Dominant market position; Substantial economies of scale; and Strong consumer franchise. More aggressive shareholder initiatives; Participates in the highly competitive industry; and Pricing pressure in the grocery segment. We base the stable rating outlook on Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on our expectation that despite lower earnings in the next two years, the company can maintain credit metrics in line with the current rating with debt to EBITDA below 2.0x. We expect total debt to EBITDA to peak at 1.8x in 2016 (the company's fiscal 2017) and then recover modestly in 2017 reaching 1.7x. We expect Wal-Mart to use the bulk of its free cash flow for shareholder returns, including an increase in share repurchases and dividends, but to maintain its relatively
