Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS)

The analysis of the financial ratios over the examined periods reveals several notable trends and fluctuations in operational efficiency metrics.

Inventory Turnover

The inventory turnover ratio, available from the period ending December 29, 2018, shows an initial increase from approximately 25.48 to a peak of 35.63 by the period ending January 1, 2022. After this peak, a gradual decline ensues, with the ratio reducing to around 29.59 by March 29, 2025. This suggests that the company's efficiency in managing inventory improved significantly until early 2022 but slightly regressed thereafter, though still maintaining relatively high turnover levels compared to the start of the examined timeframe.

Receivables Turnover

The receivables turnover ratio exhibits an overall upward trend over the periods, beginning at about 4.49 and increasing to roughly 7.48 by March 29, 2025. Periodic fluctuations are noted, but the progression indicates an improving ability to collect receivables more efficiently, with shorter collection times reflected in the ratio's growth.

Working Capital Turnover

The working capital turnover presents irregular data with significant volatility. Starting with moderate values around 6.7 to 9.7 in earlier periods, it escalates sharply to extreme figures such as 26.13, 41.96, and an exceptionally high 3308.88. These extreme values suggest one or more exceptional events or accounting adjustments influencing working capital or sales during those periods. Following this peak, figures stabilize back to lower levels, though still elevated compared to initial periods. Some missing data points impede a continuous analysis.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The average processing period for inventory shows relative stability, with days consistently around 11 to 14. There is a slight reduction from 14 days initially to approximately 10–11 days in the middle periods, indicating improved inventory clearance times. Towards the later periods, it reflects a mild increase back to 12–13 days, suggesting somewhat slower inventory turnover in more recent quarters.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The average collection period for receivables ranges widely, starting near 81 days and fluctuating between lows of approximately 49 days and highs above 80 days. The general direction since early 2022 is towards shorter collection periods, indicating enhanced efficiency in receivable management, consistent with the observed increase in receivables turnover.

Operating Cycle

The operating cycle, representing the total time from inventory acquisition through receivables collection, also demonstrates a declining trend. It begins around 95 days and decreases to near 61 days by the most recent period, reflecting an overall improvement in operational efficiency. This reduction aligns with the trends in both inventory processing and receivables collection periods.

In summary, the company shows improvements in turnover ratios and shortened operating cycles over time, indicating enhanced operational efficiency. Inventory management and receivables collection have become more effective, although some volatility is present, particularly in working capital turnover due to extreme values that could result from exceptional items or data irregularities. Continuous monitoring is advised to understand underlying causes of these significant fluctuations.

The quarterly financial data reveals several notable trends in cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), inventories, and inventory turnover ratios over the observed periods.

Cost of Revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)

The cost of revenues fluctuated significantly across quarters, with values ranging from a low of approximately 7.9 billion US dollars in June 2020 to a high of about 16.4 billion US dollars in December 2022. A notable decline occurred in mid-2020, likely influenced by external factors affecting business operations, with costs dropping to their lowest in June 2020. Following this trough, there was a gradual recovery and upward trend, reaching a peak towards the end of 2022. However, towards the end of the most recent periods, costs showed some variability but remained within a band close to the higher values observed post-2020 recovery phase.

Inventories

Inventories exhibited a general upward trend over the period analyzed. Starting around 1.36 billion US dollars at the end of 2018, inventory levels increased steadily, reaching a peak near 2.02 billion US dollars in March 2025. Minor fluctuations occurred between quarters, but the overall pattern suggests consistent growth in inventory holdings, possibly reflecting expansion in operations or stockpiling in anticipation of increased demand.

Inventory Turnover

The inventory turnover ratio appeared only from late 2019 onward and maintained a strong level throughout the reported quarters. The ratio peaked at approximately 35.6 times in July 2022, indicating efficient inventory management during that period. Following the peak, a slight declining trend was observed, settling around values close to 29 times by early 2025. Despite the moderate decrease towards the end, the turnover ratio consistently remained high, which may indicate sustained operational efficiency and turnover speed of inventory even amidst fluctuating cost of revenues and increasing inventory levels.

In summary, the data highlights a recovery and growth phase in cost structures after mid-2020, coupled with steadily increasing inventory values. The inventory turnover ratios demonstrate maintained efficiency, with some attenuation in recent periods but remaining at relatively high levels. These patterns suggest improvements in managing inventory relative to sales or usage, alongside recovering cost pressures following a period of contraction or disruption in early 2020.

