For this Distingiushed Scholar Project, your assignment is to research Starbucks.

For this Distingiushed Scholar Project, your assignment is to research Starbucks.

For this Distingiushed Scholar Project, your assignment is to research Starbucks. Once you have found the financial statements, you will calculate the past three year’s worth of financial ratios found on page 119 of the textbook. You will need to calculate all of the Liquidity and Asset Management ratios, Total debt to total assets ratio, all of the Profitability ratios, the P/E and M/B ratio. The assignment to research is Starbucks. Go to bottom of page to Table 4-2 which is Allied Food Products: Summary of Financial Ratios (Millions of Dollars) this will give you a idea for the question that is ask above. CHA P TER4 CHA P TER4 ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS1 Enron, WorldCom Lessons Learned from Enron and WorldCom In early 2001, Enron appeared to be on top of the world. The high-flying energy firm had a market capitalization of $60 billion, and its stock was trading at $80 a share. Wall Street analysts were touting its innovations and management success and strongly recommending the stock. Less than a year later, Enron had declared bankruptcy, its stock was basically worthless, and investors had lost billions of dollars. This dramatic and sudden collapse left many wondering how so much value could be destroyed in such a short period of time.

I do need it today by 9pm EST, if not, I have to find someone else. Thanks

For this Distingiushed Scholar Project, your assignment is to research Starbucks. Once you have found the financial statements, you will calculate the past three year’s worth of financial ratios found on page 119 of the textbook. You will need to calculate all of the Liquidity and Asset Management ratios, Total debt to total assets ratio, all of the Profitability ratios, the P/E and M/B ratio.

The assignment to research is Starbucks.

Go to bottom of page to Table 4-2 which is Allied Food Products: Summary of Financial Ratios (Millions of Dollars) this will give you a idea for the question that is ask above.

CHA P TER4
CHA P TER4
ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS1

Enron, WorldCom
Lessons Learned from Enron and WorldCom

In early 2001, Enron appeared to be on top of the world. The high-flying energy
firm had a market capitalization of $60 billion, and its stock was trading at $80 a
share. Wall Street analysts were touting its innovations and management success
and strongly recommending the stock. Less than a year later, Enron had
declared bankruptcy, its stock was basically worthless, and investors had lost billions
of dollars. This dramatic and sudden collapse left many wondering how so
much value could be destroyed in such a short period of time.

While Enron’s stock fell steadily throughout the first part of 2001, most
analysts voiced no concerns. The general consensus was that it was simply
caught up in a sell-off that was affecting the entire stock market and that its
long-run prospects remained strong. However, a hint of trouble came when
Enron’s CEO, Jeffrey Skilling, unexpectedly resigned in August 2001; he was
replaced by its chairman and previous CEO, Ken Lay. By the end of August, its
stock had fallen to $35 a share. Two months later, Enron stunned the financial
markets by announcing a $638 million loss, along with a $1.2 billion write-down
in its book value equity. The write-down, which turned out to be grossly inadequate,
stemmed primarily from losses realized on a series of partnerships set up
by its CFO, Andrew Fastow. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that Enron had

1 We have covered this chapter both early in the course and toward the end. Early coverage gives
students an overview of how financial decisions affect financial statements and results, and thus of
what financial management is all about. If it is covered later, after coverage of bond and stock valuation,
risk analysis, capital budgeting, capital structure, and working capital management, students
can better understand the logic of the ratios and see how they are used for different purposes.
Depending on students’ backgrounds, instructors may want to cover the chapter early or late.

© AP PHOTO/RON EDMONDS

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

guaranteed the partnerships’ debt, so its true liabilities were far higher than the
financial statements indicated. These revelations destroyed Enron’s credibility,
caused its customers to flee, and led directly to its bankruptcy.

Not surprisingly, Enron’s investors and employees were enraged to learn
that its senior executives had received $750 million in salaries, bonuses, and
profits from stock options for good performance in the same year before the
company went bankrupt. During that year, senior executives were bailing out of
the stock as fast as they could, even as they put out misleading statements
touting the stock to their employees and outside investors. Fastow has since
pleaded guilty to fraud and is cooperating with authorities in the cases against
his former bosses, Lay and Skilling, who have been indicted for their roles in
Enron’s collapse and await trial.

