Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

702 SW 8th St.

Year founded:

Industry: retail

Post 200 Category: Top Companies Headquartered Outside Region

Revenue: $285.20 Billion

Net Income/Loss: $10.30 Billion

Earnings per share: $2.41

Dividend: $0.05

Stockholder equity: $49.20 Trillion

Auditor: n/a

Stock: WMT

Assets: $120.60 Billion

Market capitalization: $204.24 Billion

52-week high: 59.15 4/20/2004

52-week low: 47.77 4/12/2005

Employees: 1200000

Local employees: 10293

Description: Wal-Mart Stores, the nation's largest retailer, operates 31 stores in the Washington area. Its Wal-Mart stores division sells general merchandise and food for the home; its Sam's Club unit caters to small businesses.

Developments: Wal-Mart had a tough year locally. In August, the chain scrapped plans for its first store in the District after executives rejected a site in Northeast as too small. The company said it is eager to open a store in the District but has not found a suitable location. In November, Montgomery County approved new zoning rules making it harder for the chain to build its larger-format supercenter stores. The company had fought the restrictions aggressively. This month, the Maryland General Assembly approved a bill that would require Wal-Mart to boost its health care spending in the state. All of this came as Wal-Mart faced growing image problems across the country, problems so severe that it launched a massive public relations campaign to repair its reputation. Nevertheless, Wal-Mart continued its strong growth. For the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, revenue rose 11 percent, to $285 billion, about four times more than the next largest retailer, and it reported a profit of $10 billion.