Revenue Trends

The revenue figures exhibit significant variability over the analyzed periods. Initial revenues fluctuated around the 15,000 to 20,000 million USD range from late 2018 through 2019, with a peak of 20,877 million USD at the end of 2019. The onset of 2020 shows a marked decline, with revenues dropping to 18,025 million USD in March and further to 11,779 million USD mid-year, likely reflecting external economic pressures. Subsequently, revenues gradually recover over the following quarters, culminating in a peak of 23,512 million USD at the end of 2022. From 2023 onwards, revenues continue to display an overall upward trend with fluctuations, reaching 23,690 million USD by March 2025. This pattern suggests a cyclical revenue behavior with a downturn in early 2020, followed by a progressive recovery and growth phase.

Net Receivables Analysis

Net receivables demonstrate substantial dynamics throughout the period. Starting at 10,123 million USD in late 2018, net receivables rose sharply into 2019, reaching a peak of 17,100 million USD by the end of that year. The 2020 period shows a decreasing trajectory from 14,532 million USD in March down to roughly 12,622 million USD by mid-year, paralleling the revenue decline during the same timeframe. Variable fluctuations continue post-2020, with figures stabilizing between 12,000 to 14,000 million USD. Notably, there is no consistent upward or downward trend in net receivables after the mid-2020 trough, indicating possibly stabilized credit extension and collections management during the recovery phase.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

The receivables turnover ratio, absent for early periods, is available starting mid-2019. It initially oscillates around mid-4 to low-5 range, indicating a moderate collection speed. An increasing trend is evident from 2021 onwards, with the ratio rising from approximately 4.9 to peaks above 7 by 2024. High turnover ratios suggest improved efficiency in receivables collection, reflecting an acceleration in converting receivables into cash. The trend also corresponds inversely with net receivables; as turnover increases, net receivables stabilize or decline, aligning with improved liquidity management.

Overall Insights

The data reveals cyclical revenue performance punctuated by a substantial downturn in early 2020, followed by robust recovery and growth. Net receivables mirror this pattern but stabilize post-2020, while the receivables turnover ratio improvements highlight enhanced collection efficiency. Together, these trends suggest that the company experienced significant external challenges mid-period but adapted through improved credit control and revenue generation, resulting in stronger financial health indicators by 2024 and early 2025.

Working Capital

The working capital figures exhibit significant volatility over the analyzed periods. Initially, the company faced a pronounced negative working capital that deepened further between early 2019 and mid-2019, reaching a low point in that timeframe. However, from mid-2020 onwards, there is a notable recovery, with working capital moving into positive territory around June 2020. Subsequently, fluctuations continue, but the working capital remains relatively moderate, hovering near zero with some periods of slight positive or negative values. The trend towards the later dates indicates an inclination towards negative working capital again, though not as severe as in earlier years.

Revenues

Revenues display a pattern of growth over the examined quarters with intermittent declines. Starting around 15 billion, revenue generally trends upward, reaching peaks exceeding 23 billion by the end of the period. Despite some dips, such as seen in the early months of 2020, likely related to external disruptive events, the overall direction is positive, reflecting recovery and expansion post-challenges. The increases are consistent with seasonal variations but show an upward trajectory quarter over quarter.

Working Capital Turnover

The working capital turnover ratio data begins from October 2020, showing a gradual increase from 6.7 to a peak of 3308.88 at the end of 2022. This extraordinary figure likely indicates an anomaly or an effect from division by very small or near-zero working capital values. After this peak, the ratio again decreases but remains significantly elevated relative to initial values, suggesting an improvement in how effectively working capital is used to generate revenues. The absence of data in certain periods and extremely high figures suggest caution in interpreting these ratios in isolation.

Overall Insights

The financial indicators collectively suggest that the company experienced operational and liquidity challenges in early periods with a severe working capital deficit. Thereafter, operational performance, as evidenced by rising revenues and improving working capital turnover, appears to have strengthened considerably. The irregularities and extremes in working capital turnover reflect sensitivity to working capital fluctuations, indicating that management may be leveraging working capital more aggressively or facing timing differences in current assets and liabilities. The gradual revenue increase coupled with stabilization in working capital points towards recovering operational efficiency and financial health.