After Enron declared bankruptcy, critics turned their attention to the company’s
auditor, Arthur Andersen, and to certain Wall Street analysts who had
blindly recommended the stock over the years. Critics contended that the auditors
and analysts neglected their responsibilities because of conflicts of interest.
Andersen partners looked the other way because they didn’t want to compromise
their lucrative consulting contracts with Enron, and the analysts kept recommending
the stock because they wanted to help the investment banking
side of their firms get more Enron business.

As if the Enron debacle was not enough, in June 2002 it was learned that
WorldCom, an even larger company, had “cooked its books” and inflated its
profits and cash flows by more than $11 billion. Shortly thereafter, WorldCom
collapsed, with many more billions of investor losses and thousands unemployed.
Enron had set up complicated partnerships to deceive investors, but
WorldCom simply lied, reporting normal operating costs as capital expenditures
and thus boosting its reported profits. Interestingly, Enron and WorldCom used
the same auditing firm, Arthur Andersen, which was itself put out of business,
causing about 70,000 employees to lose their jobs. It is also interesting to note
that Citigroup’s investment banking subsidiary, Salomon Smith Barney, earned
many millions in fees from WorldCom, and that Salomon’s lead telecom analyst,
Jack Grubman, who helped bring in this business, did not downgrade World-
Com to a sell until the very day the fraud was announced. At that point the
stock was selling for less than a dollar, down from a high of $64.50.

The Enron and WorldCom collapses caused investors throughout the world
to wonder if these companies’ misdeeds were isolated situations or were symptomatic
of undiscovered problems lurking in many other companies. Those
fears led to a broad decline in stock prices, and President Bush expressed
outrage at executives whose actions were imperiling our financial markets and
economic system. In response to these and other abuses, Congress passed the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. One of its provisions requires the CEO and the
CFO to sign a statement certifying that the “financial statements and disclosures
fairly represent, in all material respects, the operations and financial condition”
of the company. This will make it easier to haul off in handcuffs a CEO or
CFO who has misled investors.

Financial statements have undoubtedly improved in the last few years, and
they now provide a wealth of good information that can be used by managers,
investors, lenders, customers, suppliers, and regulators. As you will see in this
chapter, a careful analysis of a company’s statements can highlight its strengths
and shortcomings. Also, as you will see, financial analysis can be used to predict
how such strategic decisions as the sale of a division, a change in credit or
inventory policy, or a plant expansion will affect a firm’s future performance.

102

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

Putting Things In PerspectivePutting Things In Perspective
The primary goal of financial management is to maximize shareholders’
wealth over the long run, not to maximize accounting measures such as net
income or EPS. However, accounting data influence stock prices, and these
data can be used to understand why a company is performing the way it is
and to forecast where it is heading. Chapter 3 described the key financial
statements and showed how they change as a firm’s operations undergo
change. Now, in Chapter 4, we show how the statements are used by managers
to improve performance; by lenders to evaluate the likelihood of collecting
on loans; and by stockholders to forecast earnings, dividends, and
stock prices.

If management is to maximize a firm’s value, it must take advantage of
the firm’s strengths and correct its weaknesses. Financial analysis involves

(1) comparing the firm’s performance to other firms, especially those in the
same industry, and (2) evaluating trends in the firm’s financial position over
time. These studies help management identify deficiencies and then take
corrective actions. We focus here on how financial managers and investors
evaluate firms’ financial positions. Then, in later chapters, we examine the
types of actions management can take to improve future performance and
thus increase the firm’s stock price.
The most important ratio is the ROE, or return on equity, which is net
income to common stockholders divided by total stockholders’ equity.
Stockholders obviously want to earn a high rate of return on their invested
capital, and the ROE tells them the rate they are earning. If the ROE is
high, then the stock price will also tend to be high, and actions that
increase ROE are likely to increase the stock price. The other ratios provide
information about how well such assets as inventory, accounts receivable,
and fixed assets are managed, and about how the firm is financed. As we
will see, these factors all affect the ROE, and management uses the other
ratios primarily to help develop plans to improve the average ROE over the
long run.

4.1 RATIO ANALYSIS
Financial statements report both a firm’s position at a point in time and its operations
over some past period. However, their real value lies in the fact that they
can be used to help predict future earnings and dividends. From an investor’s
standpoint, predicting the future is what financial statement analysis is all about,
while from management’s standpoint, financial statement analysis is useful both to
help anticipate future conditions and, more important, as a starting point for planning
actions that will improve future performance.

