Complete the final project, addressing the questions below. Throughout this course, you have selected a company to follow [WALMART] , assessing the company's health as well as your hypothetical investment of $1,000.Using the outcome from those various activities, discussions, and research performed during the course, write a formal assessment of the health of the company you chosein a paper

• Ensure that your company assessment document address the following topics:Why did you choose this particular company?
• In what industry does this company operate, and how does it fit into the particular industry? Is it an industry leader? A small player? Does it operate in multiple industries and do the multiple operations complement or hedge the company's overall strategy?
• What risks does the company face on the surface (from Week Two)? What additional risks or matters of concern did you discover (via analyst write-ups, articles, press releases, industry-wide concerns) during your research?
• Perform ratio analysis on the company and evaluate the overall health of the company relative to its industry based on its financial statements (from Week Three).
• Analyze the company's financing mix (from Week Five).
• Describe the company's international operations and risks (from Week Seven).
• Business relationships: Would you be willing to maintain a relationship with the company as a supplier? Why or why not?
• Employee relationships: Would you be willing to work for the company? What if your compensation package only included the company's stock (no cash)?
• Investor relationships: Imagine you invested $1,000 in the company's stock on the first day of the course. How did your investment perform during the 8 weeks? Did you make money? If so, what was the annualized return? Did you lose money? Earn a dividend? What about long-term performance of the stock? Prepare or provide a chart showing the company's stock price over the previous 5-year period. Would you want the company's stock or debt in your 401(k)? Why or why not?
• Has the firm executed any stock buybacks? If so, what was the effect on the stock price?
• Calculate the WACC for your company.
• If you knew 8 weeks ago what you know now about finance, would you have invested in this company? Why or why not?

Running head: WAL-MART 1 Wal-Mart Inc WAL-MART INC 2 Financial Health Based on the financial statements of Wal-Mart Inc., it is clear that the company has a good financial health. For example, the revenues of the company have been growing gradually in the last five years to the current $485,873 million. However, the net income has reduced from $16,363 million in 2015 to $13,643 million in 2017. It shows that the company should make efforts to reduce costs in its operations (Allgrunn & Weinandt, 2016). In spite of all, the gross margin of the company remains positive and stable at 25.6%. The book value of share has also improved significantly in the last five years. However, there are concerns with its liquidity position. It is because the current ratios remain below 1.0 for five years now. Financial Ratios The five financial ratios are useful in understanding the financial performance and progress of Wal-Mart Inc. As a January 2017, Wal-Mart Inc. is computed as follows; The current ratio= current assets/ liabilities= 0.86 Debt ratio= debt/total assets 0.54 Profit margin= net income/sales 2.81% Return on equity= net income/total equity= 17.23% Return on assets = net income/total assets= 6.85% Comparison with Industry Standards The return on equity is useful in determining how the company's management works efficiently in bringing about strong earnings. The return on equity of Wal-Mart Inc, is 