Recently, it was announced that two giant French retailers,Carrefour SAandPromodes SA, would merge. A headline in the Wall Street Journal blared, "French Retailers Create New Wal-Mart Rival." WhileWal-Mart's total sales would still exceed those of the combined company, Wal-Mart's international sales are far less than those of the combined company. This is a serious concern for Wal-Mart, since its primary opportunity for future growth lies outside of the United States.

Below are basic financial data for the combined corporation (in euros) and Wal-Mart (in U.S. dollars). Even though their results are presented in different currencies, by employing ratios we can make some basic comparisons.