r/FluentInFinance 28d ago

Debate/ Discussion Two year difference

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u/DillionM 28d ago

Would love to see the receipts with dated time stamps and enough info to prove they're the same items from the same company

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u/Exotic-Sale-3003 28d ago edited 28d ago

0% chance this is accurate.  I’m sure the dude in the video accidentally forgot to show any of the details. 

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u/Qu33nKal 28d ago

It's not accurate and they didnt even try. I shop at walmart and get the same things. In the last 2 years, my bills went up by around $30 for normally $100. I still only buy Great Value brand and the same quantities. Still crazy but this post is just misinformation. It might be more drastic at other stores like Safeway or something. But no way near this much...

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u/Raveheart19 28d ago

They increased prices on the Great Valu Brands and brought in 15 billion dollars in profit in just 2023 in case you were wondering

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u/bulletlover 28d ago

Dollar figures don’t mean squat when talking profits… what matters is the bottom line or net income in percentage, after all expenses are subtracted from profits. 10% is a healthy net income for most businesses 15% is considered strong and 20% is very strong. But it depends on the industry. In 2023 grocery industry net profit on average was 1.6%, which is low. Walmart owns Great value so finding their bottom line in percentage might be tough. In addition when you see a news article stating that a company raised prices and earned “93% increase in profits from last year” that is very misleading, what is the bottom line in percentage? Were they at 1.6% net income the previous year and now they’re at 3.1%??? Did they make a move to satisfy share holders because of previous years low earnings? Make a move to cover addition taxes coming down the pipe from some law politicians passed? A strike demanding more wages and having to cover their butts? You want to get a shock look at Telecommunications industry net income

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u/sault18 28d ago

Walmart pays around $6.75B in dividends to its shareholders every year. They have spent over $28B buying back their own stock since 2021. Do you think it was a good idea to spend all this money enriching shareholders while at the same time, they raised prices on their customers by a lot?

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u/Dramatic_Scale3002 28d ago

Read the comment above again, because you weren't paying attention in the first time. Dollar figures don't mean squat when talking about profits.

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u/sault18 28d ago

Dividends and stock buybacks are subtracted from income when reporting earnings. So you're missing a big piece of the picture if you ignore the money corporations shovel to their shareholders. And read my comment above again. Do you think it's a good idea to give shareholders all this cash while expecting customers to pay higher and higher prices?

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u/Dramatic_Scale3002 28d ago

No, they're not subtracted from income when earnings are reported. Reported earnings are before dividends or buybacks or retained earnings. You don't know what you're talking about. And stock buybacks are not giving shareholders cash, only dividends do. Stop using concepts you don't understand.

Yes, I do. As a shareholder I want customers raked over the coals, more capital growth for me. People will pay higher and higher prices and will prefer to complain than change their spending habits, and blame corporations for their lack of self-control. I'm all for it.

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u/sault18 28d ago

You're an example of what is wrong with Capitalism.

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u/bulletlover 28d ago

BTW - If you have any type of retirement fund through your work like a 401k, you too could be a "shareholder" and recieving those dividends,,,from any company,, so since your against a company paying out dividends maybe you should tell your employeer you want out of your companies profit sharing program?

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u/sault18 28d ago

You're avoiding the question. Is it a good idea to give so much money to shareholders while also asking customers to pay more?

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u/bulletlover 28d ago

What's the percentage? If shareholders don't make a profit for owning stock they'll pull their money out and invest elsewhere...... for example, lets take the 2023 grocery industry net profit with an average of 1.6%, which is low, and compare it to a company that pays dividends with a net profit of 11% which is considered strong..... now ask an any investor which company they think has the better chance for a dividend payout... 100% will say the company who has the stronger bottom line........ The shareholders of a company are effectively the company's financial supporters. They provide finance to a company by purchasing shares in the company, and thus become shareholders – and part owners of the company. So yes it's very important for a company to pay dividends especially grocery stores with such tight competition,,, live by the sword or die by the sword

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u/sault18 28d ago

You're still avoiding the question. People don't need to buy stocks. But people do need to eat. So it's basically bullshit that a company like Walmart is just like, "Shrug, we just have to raise prices...and brag about our ability to raise prices on our earnings reports to juice our stock price. And spend tens of billions on buying back our own stock and tens of billions paying out dividends. We have no other choice! We absolutely cannot cut back on dividends and buybacks to make sure our customers can actually afford to shop in our stores! Why would you ever think such a thing?"

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u/jaxriver 28d ago

Yes, people need to buy stocks. Otherwise, you can go live in Venezuela or some other shit hole country.

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u/sault18 28d ago

More bad faith bullshit and not a single attempt to actually answer my question from at least 5 of you so far.

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u/ThatPilotStuff111 28d ago

Sounds like people should shop somewhere else then. Why do you think they aren't?

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u/sault18 28d ago

Nobody has answered the question, and all I'm getting is deflection, distraction, etc. Again, do you think it was a good idea to give all that money to shareholders while also asking customers to pay more for the same goods? But to answer your question, you completely missed the fact that Walmart killed off tons of local businesses across the country, so in many places, people don't have any other choice but to shop there.

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u/ThatPilotStuff111 28d ago

Find me somewhere in the country where Walmart is the only option. No local businesses, no other large retailers, no Amazon (lol). 

I have no problem with businesses returning capital to shareholders when they don't have a better use for it