17.23% which is lower than the industry average of 19.5%. The debt ratio measures the proportion of the debts over the total assets of Waymart Inc. Wal-Mart's debt ratio stands at 0.54. It shows that WAL-MART INC 3 the debt of Wal-Mart is 54 % against the overall assets. It is a considered a heavily percentage of debt compared to an industry average of 70%. The current ratio assesses the ability of the company to pay its debts. Wal-Mart's current ratio is recorded to be very low at 0.86 compared an industry average of 1.1. The profit margin assesses the profitability level of the companies. The industry average of profit margin is 9.7%. Wal-Mart had a lower profit margin of 2.81%. The return on assets was fairly the same as the industry's average. Even though Wal-Mart's current ratio is lower than the industry, they do not raise concerns on its financial health. Other financial indicators on the performance of the company are positive and strong (Roy, 2016). With time, the financial performance of the company has been improving. A major change in the company's balance sheet is the decline of the total current assets from $60,239 million in 2016 to $60,239 million in 2017. A significant change in the income statement over the last year is the decline of the operating income from $24,105,000,000 in 2016 to $22,764,000,000 in 2017. The trend was negative, but the financial health of the company was not affected. Based on the slight changes and trends in the financial ratios and financial statements over time, I think that Wal-Mart Inc. is financially healthy due to its financial ratios support such as the return on equity. WAL-MART INC 4 References Allgrunn, M., & Weinandt, M. (2016). Is Shopping at Walmart an Inferior Good? Evidence from 1997-2010. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 18(1), 77. Roy, S. G. (2016). Financial reporting-an overview. Global Journal For Research Analysis, 5(7). Running head: BUSINESS RISKS 1 FIN 317 Professor Cave June 05, 2017 BUSINESS RISKS 2 Business Risks of Wal-Mart Inc In terms of the financial statement and reports of Wal-Mart, it is clear that Wal-Mart Inc. faces the various business risks. The business risks have impact on the performance of the company which is critical. In 2017, the debt to equity ratio of Wal-Mart Company is 0.59. WalMart stores Inc. have a stable debt to equity ratio that indicates their aggressive financing programs to promote its growth. However, the debt to equity decisions is seen to lead to volatile earnings due to the additional interest expense. The debt to equity ratio has remained almost the same at around 0.62 in the last 10 years (Whelan & Fink, 2016). It shows that the company has largely relied on debt to finance its operations and growth. However, in 2017, the debt to equity decisions had started reducing the debt usage in favor of equity as the ratio improved to 0.59. According to the 10K report of Wal-Mart, the company faces business risks that limit their performance. In the coming year, the three business risk facing the company as identified in the financial report includes geopolitical risks, revenues concerns, and costs problems and risks. Proper actions need to be taken by Wal-Mart Inc. to overcome the business risks. The geopolitical risks facing includes the corruption scandals in the oversee markets, backlash in the international markets, and the breaking of the shipping routes that could affect the logistics (Church, 2014). The geopolitical risks are external risks that should be controlled well to improve productivity and the long-term success of the retail company. In terms of the risks of the revenues, Wal-Mart seems to be unable to recognize