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

Financial ratios are designed to help one evaluate a financial statement. For
example, Firm A might have debt of $5,248,760 and interest charges of $419,900,
while Firm B might have debt of $52,647,980 and interest charges of $3,948,600.
Which company is stronger? The burden of these debts, and the companies’ ability
to repay them, can best be evaluated (1) by comparing each firm’s debt to its
assets and (2) by comparing the interest it must pay to the income it has available
for payment of interest. Such comparisons involve ratio analysis.

In the paragraphs that follow, we will calculate Allied Food Products’ financial
ratios for 2005, using data from the balance sheets and income statements
given in Tables 3-1 and 3-2. We will also evaluate the ratios relative to the industry
averages.2 Note that the dollar amounts in the ratio calculations are generally
in millions.

4.2 LIQUIDITY RATIOS
A liquid asset is one that trades in an active market and hence can be quickly
converted to cash at the going market price, and a firm’s “liquidity position”
deals with this question: Will the firm be able to pay off its debts as they come
due in the coming year? As shown in Table 3-1 in Chapter 3, Allied has $310 million
of debt that must be paid off within the coming year. Will it have trouble
meeting those obligations? A full liquidity analysis requires the use of cash
budgets, but by relating cash and other current assets to current liabilities, ratio
analysis provides a quick, easy-to-use measure of liquidity. Two of the most
commonly used liquidity ratios are discussed here.

Current Ratio

The primary liquidity ratio is the current ratio, which is calculated by dividing
current assets by current liabilities:

Current assets

Current ratio

Current liabilities

$1,000

3.2

$310
Industry average  4.2

Current assets include cash, marketable securities, accounts receivable, and
inventories. Allied’s current liabilities consist of accounts payable, short-term
notes payable, current maturities of long-term debt, accrued taxes, and accrued
wages.

If a company is getting into financial difficulty, it begins paying its bills
(accounts payable) more slowly, borrowing from its bank, and so on, all of which
increase current liabilities. If current liabilities are rising faster than current
assets, the current ratio will fall, and this is a sign of possible trouble. Allied’s
current ratio of 3.2 is well below the industry average, 4.2, so its liquidity position
is rather weak. Still, since its current assets are supposed to be converted to

2 In addition to the ratios discussed in this section, financial analysts sometimes employ a tool
known as common size analysis. To form a common size balance sheet, simply divide each asset and
liability item by total assets and then express the results as percentages. The resultant percentage
statement can be compared with statements of larger or smaller firms, or with those of the same
firm over time. To form a common size income statement, divide each income statement item by
sales. With a spreadsheet, which most analysts use, this is trivially easy.

Liquid Asset

An asset that can be
converted to cash
quickly without having
to reduce the asset’s
price very much.

Liquidity Ratios

Ratios that show the
relationship of a firm’s
cash and other current
assets to its current
liabilities.

Current Ratio

This ratio is calculated
by dividing current
assets by current
liabilities. It indicates
the extent to which
current liabilities are
covered by those
assets expected to be
converted to cash in
the near future.

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

Quick (Acid Test)
Ratio

This ratio is calculated
by deducting inventories
from current assets
and then dividing the
remainder by current
liabilities.

Asset Management
Ratios

A set of ratios that
measure how
effectively a firm is
managing its assets.

cash within a year, it is likely that they could be liquidated at close to their
stated value. With a current ratio of 3.2, Allied could liquidate current assets at
only 31 percent of book value and still pay off current creditors in full.3

Although industry average figures are discussed later in some detail, note
that an industry average is not a magic number that all firms should strive to
maintain—in fact, some very well-managed firms may be above the average
while other good firms are below it. However, if a firm’s ratios are far removed
from the averages for its industry, an analyst should be concerned about why
this variance occurs. Thus, a deviation from the industry average should signal
the analyst (or management) to check further.

Quick, or Acid Test, Ratio

The second most used liquidity ratio is the quick, or acid test, ratio, which is
calculated by deducting inventories from current assets and then dividing the
remainder by current liabilities:

Current assets  Inventories

Quick, or acid test, ratio

Current liabilities

$385

1.2

$310
Industry average  2.2

Inventories are typically the least liquid of a firm’s current assets, hence they are
the assets on which losses are most likely to occur in the event of liquidation.
Therefore, this measure of a firm’s ability to pay off short-term obligations without
relying on the sale of inventories is important.

The industry average quick ratio is 2.2, so Allied’s 1.2 ratio is quite low in
comparison with other firms in its industry. Still, if the accounts receivable can
be collected, the company can pay off its current liabilities without having to liquidate
its inventories.

What are some characteristics of a liquid asset? Give some examples.

