Basis Of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2012

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis Of Presentation

Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Walmart” or the “Company”) and the accompanying notes included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are unaudited. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been included. Such adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, and the accompanying notes, are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and do not contain certain information included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2012. Therefore, the interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are based on a fiscal year ending on January 31 for the United States (“U.S.”) and Canadian operations. The Company consolidates all other operations generally using a one-month lag and based on a calendar year.

The Company’s business is seasonal to a certain extent due to different calendar events and national and religious holidays, as well as different climatic conditions. Historically, the Company’s highest sales volume and operating income occur in the fiscal quarter ending January 31, which includes the holiday season, and its lowest sales volume and operating income occur during the fiscal quarter ending April 30.

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period’s presentation. These reclassifications did not impact the Company’s operating income or consolidated net income.

Receivables

Receivables are stated at their carrying values, net of a reserve for doubtful accounts. Receivables consist primarily of amounts due from:

• insurance companies resulting from pharmacy sales;

• banks for customer credit cards, debit cards and electronic bank transfers that take in excess of seven days to process;

• suppliers for marketing or incentive programs;

• consumer financing programs in certain international operations; and

• real estate transactions.

The Walmart International segment offers a limited number of consumer credit products, primarily through its financial institutions in select countries. The receivable balance from consumer credit products was $1.0 billion, net of a reserve for doubtful accounts of $93 million at October 31, 2012, compared to a receivable balance of $1.0 billion, net of a reserve for doubtful accounts of $63 million at January 31, 2012. These balances are included in receivables, net, on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Inventories

The Company values inventories at the lower of cost or market as determined primarily by the retail method of accounting, using the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) method for substantially all of the Walmart U.S. segment’s inventories. The retail method of accounting results in inventory being valued at the lower of cost or market since permanent markdowns are currently taken as a reduction of the retail value of inventory. The Sam’s Club segment’s inventories are valued based on the weighted-average cost using the LIFO method. The Walmart International segment’s inventories are primarily valued by the retail method of accounting and are stated using the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method. At October 31, 2012 and January 31, 2012, the Company’s inventories valued at LIFO approximate those inventories as if they were valued at FIFO.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In July 2012, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2012-02 which amends how companies test for impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets. The new guidance permits a company to assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the annual impairment test. The ASU is effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to impact the Company’s net income, financial position or cash flows.

In 2011, the FASB issued two ASUs which amend guidance for the presentation of comprehensive income. The amended guidance requires an entity to present components of net income and other comprehensive income in one continuous statement, referred to as the statement of comprehensive income, or in two separate, but consecutive statements. The previous option to report other comprehensive income and its components in the statement of shareholders’ equity was eliminated. Although the new guidance changes the presentation of comprehensive income, there are no changes to the components that are recognized in net income or other comprehensive income under existing guidance. Beginning with the quarter ended April 30, 2012, the Company elected to report other comprehensive income and its components in a separate statement of comprehensive income. The adoption of these ASUs did not impact the Company’s net income, financial position or cash flows.

In 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04 to clarify the intent of the application of existing fair value measurement and disclosure requirements, as well as change certain measurement requirements and disclosures. The Company adopted ASU 2011-04 effective February 1, 2012. In connection with the adoption, the Company made an accounting policy election to measure the credit risk of its derivative financial instruments that are subject to master netting agreements on a net basis by counterparty portfolio, consistent with how the Company previously had been measuring credit risk for these instruments. The adoption of ASU 2011-04 did not impact the Company’s net income, financial position or cash flows.