18 the canada business is focused on stabilizing volume performance in 2019 after completing the majority of its cost structure reset . in other businesses , the company is focused on growing the endless assortment businesses profitably , investing in product assortment and innovating around customer acquisition by building marketing and analytics capabilities . the high-touch , high-service international businesses are focused on the same initiatives as the u.s. business , as mentioned above . matters affecting comparability there were 255 sales days in the full years 2018 and 2016 versus 254 sales days in the full year 2017 . grainger completed one divestiture in 2017 , which was immaterial . results of operations the following table is included as an aid to understanding changes in grainger 's consolidated statements of earnings ( in millions of dollars ) : replace_table_token_7_th 2018 compared to 2017 grainger 's net sales of $ 11,221 million for 2018 increased $ 796 million , or 8 % , compared to the same period in 2017. on a daily basis , net sales increased 7 % . the increase in net sales was primarily driven by volume increases in the u.s. business due to market share gain and an improved demand environment and continued double digit growth in the endless assortment businesses , offset by lower sales in the canada business . see note 17 to the financial statements and refer to the segment analysis below for further details . gross profit of $ 4,348 million for 2018 increased $ 250 million , or 6 % compared with the same period in 2017 . the gross profit margin of 38.7 % decreased 0.6 percentage points when compared to the same period in 2017. the lower gross profit margin reflects a 0.5 percentage point decline from the implementation of the financial accounting standards board ( fasb ) new revenue recognition standard that primarily reclassified certain costs related to keepstock® services from selling , general and administrative expenses ( sg & a ) to cost of goods sold ( cogs ) . excluding this impact , gross profit margin would have decreased 0.1 percentage point compared to the prior year . the tables below reconcile reported sg & a , operating earnings and net earnings attributable to w.w. grainger , inc. , determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ( gaap ) in the united states of america to adjusted sg & a , operating earnings and net earnings attributable to w.w. grainger , inc. , which are all considered non-gaap measures . the company believes that these non-gaap measures provide meaningful information to assist shareholders in understanding financial results and assessing prospects for future performance as they provide a better baseline for analyzing the ongoing performance of its businesses by excluding items that may not be indicative of core operating results . because non-gaap financial measures are not standardized , it may not be possible to 19 compare these measures with other companies ' non-gaap measures having the same or similar names . all tables below are in millions of dollars : twelve months ended december 31 , 2018 2017 % sg & a reported $ 3,190 $ 3,063 4 % restructuring ( u.s. ) 19 43 branch gains ( u.s. ) ( 10 ) ( 33 ) other ( gains ) charges ( u.s. ) — ( 4 ) restructuring ( canada ) 36 31 branch gains ( canada ) ( 1 ) — restructuring ( other businesses ) 5 51 impairment charges ( other businesses ) 139 — restructuring ( unallocated expense ) ( 2 ) 11 subtotal 186 99 sg & a adjusted $ 3,004 $ 2,964 1 % 2018 2017 % operating earnings reported $ 1,158 $ 1,035 12 % total restructuring and impairment charges , net of branch gains and other charges 186 112 operating earnings adjusted $ 1,344 $ 1,147 17 % 2018 2017 % net earnings attributable to w.w. grainger , inc. reported $ 782 $ 586 33 % total restructuring and impairment charges , net of branch gains and other charges 186 112 tax effect ( 1 ) ( 16 ) ( 13 ) u.s. tax legislation ( 2 ) — ( 3 ) discrete tax items — ( 12 ) total restructuring and impairment charges , net of branch gains and other charges and tax 170 84 net earnings attributable to w.w. grainger , inc. adjusted $ 952 $ 670 42 % ( 1 ) the tax impact of adjustments is calculated based on the income tax rate in each applicable jurisdiction , subject to deductibility and the company 's ability to realize the associated tax benefits . ( 2 ) u.s. tax legislation reflects the 2017 impact of the benefit of remeasurement of deferred taxes , partially offset by one-time deemed repatriation tax . 20 sg & a of $ 3,190 million for 2018 increased $ 127 million , or 4 % from $ 3,063 million compared with the same period in 2017 . in the third quarter of 2018 grainger recorded $ 139 million of impairment charges related to goodwill and tradename intangible asset at the cromwell business . excluding restructuring and impairment charges net of branch gains and other charges in both periods as noted in the table above , sg & a increased $ 40 million or 1 % , driven primarily by higher variable costs in connection with higher sales . operating earnings of $ 1,158 million for 2018 increased $ 123 million , or 12 % from $ 1,035 million for 2017 . excluding restructuring and impairment charges net of branch gains and other charges in both periods as noted in the table above , operating earnings increased $ 197 million , or 17 % , driven primarily by higher sales and improved sg & a leverage . story_separator_special_tag