What two ratios are used to analyze a firm’s liquidity position?
Write out their equations.

Why is the current ratio the most commonly used measure of short-
term solvency?

Which current asset is typically the least liquid?

A company has current liabilities of $500 million, and its current ratio
is 2.0. What is its level of current assets? ($1,000 million) If this firm’s
quick ratio is 1.6, how much inventory does it have? ($200 million)

4.3 ASSET MANAGEMENT RATIOS
A second group of ratios, the asset management ratios, measures how effectively
the firm is managing its assets. These ratios answer this question: Does the
amount of each type of asset seem reasonable, too high, or too low in view of

3 1/3.2  0.31, or 31%. Note also that 0.31($1,000)  $310, the current liabilities balance.

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

current and projected sales? When they acquire assets, Allied and other companies
must obtain capital from banks or other sources. If a firm has too many
assets, its cost of capital will be too high and its profits will be depressed. On the
other hand, if assets are too low, profitable sales will be lost. The asset management
ratios described in this section are important.

Inventory Turnover Ratio

“Turnover ratios” are ratios where sales are divided by some asset, and as
the name implies, they show how many times the item is “turned over” during
the year. Thus, the inventory turnover ratio is defined as sales divided by
inventories:

Sales

Inventory turnover ratio

Inventories

$3,000

4.9

$615
Industry average  10.9

As a rough approximation, each item of Allied’s inventory is sold out and
restocked, or “turned over,” 4.9 times per year. “Turnover” is a term that originated
many years ago with the old Yankee peddler, who would load up his
wagon with goods, then go off on his route to peddle his wares. The merchandise
was called “working capital” because it was what he actually sold, or
“turned over,” to produce his profits, whereas his “turnover” was the number of
trips he took each year. Annual sales divided by inventory equaled turnover, or
trips per year. If he made 10 trips per year, stocked 100 pans, and made a gross
profit of $5 per pan, his annual gross profit would be (100)($5)(10)  $5,000. If
he went faster and made 20 trips per year, his gross profit would double, other
things held constant. So, his turnover directly affected his profits.

Allied’s turnover of 4.9 is much lower than the industry average of 10.9.
This suggests that it is holding too much inventory. Excess inventory is, of
course, unproductive and represents an investment with a low or zero rate of
return. Allied’s low inventory turnover ratio also makes us question the current
ratio. With such a low turnover, the firm may be holding obsolete goods not
worth their stated value.4

Note that sales occur over the entire year, whereas the inventory figure is for
one point in time. For this reason, it might be better to use an average inventory
measure.5 If the business is highly seasonal, or if there has been a strong upward
or downward sales trend during the year, it is especially useful to make an
adjustment. To maintain comparability with industry averages, however, we did
not use the average inventory figure.

4 A problem arises when calculating and analyzing the inventory turnover ratio. Sales are stated at
market prices, so if inventories are carried at cost, as they generally are, the calculated turnover
overstates the true turnover ratio. Therefore, it might be more appropriate to use cost of goods sold
in place of sales in the formula’s numerator. However, some established compilers of financial ratio
statistics such as Dun & Bradstreet use the ratio of sales to inventories carried at cost. To have a figure
that can be compared with those published by Dun & Bradstreet and similar organizations, it is
necessary to measure inventory turnover with sales in the numerator, as we do here.
5 Preferably, the average inventory value should be calculated by summing the monthly figures during
the year and dividing by 12. If monthly data are not available, the beginning and ending figures
can be added and then divided by 2. Both methods adjust for growth but not for seasonal effects.

Inventory Turnover
Ratio

This ratio is calculated
by dividing sales by
inventories.

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

Days Sales
Outstanding (DSO)

This ratio is calculated
by dividing accounts
receivable by average
sales per day; it indicates
the average
length of time the
firm must wait after
making a sale before
it receives cash.

Fixed Assets Turnover
Ratio

The ratio of sales to
net fixed assets.

