Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Notes)

6 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Summary of Significant 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, 2020 ("fiscal 2020"). 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 July 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.

Use of Estimates

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP. Those principles require management to make estimates and assumptions, including potential impacts arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and related government actions, that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities. Management's estimates and assumptions also affect the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ materially from those estimates.

Receivables

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments–Credit Losses (Topic 326), which modifies the measurement of expected credit losses of certain financial instruments. The Company adopted this ASU on February 1, 2020 with no material impact to the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Receivables are stated at their carrying values, net of a reserve for credit losses, and are primarily due from the following: customers, which also includes insurance companies resulting from pharmacy sales, banks for customer credit, debit cards and electronic transfer transactions that take in excess of seven days to process; suppliers for marketing or incentive programs; governments for income taxes; and real estate transactions.