Access and download the 2013 annual reports for The Home Depot and Lowe's in the Investor Relations section of www.homedepot.com and www.lowes.com or from the Connect library and answer the following questions.
Required:
1. Which of the two basic reporting approaches for the cash flows from operating activities did Lowe's use? Is this the same as what The Home Depot used?
2. What amount of cash did Lowe's receive from issuing long-term debt during the year ended January 31, 2014?
3. In the fiscal year ended January 31, 2014, Lowe's generated $4,111 million from operating activities. Where did Lowe's spend this money? List the two largest cash outflows reported in the investing or financing activities sections. Do Lowe's uses differ significantly from The Home Depot's for the same period?