Days Sales Outstanding

Days sales outstanding (DSO), also called the “average collection period”
(ACP), is used to appraise accounts receivable, and it is calculated by dividing
accounts receivable by average daily sales to find how many days’ sales are tied
up in receivables. Thus, the DSO represents the average length of time that the
firm must wait after making a sale before receiving cash. Allied has 46 days sales
outstanding, well above the 36-day industry average:

Days

Receivables Receivables

DSO  sales

Average sales per day Annual sales>
365

outstanding

$375 $375

45.625 days ˜
46 days

$3,000>
365 $8.2192

Industry average  36 days

Note that in this calculation we used a 365-day year. Some analysts use a 360day
year; on this basis Allied’s DSO would have been slightly lower, 45 days.6

The DSO can also be evaluated by comparing it with the terms on which the
firm sells its goods. For example, Allied’s sales terms call for payment within 30
days, so the fact that 46 days’ sales, not 30 days’, are outstanding indicates that
customers, on the average, are not paying their bills on time. This deprives the
company of funds that could be used to reduce bank loans or some other type of
costly capital. Moreover, with a high average DSO, it is likely that a number of
customers are paying very late, and those customers may well be in financial
trouble, in which case Allied may never be able to collect the receivable.7 Therefore,
if the trend in DSO over the past few years has been rising, but the credit
policy has not been changed, this would be strong evidence that steps should be
taken to expedite the collection of accounts receivable.

Fixed Assets Turnover Ratio

The fixed assets turnover ratio measures how effectively the firm uses its plant
and equipment. It is the ratio of sales to net fixed assets:

Sales

Fixed assets turnover ratio

Net fixed assets

$3,000

3.0

$1,000
Industry average  2.8

6 It would be somewhat better to use average receivables, either an average of the monthly figures or
(Beginning receivables  Ending receivables)/2  ($315  $375)/2  $345 in the formula. Had
average annual receivables been used, Allied’s DSO on a 365-day basis would have been
$345/$8.2192  41.975 days, or approximately 42 days. The 42-day figure is a more accurate one,
but our interest is in comparisons, and because the industry average was based on year-end receivables,
the 46-day number is better for our purposes. The DSO is discussed further in Part 6.
7 For example, if further analysis along the lines suggested in Part 6 indicated that 85 percent of the
customers pay in 30 days, then for the DSO to average 46 days, the remaining 15 percent must be
paying on average in 136.67 days. Paying that late suggests financial difficulties. In Part 6 we also
discuss refinements into this analysis, but a DSO of 46 days would alert a good analyst of the need
to dig deeper.

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

Allied’s ratio of 3.0 times is slightly above the 2.8 industry average, indicating
that it is using its fixed assets at least as intensively as other firms in the industry.
Therefore, Allied seems to have about the right amount of fixed assets relative
to its sales.

Potential problems may arise when interpreting the fixed assets turnover
ratio. Recall that fixed assets are shown on the balance sheet at their historical
costs, less depreciation. Inflation has caused the value of many assets that were
purchased in the past to be seriously understated. Therefore, if we compared an
old firm that had acquired many of its fixed assets years ago at low prices with a
new company with similar operations that had acquired its fixed assets only
recently, we would probably find that the old firm had the higher fixed assets
turnover ratio. However, this would be more reflective of when the assets were
acquired than of inefficiency on the part of the new firm. The accounting profession
is trying to develop procedures for making financial statements reflect
current values rather than historical values, which would help us make better
comparisons. However, at the moment the problem still exists, so financial analysts
must recognize that a problem exists and deal with it judgmentally. In
Allied’s case, the issue is not serious because all firms in the industry have been
expanding at about the same rate, hence the balance sheets of the comparison
firms are reasonably comparable.8

Total Assets Turnover Ratio

The final asset management ratio, the total assets turnover ratio, measures the
turnover of all the firm’s assets, and it is calculated by dividing sales by total assets:

Sales

Total assets turnover ratio

Total assets

$3,000

1.5

$2,000
Industry average  1.8

Allied’s ratio is somewhat below the industry average, indicating that it is not
generating enough sales given its total assets. Sales should be increased, some
assets should be disposed of, or a combination of these steps should be taken.

Identify four ratios that are used to measure how effectively a firm
manages its assets, and write out their equations.

If one firm is growing rapidly and another is not, how might this
distort a comparison of their inventory turnover ratios?

If you wanted to evaluate a firm’s DSO, with what would you compare
it?

What potential problem might arise when comparing different firms’
fixed assets turnover ratios?

A firm has annual sales of $100 million, $20 million of inventory,
and $30 million of accounts receivable. What is its inventory
turnover ratio? (5) What is its DSO based on a 365-day year?

(109.5 days)
Total Assets Turnover
Ratio

This ratio is calculated
by dividing sales by
total assets.

8 See FASB #89, Financial Reporting and Changing Prices (December 1986), for a discussion of the
effects of inflation on financial statements. The report’s age indicates how difficult the problem is.