the consumer's shifts in preferences and tastes. The costs risks include the health care costs that could undermine the success of production, and inability to contract quality suppliers among others. The company depends on the ability to grow its revenue levels which is critical supporting growth in BUSINESS RISKS 3 the long term. The financial statement addresses these risks effectively. They were included in the notes section part of the financial statements. The financial statements of Wal-Mart Inc also included the proper strategies that would be taken to reduce the impact of the business risks. The recent market changes including the introduction of ecommerce technology and new competitors has reduced the revenues of the company. One of the key changes is the emergence of ecommerce and Amazon which appears to be more competitive than Wal-Mart Inc. Wal-Mart Inc. has been forced to change their business model towards an online model of business operations. The booming economy has led to the change in the general shift of operations at Wal-Mart Inc. Increased Groupon sites in the urban location also limits the success of Wal-Mart Inc. in these areas (Whelan & Fink, 2016). The management of Wal-Mart should be able to come up with proper strategies to improve their competitiveness in the market. For example, Wal-Mart Inc. can implement an aggressive online presence and approach. Therefore, it is important to promote the nature of actions to reduce the business risks and counter the stiff competition in the current retail market. BUSINESS RISKS 4 References Church, N. F. (2014). Impact of culture on retail industry compliance. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research, 9(1). Whelan, T., & Fink, C. (2016). The Comprehensive Business Case for Sustainability. Harvard Business Review, 21. 17-Jun 17-May 17-Apr 17-Mar 17-Feb 17-Jan 16-Dec 16-Nov 16-Oct 16-Sep 16-Aug 16-Jul 16-Jun 16-May 16-Apr 16-Mar 16-Feb 16-Jan 15-Dec 15-Nov 15-Oct 15-Sep 15-Aug 15-Jul 15-Jun 15-May 15-Apr 15-Mar 15-Feb 15-Jan 14-Dec 14-Nov 14-Oct 14-Sep 14-Aug 14-Jul 14-Jun 14-May 14-Apr 14-Mar 14-Feb 14-Jan 13-Dec 13-Nov 13-Oct 13-Sep 79.18 78.6 75.18 72.08 70.93 66.74 69.12 70.43 70.02 72.12 71.44 72.97 73.02 70.78 66.87 68.49 66.34 66.36 61.3 58.84 57.24 64.84 64.73 71.98 70.93 74.27 78.05 82.25 83.93 84.98 85.88 87.54 76.27 76.47 75.5 73.58 75.07 76.77 79.71 76.43 74.7 74.68 78.69 81.01 76.75 73.96 78.6 75.09 72.08 70.97 66.46 69.24 70.25 69.98 71.83 71.57 72.81 73.13 70.5 66.62 68.02 66.65 65.91 60.5 59.13 57.29 64.76 63.8 71.84 71.6 74.69 78.2 82.28 83.89 84.79 86.27 86.72 76.35 76.51 75.42 73.32 75.27 76.58 79.73 76.76 74.49 74.19 78.72 80.89 76.97 73.87 73.48 80.46 79.44 75.77 72.56 72.8 69.63 72.48 72.09 72.57 73.19 75.19 74.35 73.19 71.38 70.08 69.19 68.2 66.53 61.87 61.47 67.95 67.01 73.69 74.14 75.2 79.94 82.28 84 88 90.97 87.44 88.09 79.37 77.73 76.2 77.57 77.76 79.76 79.98 77.53 75.98 79.47 81.37 81.35 77.63 76.73 73.35 74.96 182.42M 71.38 127.53M 69.33 191.11M 66.04 207.97M 65.28 181.83M 68.83 162.53M 68.12 210.42M 67.07 170.72M 70.3 177.02M 70.89 212.46M 72.42 137.46M 70.14 185.96M 62.72 232.98M 66.36 141.25M 64.88 203.11M 62.35 263.10M 60.2 264.67M 58.31 226.98M 56.3 224.63M 57.16 347.24M 62.91 190.81M 61.5 227.42M 70.36 150.42M 70.78 176.57M 74.15 151.13M 77.55 143.69M 80.54 142.53M 82.55 138.54M 84.9 158.93M 82.65 138.97M 75.59 159.25M 72.61 177.41M 75.41 120.41M 72.77 114.73M 73.54 120.22M 74.67 125.93M 75.24 121.62M 76.29 133.63M 73.83 143.43M 72.27 141.14M 73.64 146.57M 76.81 117.76M 76.59 113.18M 71.51 151.02M 72.19 124.20M -4.27% 4.55% 4.30% 1.62% 6.28% -3.44% -1.86% 0.59% -2.91% 0.95% -2.10% -0.07% 3.16% 5.85% -2.37% 3.24% -0.03% 