You Decide Essay
You Are Interning at a Financial Services

You Decide Essay
You are interning at a financial services firm and have been asked to evaluate the performance of two major department stores.The following information (in millions)is available for Wal-Mart and Nordstrom for the most recent fiscal periods available:
Wal-Mart
$\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}\hline \text { Net Sales } & \$ 405,046 & \text { Beginning Accounts Receivable } & \$ 4,144 \\\hline \text { GrossProfit } & 100,389 & \text { Ending Accounts Receivable } & 3, 905 \\\hline \text { OperatingIncome } & 23,950 & & \\\hline \text { Net Income } & 14,848 & & \\\hline & & & \\\end{array}$ Nordstrom
$\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}\hline \text { Net Sales } & \$ 8,627 & \text { Beginning Accounts Receivable } & \$ 1,942 \\\hline \text { GrossProfit } & 3,299 & \text { Ending Accounts Receivable } & 2,035 \\\hline \text { OperatingIncome } & 834 & & \\\hline \text { Net Income } & 441 & & \\\hline & & &\end{array}$ Compute the (1)gross profit margin, (2)operating margin, (3)net profit margin,and (4)accounts receivable turnover for the two companies and indicate which company's performed better.