Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Inventory Turnover

The inventory turnover ratio experienced fluctuations over the observed periods. Starting at 8.88 in April 2020, it peaked near 9.94 in October 2020 before declining to a low of 7.01 in April 2022. Subsequently, it showed signs of recovery, reaching approximately 9.07 in April 2025. This pattern indicates variability in how efficiently inventory was managed, with periods of both improved and decreased turnover speed.

Receivables Turnover

The receivables turnover ratio began at 82.74 in April 2020, peaked at over 105 during the middle of 2020, reflecting improved collection efficiency, then declined sharply to around 66.50 by April 2025. This decline suggests a gradual decrease in the frequency of collecting accounts receivable towards the later periods.

Payables Turnover

Payables turnover demonstrated moderate fluctuations, with values ranging from about 7.5 to 9.15. The initial increase to 9.15 in July 2020 indicated faster payments on accounts payable, but subsequent periods saw a return to levels around 8 to 8.9, implying relatively stable payment timing with some variability.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The average inventory processing period fluctuated between 37 and 52 days. It notably increased from about 41 days in April 2020 to peaks near 52 days in early and mid-2022, signaling slower inventory turnover in those periods. More recent quarters show a slight decrease back towards the low 40s, suggesting some improvements in inventory handling speed.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The receivable collection period remained stable, mostly at 4 to 5 days throughout the periods. This stability points to consistent efficiency in collecting receivables over time.

Operating Cycle

The operating cycle lengthened from 45 days in April 2020 to peaks around 54 to 57 days in 2021 and 2022, indicating a longer time to complete the cycle of purchasing inventory, selling goods, and collecting cash. The cycle shortened again to about 45 days by April 2025, reflecting improved overall operational efficiency in later periods.

Average Payables Payment Period

The average payables payment period was roughly stable, fluctuating between 40 and 49 days. Some increases were seen in the early 2021 periods, followed by reductions back to around 41-42 days in the most recent quarters, suggesting a slight trend toward quicker payments to suppliers toward the end of the data set.

Cash Conversion Cycle

The cash conversion cycle showed considerable variation, starting at 2 days in April 2020, moving into negative territory briefly, and then increasing steadily to 12 days by mid-2022. Afterward, it decreased gradually to around 3 to 5 days by April 2025. The fluctuations indicate variances in the efficiency of converting investments in inventory and other resources into cash, with some periods of longer cash tied up and subsequent improvements.

The data reveals several key trends in the company's cost of sales, inventories, and inventory turnover ratio over the observed periods.

Cost of Sales

The cost of sales exhibits a generally increasing trend over the span from April 2019 to April 2025. Beginning at approximately $93 billion in April 2019, the figure grows with some fluctuations, reaching peaks such as approximately $136 billion in January 2025. There are notable increases aligned with certain quarters, for example, sharp rises around January 2020 and January 2024, indicating possible seasonal or operational variations. Occasional decreases or slower growth periods can be observed, such as in mid-2022 and early 2023, but the overall pattern shows upward momentum.

Inventories

Inventories fluctuate notably across the periods but generally trend upwards from April 2019 through April 2025. Initial values start around $44.7 billion, wobbling with intermittent increases and declines. Noteworthy highs appear around October 2022 with inventories nearing $64.7 billion, and again towards the early months of 2024. A pattern of seasonal variation is apparent, with some quarters consistently showing higher inventory levels compared to others. The fluctuations suggest adjustments in stock levels possibly in response to sales cycles or supply chain considerations. Despite volatility, the long-term trend indicates incremental increases in inventory holdings over time.

Inventory Turnover Ratio

The inventory turnover ratio data, available from October 2019 onward, ranges mostly between 7.0 and 9.9. The ratio shows a moderate degree of variation, with peaks above 9.5 in mid-2020 and mid-2024, reflecting periods of faster inventory movement relative to cost of sales. Conversely, troughs approaching 7.0 occur sporadically, often following the peaks, signifying slower turnover rates. Over the observed periods, there is no definitive upward or downward trend; instead, the ratio oscillates, suggesting cyclical changes in inventory management efficiency or demand patterns. The ratio generally remains within a consistent band indicating stable operational performance in terms of inventory utilization.

In summary, the cost of sales and inventories both show a rising trend over the longer term with intermittent fluctuations, while the inventory turnover ratio remains relatively stable within a moderate range, reflecting consistent inventory management despite changes in sales and stock levels.

