Wal-Mart's food stamp worries

Walmart, a business controversial for recommending its employees supplement their low wages with government benefits like food stamps, just released its annual report for that end of its fiscal year to the securities and exchange commission.

In its most recent annual SEC filing, Wal-Mart explained some factors that could hurt its main point here, specifically changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or food stamps) and other assistance programs.

“Our business operations are susceptible to numerous risks, factors and uncertainties, domestically and internationally, that are outside our control,” Wal-Mart’s 10-K reads. “Any one, or a combination, of those risks, factors and uncertainties could materially affect our financial performance, our outcomes of operations, including our sales, earnings per share or comparable store sales or comparable club sales and efficient tax rate for just about any period, our business operations, business strategy, plans, goals or objectives.”

Among those risks, the shape explains are “changes in the amount of payments made under the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Plan and other public assistance plans, alterations in the eligibility requirements of public assistance plans.”

According towards the International Business Times, this is actually the very first time Wal-Mart has admitted its reliance upon public assistance programs like a major factor in its profit margin in the SEC filings.

It is not the very first time, however, the organization has discussed food stamps. In January, Wal-Mart asserted the expiration of the stimulus boost to SNAP benefits in November hurt its profits last quarter.

Also, the mega-store actually misprinted the name of the program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, not the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan.