Learn the stock market › Read an earnings report › Lesson 3 of 7
The balance sheet
A picture of one day
The income statement covers a period. The balance sheet is a picture of a single day, usually the last day of the quarter. It has two halves: what the company owns, and who paid for it.
Walmart's balance sheet
Walmart runs stores and warehouses. The table shows its balance sheet at the end of the quarter that ended in July 2026, with each line as a share of total assets.
| $ million | Jul 2026 | Of assets |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | ||
| Cash and short-term investments | 11,529 | 4% |
| Receivables | 11,075 | 4% |
| Inventory | 61,600 | 21% |
| Other current assets | 4,499 | 2% |
| Property, plant and equipment | 164,310 | 56% |
| Goodwill and other intangibles | 28,260 | 10% |
| Other long-term assets | 12,641 | 4% |
| Total assets | 293,914 | 100% |
| Liabilities and equity | ||
| Debt and leases | 73,755 | 25% |
| Accounts payable | 64,318 | 22% |
| Other liabilities | 51,042 | 17% |
| Shareholders' equity | 104,799 | 36% |
| Total liabilities and equity | 293,914 | 100% |
Assets
Current assets turn into cash or get used up within a year: cash, receivables that customers have not paid yet, and inventory. Walmart's inventory was $61.6 billion, 21% of its assets.
Long-term assets are used for many years: buildings, equipment and land, here 56% of assets. Goodwill appears when a company buys another for more than its book value and records the difference as an asset.
Liabilities and equity
Liabilities are what the company owes others. Debt and leases carry interest. Accounts payable are bills the company has not paid yet, here $64.3 billion. Other liabilities include taxes, accrued expenses and provisions for future costs.
Accounts payable are about as large as inventory. The company often sells its goods before it has paid its suppliers for them.
Shareholders' equity is what is left if every liability is paid with the assets: $105 billion. It grows when the company keeps profit and shrinks with losses, dividends and buybacks. Book value can be very different from what the shares are worth on the market.
Two numbers that start here
Equity divided by total assets is the equity ratio, here 36%. Debt is often compared with equity or with profit, see the lesson on debt. Both say something about how well a company can get through a bad year.
Test yourself
A company has assets of 100 and liabilities of 60. What is its shareholders' equity?
Walmart's latest figures are on its stock page.