Net Sales

The net sales exhibit a generally upward trend over the analyzed periods, showing cyclical fluctuations typically associated with seasonal effects. From April 2019 to April 2025, sales increased from approximately $123 billion to around $164 billion. Notably, there are quarterly spikes in net sales in January periods, reflecting higher sales volumes at the start of the calendar year. There was a marked growth in net sales starting in early 2020, which continued with some variability through 2024 into early 2025. The fluctuations between quarters demonstrate consistent peak sales during January quarters and relatively lower sales in April quarters, although the overall trajectory is growth.

Receivables, Net

The net receivables figures show a steady increase over the entire timeframe from about $5.3 billion in April 2019 to close to $9.7 billion by April 2025. This increase reflects a rising volume of credit extended or accounts receivable balances correlating with the growth in net sales. There are noticeable increments in certain quarters, particularly in early 2022 and again in late 2024, suggesting periods where receivables rose more sharply compared to others. However, some quarters show slight decreases or stabilization, indicating short-term collection or management variations in receivables.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

The receivables turnover ratio, calculated for the periods from January 2020 onward, shows a downward trend from high values above 100 down to mid-60s by early 2025. The ratio started around 82.74 and increased to above 105 in mid to late 2020 but then consistently declined, indicating a lengthening collection period or slower turnover of receivables over time. Periods with turnover ratios below 70 in 2024 and early 2025 suggest a decrease in efficiency in collecting receivables, possibly due to extended credit terms or slower payments from customers.

Overall Insights

The data suggest a strong expansion in sales alongside growing receivables balances, with a somewhat deteriorating efficiency in converting receivables into cash as evidenced by the decreasing receivables turnover ratio. The seasonal sales patterns imply typical retail year-end demand peaks. The sustained increase in receivables might require attention to credit risk management, especially given the weakening turnover ratio. Continuous monitoring of collection processes and customer payment behaviors is advisable to maintain healthy working capital cycles in the context of growing sales volumes.

The cost of sales exhibits notable fluctuations over the periods analyzed, generally demonstrating an increasing trend with intermittent declines. From April 2019 to January 2020, the figure rose from approximately 93 billion US dollars to over 107 billion US dollars, indicating expansion. Following this peak, some reductions are observed around April and July 2020, possibly reflecting market adjustments or operational changes. Subsequent quarters reveal a pattern of rises and falls, but with an overall upward trajectory reaching a maximum exceeding 136 billion US dollars by January 2025, suggesting growth in sales volume or pricing over the long term.

Accounts payable also show variability across the periods but maintain a range that correlates somewhat with the cost of sales. Initially, payable amounts increased modestly from 45 billion US dollars in April 2019 to peaks above 54 billion US dollars by early 2020. Afterward, the values oscillate within similar boundaries, with highest levels recorded again around October 2024. This behavior could imply consistent supplier credit management practices, balancing trade credit usage alongside procurement demands.

The payables turnover ratio, available from October 2019 onward, fluctuates between roughly 7.5 and 9.2 times per year. This ratio reflects the frequency with which the company settles its accounts payable. The variation suggests a moderately stable turnover pace without significant deviations, typically ranging near 8 to 8.7 times. Such steadiness may indicate effective control over payment cycles, aligning with operational cash flow management despite the observed volatility in payables and cost of sales.

In summary, the financial indicators reflect a company experiencing growth in sales volume or expenditures over the analyzed periods, with a proportionate increase in trade payables. The accounts payable turnover maintains a relatively stable pattern, suggesting consistent payment behavior amidst the dynamic environment. These patterns highlight operational resilience and sustained activity expansion within the examined timeframe.

The quarterly financial data reveals notable trends concerning working capital, net sales, and working capital turnover for the analyzed periods.

Working Capital

Working capital values are consistently negative across all reported quarters, indicating that current liabilities exceed current assets throughout the timeframe. The magnitude of negative working capital shows fluctuations with some periods of notable improvement, such as in January 2021 (-2,578 million US$) and April 2021 (-4,250 million US$), compared to earlier years where the deficit was larger, for example, April 2019 (-18,149 million US$) and July 2019 (-18,912 million US$).

However, after a temporary reduction in working capital deficit in early 2021, the negative working capital generally deepens again in subsequent periods, reaching values such as -16,994 million US$ in April 2023 and again broader negative values toward the end of the series like -22,667 million US$ in April 2025. This pattern suggests ongoing challenges in managing the balance between current assets and liabilities.

