip is observed around April 2022 through early 2023, bringing equity down to the low 72,000 US$ million range. Recovery trends follow, with equity rebounding toward more than 91,000 US$ million by early 2025. These fluctuations suggest possible impacts from retained earnings volatility, dividends, share repurchases, or other equity adjustments within the periods.

Financial leverage

The financial leverage ratio, defined as total assets divided by shareholders’ equity, generally trends downward over time, signifying a reduction in leverage. From a high of approximately 3.44 in April 2019, leverage decreases progressively to below 3.0 by January 2025, except for short-term upticks around 2022 and early 2023 where the ratio rises near 3.4. The overall decline in leverage suggests a gradual strengthening of the equity base relative to assets, potentially indicating a more conservative capital structure or improvement in balance sheet quality.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)

The EBIT values demonstrate notable volatility across the periods observed. Early data points show earnings fluctuating mostly between 4,500 million and 6,500 million US dollars from 2019 through early 2020. A significant peak is noted in mid-2020, where EBIT increased sharply to 9,304 million US dollars, followed by a decline and even a substantial negative value of -69 million US dollars in early 2021. Subsequent quarters reveal a recovery phase, with earnings rising to a high of 9,512 million US dollars in early 2023. After this peak, there is another fluctuation, including a negative outlier of -847 million in late 2022, followed by several quarters with elevated earnings peaking again at 11,369 million US dollars in mid-2023. The most recent data suggest continued strength in EBIT, with figures generally exceeding 6,000 million US dollars and reaching over 10,000 million in the latest quarter. The pattern indicates episodic earnings variability, likely reflecting external economic or operational factors.

Interest expense, debt and finance lease

Interest expenses have exhibited a relatively stable but slightly increasing trend over the time span. Beginning around 670 million US dollars in 2019, the expenses tend to oscillate moderately, ranging mostly between 450 million and 780 million US dollars. Periodic increases were seen in several recent quarters with values reaching close to 770 million US dollars, suggesting either incremental borrowing, changes in debt structure, or shifts in interest rates. Overall, the incremental rise over time is moderate, indicating controlled financial leverage despite fluctuations in earnings.

Interest coverage ratio

The interest coverage ratio data reveal insights into the company's ability to meet interest obligations from operating earnings. Starting at levels around 8.7 to 11 in early 2020, the ratio displays strong and generally stable values, rarely dropping below 7.3. This suggests consistent coverage capacity despite the underlying volatility in EBIT. The highest values, exceeding 11 in some quarters, correspond with periods of elevated EBIT, reinforcing the positive correlation between operating performance and interest servicing ability. Temporary dips in the ratio are aligned with quarters showing reduced EBIT, yet the coverage remains comfortably above critical thresholds throughout, indicating sound financial health related to interest payments.

Overall Trend and Insights

The overall financial indicators reveal a company experiencing cyclicality in core earnings, with intervals of notable profitability interspersed with quarters of reduced or negative EBIT. Despite this volatility, interest expense management appears sound, with only moderate growth in borrowing costs and consistent interest coverage ratios maintaining a robust safety margin. The fluctuations in EBIT suggest sensitivity to external operational conditions, while the stable interest coverage ratio indicates effective financial discipline in managing debt obligations. The latest periods show an uptick in earnings and sustained interest coverage, pointing toward resilience and potentially improved operational efficiency or market conditions.