on a daily basis , the 13 % increase consisted of the following : percent increase/ ( decrease ) volume 15 foreign exchange ( 2 ) total 13 % 26 operating earnings for other businesses were $ 56 million for 2017 compared to $ 40 million for 2016. excluding restructuring charges in 2017 and the goodwill and intangible impairment charges of $ 52 million in the fabory and colombia businesses in the prior year , operating earnings increased $ 18 million or 19 % , due to strong performance from the endless assortment businesses . financial condition grainger expects its strong working capital position , cash flows from operations and borrowing capacity to continue , allowing it to fund its operations , growth initiatives and capital expenditures as well as pay cash dividends , repurchase shares and repay its long-term debt obligations while maintaining an adequate credit rating . story_separator_special_tag style= `` font-family : arial ; font-size:10pt ; `` > december 31 , 2018 . this amount is excluded from the table above , as grainger can not predict the timing of these cash payments by period . see note 15 to the financial statements . off-balance sheet arrangements grainger does not have any material exposures to off-balance sheet arrangements . all significant contractual obligations are recorded on the company 's consolidated balance sheet or disclosed in the notes to grainger 's consolidated financial statements . critical accounting estimates note 1 to the financial statements describes the significant accounting policies used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements . as discussed in note 1 , the preparation of financial statements , in conformity with u.s. gaap , requires management to make judgments , estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes . accounting policies and estimates are considered critical when they require management to make subjective and complex judgments , estimates and assumptions about matters that have a material impact on grainger 's financial statements and accompanying notes . 29 the company believes that the following discussion addresses grainger 's most critical accounting policies and estimates . inventory reserves grainger establishes inventory reserves for excess and obsolete inventory . grainger regularly reviews inventory to evaluate continued demand and identify any obsolete or excess quantities . grainger records provisions for the difference between excess and obsolete inventory cost and its estimated realizable value . estimated realizable value is based on anticipated future product demand , market conditions and liquidation values . as grainger 's inventory consists of approximately 1.7 million stocked products , it is not practical to quantify the actual disposition of excess and obsolete inventory against estimated amounts at a stock keeping unit ( sku ) level and no individual sku is material . there were no material differences noted between reserve levels compared to the level of write-offs historically . grainger 's methodology for estimating reserves is continually evaluated based on current experience and provides for a materially accurate level of reserves at any reporting date . actual results could differ materially from projections and require changes to reserves that could have a material effect on grainger 's results of operations , based on significant changes in product demand , market conditions or liquidation value . if business or economic conditions change , grainger 's estimates and assumptions may be revised as appropriate . for fiscal years 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , actual results did not vary materially from estimated amounts . goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets grainger 's goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment annually during the fourth quarter , or more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change . the company tests for impairment by first assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than its carrying value . some of the factors considered in the assessment include general macroeconomic , industry and market trends and significant events impacting reporting units ' current and future performance . if the company concludes that it is more likely than not that goodwill and intangible assets may be impaired , a quantitative impairment test is performed . in the quantitative impairment tests , the company uses the discounted cash flow , market approach and royalty relief methods , which require significant assumptions and judgments with respect to future volume , revenue and expense growth rates , capital investments , changes in working capital use , the selection of an appropriate discount rate and terminal growth rate , among other assumptions and estimates . the use of alternative estimates and assumptions could impact the company 's estimated fair values of reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets and potentially result in different impacts on the company 's results of operations . actual results could differ from the company 's assumptions and estimates . see note 4 to the financial statements for further information . income taxes the tax balances and income tax expense recognized by grainger are based on management 's interpretations of the tax laws of multiple jurisdictions . income tax expense reflects grainger 's best estimates and assumptions regarding , among other items , the level of future taxable income , interpretation of tax laws and tax planning opportunities , plans for reinvestment of cash overseas and uncertain tax positions . on december 22 , 2017 , the tax cuts and jobs act was signed into law , which significantly revised the u.s. corporate income tax system including lowering the corporate income tax rates from 35 % to 21 % effective january 1 , 2018. see note 15 to the financial statements for additional information . future rulings by tax authorities and future changes in tax laws and their interpretation , changes in projected levels of taxable income , changes in planned need for cash overseas and future tax planning strategies could impact the actual

