Comparative Analysis Problem: Amazon.com, Inc. vs. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Resources: Appendices D and E located in Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making

Note: While the data are not from the same year, inferences can be drawn regarding inventory management of the two companies.

Write a 1,050-word comparative analysis using the financial statements of Amazon.com, Inc. presented in Appendix D, and the financial statements for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., presented in Appendix E, including the following:

• Compute the 2014 values for Amazon.com and the 2015 values for Wal-Mart based on the information in the financial statements:
  • Inventory turnover (Use cost of sales and inventories)
  • Days of inventory 
• Conclusions concerning the management of the inventory can you draw from this data. 

Show work on Excel® spreadsheet and submit with analysis.