Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Walmart 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 the 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, 2019 ("fiscal 2019"). Therefore, the interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Company's Consolidated Financial Statements are based on a fiscal year ending 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. There were no significant intervening events during the month of April related to the operations consolidated using a lag that materially affected the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company's business is seasonal to a certain extent due to calendar events and national and religious holidays, as well as weather patterns. Historically, the Company's highest sales volume and operating income have occurred in the fiscal quarter ending January 31.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash held outside of cash and cash equivalents was $37 million and $34 million as of April 30, 2019 and January 31, 2019, respectively, and was primarily recorded in prepaid expenses and other in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Restricted cash held outside of cash and cash equivalents was $300 million as of April 30, 2018 and January 31, 2018, respectively, and was primarily recorded in other long-term assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Inventories

At April 30, 2019 and January 31, 2019, the Company's inventories valued at LIFO approximated those inventories as if they were valued at FIFO.

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lease assets and liabilities to be recorded on the balance sheet. The Company adopted this ASU and related amendments as of February 1, 2019 under the modified retrospective approach and elected certain practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance, including to retain the historical lease classification as well as relief from reviewing expired or existing contracts to determine if they contain leases. For leases subject to index or rate adjustments, the most current index or rate adjustments were included in the measurement of operating lease obligations at adoption.

The adoption of this ASU and related amendments resulted in a $14.8 billion increase to total assets and a $15.1 billion increase to total liabilities as of April 30, 2019. The Company recognized $16.8 billion and $17.5 billion of operating lease right-of-use assets and operating lease obligations, respectively, and removed $2.2 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively, of assets and liabilities related to financial obligations connected with the construction of leased stores. Several other asset and liability line items in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet were also impacted by immaterial amounts. Additionally, the adoption resulted in a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings of approximately $0.3 billion, net of tax, which primarily consisted of the recognition of impairment. The Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows were immaterially impacted. Updated accounting policies as a result of the adoption of this ASU are described below. Note 10 provides additional lease disclosures.

For any new or modified lease, the Company, at the inception of the contract, determines whether a contract is or contains a lease. The Company records right-of-use ("ROU") assets and lease obligations for its finance and operating leases, which are initially recognized based on the discounted future minimum lease payments over the term of the lease. As the rate implicit in the Company's leases is not easily determinable, the Company’s applicable incremental borrowing rate is used in calculating the present value of the sum of the lease payments.

Lease term is defined as the non-cancelable period of the lease plus any options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise the option. The Company has elected not to recognize ROU asset and lease obligations for its short-term leases, which are defined as leases with an initial term of 12 months or less.

For a majority of all classes of underlying assets, the Company has elected to not separate lease from non-lease components. For leases in which the lease and non-lease components have been combined, the variable lease expense includes expenses such as common area maintenance, utilities, and repairs and maintenance.

Revenue Recognition

Contract Balances

Contract balances as a result of transactions with customers primarily consist of receivables included in receivables, net, and deferred gift card revenue included in accrued liabilities in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The following table provides the Company's receivables and deferred gift card revenue from transactions with customers:



(Amounts in millions)	April 30, 2019		January 31, 2019
Assets:
Receivables from transactions with customers, net	$	2,566	$	2,538

Liabilities:
Deferred gift card revenue	$	1,899	$	1,932

Derivatives

In fiscal 2020, the Company adopted ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The adoption of the standard had no current or historical impact on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company continues to use qualitative methods to assess the effectiveness of its designated hedging relationships. Upon adopting ASU 2017-12, the Company modified its existing hedge documentation to use a quantitative method for assessing effectiveness when the hedge is subsequently determined to be ineffective under the qualitative method. There were no other significant changes to the Company's accounting policies for derivatives.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Financial Instruments

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments–Credit Losses (Topic 326), which modifies the measurement of expected credit losses of certain financial instruments. The Company will adopt this ASU on February 1, 2020. Management is currently evaluating this ASU to determine its impact to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.