cash and cash equivalents at december 31 , 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , grainger had cash and cash equivalents of $ 538 million , $ 327 million and $ 274 million , respectively . approximately 49 % , 66 % and 71 % were outside the u.s. business as of december 31 , 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively . grainger has no material limits or restrictions on its ability to use these foreign liquid assets . cash flow 2018 compared to 2017 net cash provided by operating activities was $ 1,057 million for the twelve months ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , as increased net earnings were offset by investment in inventory and timing of payables . net cash used in investing activities was $ 166 million and $ 146 million for the twelve months ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , respectively . the increase in net cash used in investing activities was driven by lower proceeds primarily from the sales of branch real estate assets in the u.s. and a u.s. business divestiture when compared to the prior year . net cash used in financing activities was $ 670 million and $ 867 million in the twelve months ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , respectively . the decrease in net cash used in financing activities was primarily driven by lower stock repurchases in 2018 compared to 2017 and higher proceeds from the exercise of stock options . 2017 compared to 2016 net cash provided by operating activities was $ 1,057 million and $ 1,024 million for the twelve months ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively . the increase in cash provided by operating activities is primarily the result of higher accruals related to employee benefits , partially offset by lower earnings and higher working capital . net cash used in investing activities was $ 146 million and $ 262 million for the twelve months ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```cash and cash equivalents at december 31 , 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , grainger had cash and cash equivalents of $ 538 million , $ 327 million and $ 274 million , respectively . approximately 49 % , 66 % and 71 % were outside the u.s. business as of december 31 , 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively . grainger has no material limits or restrictions on its ability to use these foreign liquid assets . cash flow 2018 compared to 2017 net cash provided by operating activities was $ 1,057 million for the twelve months ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , as increased net earnings were offset by investment in inventory and timing of payables . net cash used in investing activities was $ 166 million and $ 146 million for the twelve months ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , respectively . the increase in net cash used in investing activities was driven by lower proceeds primarily from the sales of branch real estate assets in the u.s. and a u.s. business divestiture when compared to the prior year . net cash used in financing activities was $ 670 million and $ 867 million in the twelve months ended december 31 , 2018 and 2017 , respectively . the decrease in net cash used in financing activities was primarily driven by lower stock repurchases in 2018 compared to 2017 and higher proceeds from the exercise of stock options . 2017 compared to 2016 net cash provided by operating activities was $ 1,057 million and $ 1,024 million for the twelve months ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively . the increase in cash provided by operating activities is primarily the result of higher accruals related to employee benefits , partially offset by lower earnings and higher working capital . net cash used in investing activities was $ 146 million and $ 262 million for the twelve months ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 , respectively .