Learn · Explainer
Accounts payable and days payable
What a company owes its suppliers, how many days of cost of sales that represents, and the figures for each company.
The short answer
Accounts payable is what a company owes its suppliers for goods and services it has already received. Days payable outstanding divides that balance by a year's cost of sales and multiplies by 365, to show roughly how many days of purchases sit unpaid. Across the 49 companies here, the median is 62 days.
The formula
Days payable outstanding = accounts payable ÷ cost of sales × 365
Accounts payable is a current liability on the balance sheet. Cost of sales, from the income statement, is the usual denominator because payables are mostly for inventory and other items carried at cost. Some analysts use total operating costs instead when a company has little inventory.
What a long or short period means
A longer payable period means the company is holding onto cash longer before paying suppliers, which can support a short or negative cash conversion cycle. A shorter period means suppliers are paid more quickly. Neither is automatically better: stretching payables can strain supplier relationships, and paying very quickly may simply mean the company has little leverage to negotiate terms.
Walmart reported accounts payable of $63.1B against cost of sales of $535.4B, or 43 days.
Source: Walmart 10-K for fiscal 2026, filed Mar 13, 2026
Every company that reports both figures
Accounts payable at the latest fiscal year end and cost of sales for that year, from each 10-K, sorted by days payable. Days payable is accounts payable divided by cost of sales, times 365. Using year-end payables instead of the average over the year makes the figure approximate. Banks are left out.
Common questions
What are accounts payable?
Amounts a company owes its suppliers for goods and services already received but not yet paid for. They sit among current liabilities on the balance sheet.
How do you calculate days payable outstanding?
Divide year-end (or average) accounts payable by a year's cost of sales, and multiply by 365.
Why does a long payable period raise cash flow?
Cash stays in the company until the invoice is paid. Growing payables are a source of cash on the cash flow statement; shrinking payables are a use of cash.
Is a high days-payable figure a problem?
Not on its own. It can reflect bargaining power with suppliers, or it can mean the company is delaying payments. The trend and the industry context matter more than a single number.
How does this fit with the cash conversion cycle?
Days payable is subtracted in the cash conversion cycle. A longer payable period shortens the cycle.
Disclosures
- Editor holdings
- The editor holds shares of Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX in a long-term retirement account. The editor holds no position in any other company named on this page. As of Nov 11, 2026.
- Compensation
- Nobody paid for this page. No affiliate links on this page.
- Sources
- Each company's own SEC filings, linked next to each number.
- Last updated
- Nov 10, 2026
General education, the same for every reader. Not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and it doesn't consider your situation.
More in Learn and Tools · Methodology & Disclosures explains where every number comes from.