Net Sales

Net sales exhibit an overall upward trend over the entire period. Starting from approximately 123 billion US$ in April 2019, sales gradually increase with minor fluctuations, peaking around 179 billion US$ in January 2025. This growth reflects increasing revenue generation capacity over time.

Seasonal effects appear to be present, with certain quarters showing consistent higher sales figures, such as Q4 and Q1 periods, indicating possible cyclical demand patterns aligned with retail seasonality. Despite some quarters showing slight declines compared to immediate predecessors, the general trajectory remains positive.

Working Capital Turnover

The dataset does not provide explicit values for working capital turnover ratio; hence, direct analysis is not feasible. Nevertheless, given that working capital remains negative, conventional turnover calculation may be limited or subject to interpretational caution, as negative working capital can distort this ratio.

Overall Insights

The persistence of negative working capital over the time frame suggests a strategic or operational reliance on short-term liabilities exceeding short-term assets, potentially reflecting efficient management of payables or inventory turnover, or a characteristic of the business model.

In parallel, the steady growth in net sales implies that the company successfully increases its market engagement or expands its sales volume, contributing to revenue growth despite fluctuating working capital figures.

The combination of these factors suggests that while liquidity management (as reflected by working capital) poses challenges, operational performance measured through sales growth remains robust.

The inventory turnover ratio and the average inventory processing period demonstrate notable fluctuations over the analyzed periods. The inventory turnover, measured as a ratio, shows a general variability with values ranging from a low of 7.01 up to a high of 9.94. This indicates inconsistent efficiency in managing inventory relative to sales over time.

Specifically, during the early periods starting from April 30, 2020, inventory turnover peaked at 9.94 in October 31, 2020, followed by a decline reaching around 7.01 in October 31, 2022. After this lower point, the ratio shows a rising trend toward 9.07 by April 30, 2025, which suggests improvement in inventory management efficiency near the end of the periods analyzed.

Conversely, the average inventory processing period, expressed in days, inversely correlates with the turnover ratio, as expected. The processing days decrease when turnover is high, suggesting quicker inventory movement. The average days range from a low of 37 days in July 31, 2019, and October 31, 2019, up to a peak of 52 days in both April 30, 2022, and January 31, 2023. This indicates a slowdown in inventory processing during those periods.

Throughout the timeline, there are visible periods of inventory slowing down—evidenced by increased processing days and decreased turnover—most notably in late 2021 and early-to-mid 2022. More recently, the processing period has shortened again, to as low as 40 days by October 31, 2024, contributing to better turnover ratios around the same timeframe.

Overall, the data suggests periods of both tightening and loosening inventory controls. Despite some volatility, the latter periods indicate an improving trend in inventory efficiency, with the company managing to reduce the average days inventory is held and simultaneously increasing turnover ratios. This could reflect adjustments in supply chain management or sales strategies to optimize inventory levels in response to market conditions.

The receivables turnover ratio exhibits notable fluctuations over the analyzed period, with values initially missing but becoming available beginning in April 2020. At that time, the ratio was approximately 82.74, followed by a significant increase to a peak of 105.52 in July 2020 and maintaining a similar high of 105.28 in October 2020. This indicates an improvement in the efficiency of receivables collection during these quarters. However, from January 2021 onward, there is a general declining trend in the ratio, dropping to around 77.18 by January 2022 and further to a low of 66.5 by January 2025. This trend suggests a gradual decrease in the turnover rate of receivables, implying that the company may be taking longer to collect its outstanding receivables or facing increased credit sales without a proportional increase in collections.

In contrast, the average receivable collection period remains relatively stable throughout the same period once the data becomes available. It fluctuates slightly between 3 and 5 days, starting at 4 days in April 2020 and oscillating minimally around 5 days from October 2020 through April 2025. This consistency in the collection period, despite the declining trend in receivables turnover, suggests that the overall credit policy and collection efficiency in terms of days taken have remained fairly constant.

These two metrics together indicate that while the number of times receivables are turned over annually has declined, the average days to collect receivables have not materially increased. This could imply changes in the mix or volume of receivables or variations in sales timing rather than fundamental shifts in collection efficiency.