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : 18 the canada business is focused on stabilizing volume performance in 2019 after completing the majority of its cost structure reset . in other businesses , the company is focused on growing the endless assortment businesses profitably , investing in product assortment and innovating around customer acquisition by building marketing and analytics capabilities . the high-touch , high-service international businesses are focused on the same initiatives as the u.s. business , as mentioned above . matters affecting comparability there were 255 sales days in the full years 2018 and 2016 versus 254 sales days in the full year 2017 . grainger completed one divestiture in 2017 , which was immaterial . results of operations the following table is included as an aid to understanding changes in grainger 's consolidated statements of earnings ( in millions of dollars ) : replace_table_token_7_th 2018 compared to 2017 grainger 's net sales of $ 11,221 million for 2018 increased $ 796 million , or 8 % , compared to the same period in 2017. on a daily basis , net sales increased 7 % . the increase in net sales was primarily driven by volume increases in the u.s. business due to market share gain and an improved demand environment and continued double digit growth in the endless assortment businesses , offset by lower sales in the canada business . see note 17 to the financial statements and refer to the segment analysis below for further details . gross profit of $ 4,348 million for 2018 increased $ 250 million , or 6 % compared with the same period in 2017 . the gross profit margin of 38.7 % decreased 0.6 percentage points when compared to the same period in 2017. the lower gross profit margin reflects a 0.5 percentage point decline from the implementation of the financial accounting standards board ( fasb ) new revenue recognition standard that primarily reclassified certain costs related to keepstock® services from selling , general and administrative expenses ( sg & a ) to cost of goods sold ( cogs ) . excluding this impact , gross profit margin would have decreased 0.1 percentage point compared to the prior year . the tables below reconcile reported sg & a , operating earnings and net earnings attributable to w.w. grainger , inc. , determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ( gaap ) in the united states of america to adjusted sg & a , operating earnings and net earnings attributable to w.w. grainger , inc. , which are all considered non-gaap measures . the company believes that these non-gaap measures provide meaningful information to assist shareholders in understanding financial results and assessing prospects for future performance as they provide a better baseline for analyzing the ongoing performance of its businesses by excluding items that may not be indicative of core operating results . because non-gaap financial measures are not standardized , it may not be possible to 19 compare these measures with other companies ' non-gaap measures having the same or similar names . all tables below are in millions of dollars : twelve months ended december 31 , 2018 2017 % sg & a reported $ 3,190 $ 3,063 4 % restructuring ( u.s. ) 19 43 branch gains ( u.s. ) ( 10 ) ( 33 ) other ( gains ) charges ( u.s. ) — ( 4 ) restructuring ( canada ) 36 31 branch gains ( canada ) ( 1 ) — restructuring ( other businesses ) 5 51 impairment charges ( other businesses ) 139 — restructuring ( unallocated expense ) ( 2 ) 11 subtotal 186 99 sg & a adjusted $ 3,004 $ 2,964 1 % 2018 2017 % operating earnings reported $ 1,158 $ 1,035 12 % total restructuring and impairment charges , net of branch gains and other charges 186 112 operating earnings adjusted $ 1,344 $ 1,147 17 % 2018 2017 % net earnings attributable to w.w. grainger , inc. reported $ 782 $ 586 33 % total restructuring and impairment charges , net of branch gains and other charges 186 112 tax effect ( 1 ) ( 16 ) ( 13 ) u.s. tax legislation ( 2 ) — ( 3 ) discrete tax items — ( 12 ) total restructuring and impairment charges , net of branch gains and other charges and tax 170 84 net earnings attributable to w.w. grainger , inc. adjusted $ 952 $ 670 42 % ( 1 ) the tax impact of adjustments is calculated based on the income tax rate in each applicable jurisdiction , subject to deductibility and the company 's ability to realize the associated tax benefits . ( 2 ) u.s. tax legislation reflects the 2017 impact of the benefit of remeasurement of deferred taxes , partially offset by one-time deemed repatriation tax . 20 sg & a of $ 3,190 million for 2018 increased $ 127 million , or 4 % from $ 3,063 million compared with the same period in 2017 . in the third quarter of 2018 grainger recorded $ 139 million of impairment charges related to goodwill and tradename intangible asset at the cromwell business . excluding restructuring and impairment charges net of branch gains and other charges in both periods as noted in the table above , sg & a increased $ 40 million or 1 % , driven primarily by higher variable costs in connection with higher sales . operating earnings of $ 1,158 million for 2018 increased $ 123 million , or 12 % from $ 1,035 million for 2017 . excluding restructuring and impairment charges net of branch gains and other charges in both periods as noted in the table above , operating earnings increased $ 197 million , or 17 % , driven primarily by higher sales and improved sg & a leverage . story_separator_special_tag on a daily basis , the 13 % increase consisted of the following : percent increase/ ( decrease ) volume 15 foreign exchange ( 2 ) total 13 % 26 operating earnings for other businesses were $ 56 million for 2017 compared to $ 40 million for 2016. excluding restructuring charges in 2017 and the goodwill and intangible impairment charges of $ 52 million in the fabory and colombia businesses in the prior year , operating earnings increased $ 18 million or 19 % , due to strong performance from the endless assortment businesses . financial condition grainger expects its strong working capital position , cash flows from operations and borrowing capacity to continue , allowing it to fund its operations , growth initiatives