Inventory Turnover

The inventory turnover ratio demonstrates an overall fluctuating trend with a general upward movement observed from late 2018 through early 2022, reaching peaks above 35 in mid-2021 and early 2022. Following this peak, the ratio shows a gradual decline, stabilizing around values near 29 to 31 from late 2022 through early 2025. The fluctuations within this period suggest variability in the efficiency with which the company manages inventory, with the highest turnover ratios indicating periods of more rapid inventory movement and possibly stronger sales or improved inventory management during those times.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The average inventory processing period reflects an inverse relationship with inventory turnover, as expected, given it measures the number of days inventory remains before being sold. Initially, the processing period decreases from 14 days to a minimum of 10 days in late 2021 and early 2022, corresponding with the period of highest inventory turnover. After this period, the processing time gradually increases and stabilizes around 12 to 13 days through early 2025. This suggests a lengthening in the time inventory remains on hand, consistent with the observed stabilization and slight decline in inventory turnover toward the latest periods.

Overall Interpretation

Together, the data indicate that between 2019 and early 2022, inventory management efficiency improved, evidenced by increased turnover and reduced processing periods. However, beyond this period, these indicators suggest a normalization or slight decrease in inventory management efficiency. The longer processing periods and lower turnover ratios in more recent quarters may reflect changes in sales velocity, inventory levels, or operational adjustments in response to market conditions.

The receivables turnover ratio demonstrates an overall upward trend beginning from the first available data point, with some fluctuations. Initially, the ratio was recorded at 4.49 and 4.39, then it improved to 5.38 and 5.53, indicating an enhanced efficiency in receivables management. Following a minor decrease in the early 2020s, the ratio rose steadily, peaking at 7.48 in the most recent quarter. This increasing ratio signifies a faster conversion of receivables into cash over time.

Conversely, the average receivable collection period shows a generally declining pattern, which is coherent with the rising turnover. Starting with a duration of 81 and 83 days, it decreased notably to around 56 days by late 2022. Some slight fluctuations are observed, with days occasionally increasing modestly before continuing the downward trajectory. The latest available figure reflects an average collection period of 49 days, denoting improved efficiency in collecting receivables.

The inverse relationship between these two metrics is evident, supporting the conclusion that the company has progressively improved its credit and collections process. This improvement reduces the capital tied up in receivables, which is beneficial for liquidity.

Receivables Turnover Ratio

Shows a significant upward trend from approximately 4.4 to over 7.4, indicating increased effectiveness in managing and collecting receivables.

Average Receivable Collection Period

Displays a decreasing trend from around 81 days down to about 49 days, reflecting faster collection times and improved cash flow management.

Overall Trend Analysis

The data suggests a strengthening in receivables management practices, resulting in quicker collections and higher turnover ratios. Temporary minor variability does not detract from the overarching positive trend.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals notable trends in the average inventory processing period, average receivable collection period, and the overall operating cycle over the recorded time span.

Average Inventory Processing Period

The average inventory processing period exhibited a generally stable pattern with minor fluctuations. Starting from a reported 14 days, it decreased to 11 days by mid-2020. Subsequently, it mostly ranged between 10 and 13 days through to early 2025. This indicates relatively consistent efficiency in inventory management over the periods under review, with no significant disruptions or improvements beyond minor variances.

Average Receivable Collection Period

The average receivable collection period showed more variability throughout the quarters. Initially recorded at 81 days, this period experienced a decrease to a low of 49 days by mid-2024, indicating an improvement in the speed of receivables collection. Some intermediate fluctuations were observed, with occasional increases such as 84 days in early 2021. The overall trend suggests a positive development towards more efficient collection of receivables over time, enhancing liquidity management.

Operating Cycle

The operating cycle mirrored the trends seen in the receivable collection period due to its composition. The cycle started at 95 days, decreased to a low of 61 days in several intervals during 2023 and 2024, then fluctuated slightly but remained relatively lower than the initial periods, finishing near 61 days by early 2025. This reduction reflects improved asset turnover and working capital management, contributing to a more efficient operation.

In summary, the data suggest that there have been consistent efforts or factors leading to improvements in working capital management, especially in receivables collection and overall cycle time, while inventory processing remained stable. These developments could positively impact the company's cash flows and operational efficiency.