Financial Summary

 201920182017 (a)20162015 (b)
Financial Results (in millions)
  


Sales (c)$77,130$74,433$71,786$69,414$73,717
Other revenue982923928857777
Total revenue78,11275,35672,71470,27174,494
Cost of sales54,86453,29951,12549,14552,241
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A)16,23315,72315,14014,21715,406
Depreciation and amortization (exclusive of depreciation included in cost of sales)2,3572,2242,2252,0451,969
Operating income4,6584,1104,2244,8644,878
Net interest expense (d)477461653991607
Net other (income) / expense (e)(9)(27)(59)(88)(652)
Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes4,1903,6763,6303,9614,923
Provision for income taxes (f)9217467221,2951,602
Net earnings from continuing operations3,2692,9302,9082,6663,321
Discontinued operations, net of tax12766842
Net earnings$3,281$2,937$2,914$2,734$3,363
Per Share
  


Basic earnings per share  


Continuing operations
$6.39$5.54$5.32$4.61$5.29
Discontinued operations
0.020.010.010.120.07
Net earnings per share$6.42$5.55$5.32$4.73$5.35
Diluted earnings per share  


Continuing operations
$6.34$5.50$5.29$4.58$5.25
Discontinued operations
0.020.010.010.120.07
Net earnings per share$6.36$5.51$5.29$4.69$5.31
Cash dividends declared$2.62$2.54$2.46$2.36$2.20
FINANCIAL POSITION (in millions)  


Total assets$42,779$41,290$40,303$38,724$40,262
Capital expenditures$3,027$3,516$2,533$1,547$1,438
Long-term debt, including current portion$11,499$11,275$11,398$12,591$12,760
Net debt (gf)$9,689$10,506$10,267$11,481$9,752
Shareholders’ investment$11,833$11,297$11,651$10,915$12,957
FINANCIAL RATIOS  


Comparable sales growth (h)3.4%5.0%1.3%(0.5)%2.1%
Gross margin (% of sales)28.9%28.4%28.8%29.2%29.1%
SG&A expenses (% of total revenue)20.8%20.9%20.8%20.2%20.7%
Operating income margin (% of total revenue)6.0%5.5%5.8%6.9%6.5%
OTHER  


Common shares outstanding (in millions)504.2517.8541.7556.2602.2
Operating cash flow provided by continuing operations (in millions)$7,099$5,970$6,861$5,337$5,254
Revenue per square foot (i)$326$314$298$293$310
Retail square feet (in thousands)240,516239,581239,355239,502239,539
Square footage growth0.4%0.1%(0.1)%—%
(0.2)%
Total number of stores1,8681,8441,8221,8021,792
Total number of supply chain centers4240414040
  1. Consisted of 53 weeks.
  2. The financial summary data for fiscal year 2015 does not reflect adoption of Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-02—Leases (Topic 842).
  3. The 2016 sales decline is primarily due to the December 2015 sale of our pharmacy and clinic businesses (Pharmacy Transaction) to CVS Pharmacy, Inc. 2015 sales includes $3,815 million related to our former pharmacy and clinic businesses.
  4. Includes losses on early retirement of debt of $10 million, $123 million, and $422 million for 2019, 2017, and 2016, respectively.
  5. For 2015, includes the gain on the sale of our pharmacy and clinic businesses.
  6. For 2018 and 2017, includes $36 million and $343 million, respectively, of discrete tax benefits related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
  7. Including current portion of long-term debt and other borrowings, net of short-term investments of $1,810 million, $769 million, $1,131 million, $1,110 million, and $3,008 million in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. Management believes this measure is an indicator of our level of financial leverage because short-term investments are available to pay debt maturity obligations. For 2017 and earlier, only short-term investments held by U.S. entities were used to calculate net debt because amounts held by entities located outside the U.S. were restricted for use.
  8. See definition of comparable sales in Form 10-K, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
  9. Represents revenue per square foot which is calculated using rolling four quarters average square feet. In 2017, revenue per square foot was calculated excluding the 53rd week in order to provide a more useful comparison to other years. Using total reported revenue for 2017 (including the 53rd week) resulted in revenue per square foot of $303. The 2016 decrease is primarily due to the Pharmacy Transaction. Our former pharmacy and clinic businesses contributed approximately $16 to 2015 revenue per square foot.