8.25% 4.18% 2.80% -11.72% 0.17% -10.07% 1.48% -4.50% -4.84% -5.11% -2.00% -1.24% -1.05% -1.90% 14.78% -0.26% 1.28% 2.61% -1.98% -2.21% -3.69% 4.29% 2.32% 0.03% -5.10% -2.86% 5.55% 3.77% 1.34% retrieved from https://w 13-Aug 13-Jul 13-Jun 13-May 13-Apr 13-Mar 13-Feb 13-Jan 12-Dec 12-Nov 12-Oct 12-Sep 12-Aug 12-Jul 72.98 77.94 74.49 74.84 77.72 74.83 70.78 69.95 68.23 72.02 75.02 73.8 72.6 74.43 78.42 74.99 75.06 77.85 75 70.78 70.11 68.93 72.11 75.13 73.8 72.77 74.7 69.6 79 78.69 76.87 79.96 79.5 75.11 71.95 70.44 72.7 75.16 77.6 75.19 74.96 75.24 72.23 133.87M 74.09 113.06M 72.9 162.64M 74.82 162.32M 74.9 165.13M 70.78 151.49M 68.13 205.50M 67.72 152.02M 67.37 198.46M 67.66 193.71M 73.63 144.86M 72.57 121.61M 71.35 163.63M 69.15 210.71M -6.36% 4.63% -0.47% -3.71% 3.86% 5.72% 1.19% 2.52% -5.26% -4.00% 1.65% 1.65% -2.46% 6.76% retrieved from https://www.investing.com/equities/wal-mart-stores-historical-data 17-Jun 17-May 17-Apr 17-Mar 17-Feb 17-Jan 16-Dec 16-Nov 16-Oct 16-Sep 16-Aug 16-Jul 16-Jun 16-May 16-Apr 16-Mar 16-Feb 16-Jan 15-Dec 15-Nov 15-Oct 15-Sep 15-Aug 15-Jul 15-Jun 15-May 15-Apr 15-Mar 15-Feb 15-Jan 14-Dec 14-Nov 14-Oct 14-Sep 14-Aug 14-Jul 14-Jun 14-May 14-Apr 14-Mar 14-Feb 14-Jan 13-Dec 13-Nov 13-Oct 13-Sep 79.18 78.6 75.18 72.08 70.93 66.74 69.12 70.43 70.02 72.12 71.44 72.97 73.02 70.78 66.87 68.49 66.34 66.36 61.3 58.84 57.24 64.84 64.73 71.98 70.93 74.27 78.05 82.25 83.93 84.98 85.88 87.54 76.27 76.47 75.5 73.58 75.07 76.77 79.71 76.43 74.7 74.68 78.69 81.01 76.75 73.96 78.6 75.09 72.08 70.97 66.46 69.24 70.25 69.98 71.83 71.57 72.81 73.13 70.5 66.62 68.02 66.65 65.91 60.5 59.13 57.29 64.76 63.8 71.84 71.6 74.69 78.2 82.28 83.89 84.79 86.27 86.72 76.35 76.51 75.42 73.32 75.27 76.58 79.73 76.76 74.49 74.19 78.72 80.89 76.97 73.87 73.48 80.46 79.44 75.77 72.56 72.8 69.63 72.48 72.09 72.57 73.19 75.19 74.35 73.19 71.38 70.08 69.19 68.2 66.53 61.87 61.47 67.95 67.01 73.69 74.14 75.2 79.94 82.28 84 88 90.97 87.44 88.09 79.37 77.73 76.2 77.57 77.76 79.76 79.98 77.53 75.98 79.47 81.37 81.35 77.63 76.73 73.35 74.96 182.42M 71.38 127.53M 69.33 191.11M 66.04 207.97M 65.28 181.83M 68.83 162.53M 68.12 210.42M 67.07 170.72M 70.3 177.02M 70.89 212.46M 72.42 137.46M 70.14 185.96M 62.72 232.98M 66.36 141.25M 64.88 203.11M 62.35 263.10M 60.2 264.67M 58.31 226.98M 56.3 224.63M 57.16 347.24M 62.91 190.81M 61.5 227.42M 70.36 150.42M 70.78 176.57M 74.15 151.13M 77.55 143.69M 80.54 142.53M 82.55 138.54M 84.9 158.93M 82.65 138.97M 75.59 159.25M 72.61 177.41M 75.41 120.41M 72.77 114.73M 73.54 120.22M 74.67 125.93M 75.24 121.62M 76.29 133.63M 73.83 143.43M 72.27 141.14M 73.64 146.57M 76.81 117.76M 76.59 113.18M 71.51 151.02M 72.19 124.20M -4.27% 4.55% 4.30% 1.62% 6.28% -3.44% -1.86% 0.59% -2.91% 0.95% -2.10% -0.07% 3.16% 5.85% -2.37% 3.24% -0.03% 8.25% 4.18% 2.80% -11.72% 0.17% -10.07% 1.48% -4.50% -4.84% -5.11% -2.00% -1.24% -1.05% -1.90% 14.78% -0.26% 1.28% 2.61% -1.98% -2.21% -3.69% 4.29% 2.32% 0.03% -5.10% -2.86% 5.55% 3.77% 1.34% retrieved from https://w 13-Aug 13-Jul 13-Jun 13-May 13-Apr 13-Mar 13-Feb 13-Jan 12-Dec 12-Nov 12-Oct 12-Sep 12-Aug 12-Jul 72.98 77.94 74.49 74.84 77.72 74.83 70.78 69.95 68.23 72.02 75.02 73.8 72.6 74.43 78.42 74.99 75.06 77.85 75 70.78 70.11 68.93 72.11 75.13 73.8 72.77 74.7 69.6 79 78.69 76.87 79.96 79.5 75.11 71.95 70.44 72.7 75.16 77.6 75.19 74.96 75.24 72.23 133.87M 74.09 113.06M 72.9 162.64M 74.82 162.32M 74.9 165.13M 70.78 151.49M 68.13 205.50M 67.72 152.02M 67.37 198.46M 67.66 193.71M 73.63 144.86M 72.57 121.61M 71.35 163.63M 69.15 210.71M -6.36% 4.63% -0.47% -3.71% 3.86% 5.72% 1.19% 2.52% -5.26% -4.00% 1.65% 1.65% -2.46% 6.76% retrieved from https://www.investing.com/equities/wal-mart-stores-historical-data