and capital expenditures as well as pay cash dividends , repurchase shares and repay its long-term debt obligations while maintaining an adequate credit rating . story_separator_special_tag style= `` font-family : arial ; font-size:10pt ; `` > december 31 , 2018 . this amount is excluded from the table above , as grainger can not predict the timing of these cash payments by period . see note 15 to the financial statements . off-balance sheet arrangements grainger does not have any material exposures to off-balance sheet arrangements . all significant contractual obligations are recorded on the company 's consolidated balance sheet or disclosed in the notes to grainger 's consolidated financial statements . critical accounting estimates note 1 to the financial statements describes the significant accounting policies used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements . as discussed in note 1 , the preparation of financial statements , in conformity with u.s. gaap , requires management to make judgments , estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes . accounting policies and estimates are considered critical when they require management to make subjective and complex judgments , estimates and assumptions about matters that have a material impact on grainger 's financial statements and accompanying notes . 29 the company believes that the following discussion addresses grainger 's most critical accounting policies and estimates . inventory reserves grainger establishes inventory reserves for excess and obsolete inventory . grainger regularly reviews inventory to evaluate continued demand and identify any obsolete or excess quantities . grainger records provisions for the difference between excess and obsolete inventory cost and its estimated realizable value . estimated realizable value is based on anticipated future product demand , market conditions and liquidation values . as grainger 's inventory consists of approximately 1.7 million stocked products , it is not practical to quantify the actual disposition of excess and obsolete inventory against estimated amounts at a stock keeping unit ( sku ) level and no individual sku is material . there were no material differences noted between reserve levels compared to the level of write-offs historically . grainger 's methodology for estimating reserves is continually evaluated based on current experience and provides for a materially accurate level of reserves at any reporting date . actual results could differ materially from projections and require changes to reserves that could have a material effect on grainger 's results of operations , based on significant changes in product demand , market conditions or liquidation value . if business or economic conditions change , grainger 's estimates and assumptions may be revised as appropriate . for fiscal years 2018 , 2017 and 2016 , actual results did not vary materially from estimated amounts . goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets grainger 's goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment annually during the fourth quarter , or more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change . the company tests for impairment by first assessing qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than its carrying value . some of the factors considered in the assessment include general macroeconomic , industry and market trends and significant events impacting reporting units ' current and future performance . if the company concludes that it is more likely than not that goodwill and intangible assets may be impaired , a quantitative impairment test is performed . in the quantitative impairment tests , the company uses the discounted cash flow , market approach and royalty relief methods , which require significant assumptions and judgments with respect to future volume , revenue and expense growth rates , capital investments , changes in working capital use , the selection of an appropriate discount rate and terminal growth rate , among other assumptions and estimates . the use of alternative estimates and assumptions could impact the company 's estimated fair values of reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets and potentially result in different impacts on the company 's results of operations . actual results could differ from the company 's assumptions and estimates . see note 4 to the financial statements for further information . income taxes the tax balances and income tax expense recognized by grainger are based on management 's interpretations of the tax laws of multiple jurisdictions . income tax expense reflects grainger 's best estimates and assumptions regarding , among other items , the level of future taxable income , interpretation of tax laws and tax planning opportunities , plans for reinvestment of cash overseas and uncertain tax positions . on december 22 , 2017 , the tax cuts and jobs act was signed into law , which significantly revised the u.s. corporate income tax system including lowering the corporate income tax rates from 35 % to 21 % effective january 1 , 2018. see note 15 to the financial statements for additional information . future rulings by tax authorities and future changes in tax laws and their interpretation , changes in projected levels of taxable income , changes in planned need for cash overseas and future tax planning strategies could impact the actual