Inventory Processing Period

The average inventory processing period experienced fluctuations over the reported quarters. Starting at 41 days in April 2020, it declined to 37 days by July and October 2020, before increasing to a peak of 52 days in July 2022 and January 2023. Subsequently, the period trended slightly downward but remained elevated compared to the earlier periods, ending around 40-46 days in the most recent quarters. This indicates variability in inventory turnover efficiency, with a general trend of longer processing times in recent years compared to the mid-2020 levels.

Receivable Collection Period

The average receivable collection period remained relatively stable throughout the timeframe, fluctuating narrowly between 3 and 5 days. There is no significant upward or downward trend observable, suggesting consistent efficiency in receivables management and collection processes over the periods reviewed.

Operating Cycle

The operating cycle mirrored changes in the inventory processing period, starting at 45 days in April 2020, dropping to 40 days in mid-2020, then rising to a peak of 57 days in July 2022 and January 2023. The operating cycle showed a tendency to lengthen during the middle of the analyzed period and then modestly decrease, settling around 45-51 days in the later quarters. This pattern reflects the impact of changes in inventory turnover on the overall operating efficiency of the company.

The payables turnover ratio exhibits fluctuations over the observed periods, with values ranging from a low of 7.5 to a high of 9.15. An initial increase is observed from 8.4 to 9.15, suggesting an improvement in the frequency of settling payables early on. This is followed by a gradual decline to a trough around 7.5, indicating slower turnover. Subsequently, the ratio oscillates within a moderate band mostly between 7.5 and 8.9, implying some variability in the company's efficiency in managing payables without a clear long-term upward or downward trend.

Correspondingly, the average payables payment period, measured in days, inversely reflects these changes. Starting near 43 days, it decreases to a low of 40 days, reflecting quicker payments. Then, a gradual increase occurs, peaking at 49 days, signifying slower payment cycles. In the later periods, it mostly remains between 41 and 46 days, indicating a relatively stable payment timeframe with minor fluctuations.

Overall, the data suggests that the company experienced periods of both accelerated and decelerated payables payment practices, with no sustained directional trends over the majority of the observed timeline. The inverse relationship between the payables turnover ratio and the payment period is consistent throughout, highlighting typical trade cycles in working capital management.

Payables Turnover Ratio

Ranges between 7.5 and 9.15, showing variability in how often payables are settled annually.

Initial improvement followed by periods of decline and stabilization within a moderate range.

Average Payables Payment Period (days)

Varies between 40 and 49 days, indicating shifting timing in payment disbursements.

Periods of faster payments correspond with higher turnover ratios, and vice versa.

Relationship between the Two Metrics

An inverse correlation is apparent, with shorter payment periods associated with higher turnover ratios.

The stability in recent periods suggests relatively consistent management of payables cycles.

The analysis of the quarterly financial metrics reveals several noteworthy trends in the company's operational efficiency over the observed periods.

Average Inventory Processing Period

This metric demonstrates fluctuations with notable increases and decreases throughout the timeline. Initially, values are missing but start at 41 days, then decrease slightly to 37 days before rising to peak values of 52 days around early 2022. Subsequently, there is a general downward trend, with periods mostly oscillating between 40 and 48 days, indicating variability in inventory turnover rates without a consistent long-term improvement or deterioration.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The receivable collection period remains stable over the entire span, fluctuating marginally between 3 and 5 days. This consistency suggests effective management of receivables and a stable credit policy, where the company maintains tight control over the collection of payments from customers.

Average Payables Payment Period

The payables payment period also shows some variation but remains in a relatively narrow range, typically between 40 and 49 days. The values indicate the company takes approximately 6 to 7 weeks on average to pay its suppliers, with occasional minor increases and decreases. The stability in this metric suggests consistent supplier payment practices over the quarters.

Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC)

The cash conversion cycle exhibits more variability than the other periods, starting from a low or missing value and then moving through negative to positive territory. For example, it is recorded as -1 day at one point, indicating that the company effectively receives cash from operations faster than it pays its suppliers and manages inventory. However, over time, the CCC increases to as much as 12 days, before trending downward again to approximately 3 to 6 days in recent periods. The fluctuations highlight shifts in operational cash flow efficiency, but the relatively low CCC throughout suggests generally efficient working capital management.

Overall, the financial data indicates stable management of receivables and payables with moderate variability in inventory processing time. The cash conversion cycle remains low, reflecting effective coordination among inventory, receivables, and payables. However, the periods of increase in inventory processing and CCC may warrant further monitoring to identify potential causes and maintain operational efficiency.