Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) is one of the largest Internet retailers in the world. Wal-Mart (WMT) is the largest retailer in the United States. Amazon and Wal-Mart compete in similar markets; however, Wal-Mart sells through both traditional retail stores and the Internet, while Amazon sells only through the Internet. Earnings and common stock outstanding information was obtained from recent financial statements for both companies as follows (in millions): Amazon Wal-Mart Net income $2,371 $14,694 Average number of common shares outstanding 474 3,207 a. Determine the earnings per share for each company. Neither company had preferred stock outstanding. Round your answers to two decimal places. Amazon $ Wal-Mart $ b. Which company appears more profitable from an earnings-per-share perspective? c. The market price of Amazon common stock was $750 per share at a time when Wal-Mart’s was $69 per share. How would you explain this difference in market price given the earnings per share computed in (a) for both companies?
Analyze and compare Amazon.com and Wal-Mart
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) is one of the largest Internet retailers in the world. Wal-Mart (WMT) is the largest retailer in the United States. Amazon and Wal-Mart compete in similar markets; however, Wal-Mart sells through both traditional retail stores and the Internet, while Amazon sells only through the Internet. Earnings and common stock outstanding information was obtained from recent financial statements for both companies as follows (in millions):
| Amazon | Wal-Mart | |||
| Net income | $2,371 | $14,694 | ||
| Average number of common shares outstanding | 474 | 3,207 |
a. Determine the earnings per share for each company. Neither company had
| Amazon | $ | |
| Wal-Mart | $ |
b. Which company appears more profitable from an earnings-per-share perspective?
c. The market price of Amazon common stock was $750 per share at a time when Wal-Mart’s was $69 per share. How would you explain this difference in market price given the earnings per share computed in (a) for both companies?
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