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

4.4 DEBT MANAGEMENT RATIOS
Financial Leverage

The use of debt
financing.

The extent to which a firm uses debt financing, or financial leverage, has three
important implications: (1) By raising funds through debt, stockholders can control
a firm with a limited amount of equity investment. (2) Creditors look to the
equity, or owner-supplied funds, to provide a margin of safety, so the higher the
proportion of the total capital provided by stockholders, the less the risk faced
by creditors. (3) If the firm earns more on its assets than the interest rate it pays
on debt, then using debt “leverages,” or magnifies, the return on equity, ROE.

Table 4-1 illustrates both the potential benefits and risks resulting from the
use of debt.9 Here we analyze two companies that are identical except for how
they are financed. Firm U (for “Unleveraged”) has no debt and thus 100 percent
common equity, whereas Firm L (for “Leveraged”) is financed with half debt at a
10 percent interest rate and half equity. Both companies have $100 of assets.
Their sales will range from $150 down to $75, depending on business conditions,
with an expected level of $100. Some of their operating costs (rent, the president’s
salary, and so on) are fixed and will be there regardless of the level of
sales, while other costs (some labor costs, materials, and so forth) will vary with
sales.10 When we deduct total operating costs from sales revenues, we are left
with operating income, or earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT).

Notice in the table that everything is the same for the leveraged and
unleveraged firms down through operating income—thus, they have the same
EBIT under the three states of the economy. However, things then begin to differ.
Firm U has no debt so it pays no interest, and its taxable income is the same as
its operating income, and it then pays a 40 percent state and federal tax to get to
its net income, which is $27 under good conditions and $0 under bad conditions.
When net income is divided by common equity, we get the ROE, which ranges
from 27 percent to 0 percent for Firm U.

Firm L has the same EBIT under each condition, but it uses $50 of debt with
a 10 percent interest rate, so it has $5 of interest charges regardless of business
conditions. This amount is deducted from EBIT to get to taxable income, taxes
are then taken out, and the result is net income, which ranges from $24 to $5,
depending on conditions.11 At first blush it looks like Firm U is better off under
all conditions, but this is not correct—we need to consider how much the two
firms’ stockholders have invested. Firm L’s stockholders have put up only $50,
so when that investment is divided into net income, we see that their ROE under
good conditions is a whopping 48 percent (versus 27 percent for U) and is 12
percent (versus 9 percent for U) under expected conditions. However, L’s ROE
falls to 10 percent under bad conditions, which means that it would go bankrupt
if those conditions last for several years.

There are two reasons for the leveraging effect: (1) Because interest is
deductible, the use of debt lowers the tax bill and leaves more of the firm’s operating
income available to its investors. (2) If operating income as a percentage of

9 We discuss ROE in more depth later in the chapter, and we examine the effects of leverage in
detail in the chapter on capital structure.
10 The financial statements do not show the breakdown between fixed and variable operating costs,
but companies can and do make this breakdown for internal purposes. Of course, the distinction is
not always clear, because what’s a fixed cost in the very short run can become a variable cost over a
longer time horizon. It’s interesting to note that companies are moving toward making more of their
costs variable, using such techniques as increasing bonuses rather than base salaries, switching to
profit-sharing plans rather than fixed-pension plans, and outsourcing various parts and materials.
11 As we discussed in the last chapter, firms can carry losses back or forward for several years.
Therefore, if Firm L had profits and thus paid taxes in recent prior years, it could carry its loss
under bad conditions back and receive a credit (a check from the government). In Table 4-1 we
assume that the firm cannot use the carry-back/carry-forward provision.

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

TABLE 4-1 Effects of Financial Leverage on Stockholder Returns

FIRM U [UNLEVERAGED (NO DEBT)]

Current assets $ 50 Debt $ 0
Fixed assets 50 Common equity 100
Total assets $100 Total liabilities and equity $100
BUSINESS CONDITIONS
Good Expected Bad

Sales revenues $150.0 $100.0 $75.0
Operating costs Fixed 45.0 45.0 45.0
Variable 60.0 40.0 30.0
Total operating costs 105.0 85.0 75.0
Operating income (EBIT) $ 45.0 $ 15.0 $ 0.0
Interest (Rate = 10%) 0.0 0.0 0.0
Earnings before taxes (EBT) $ 45.0 $ 15.0 $ 0.0
Taxes (Rate = 40%) 18.0 6.0 0.0
Net income (NI) $ 27.0 $ 9.0 $ 0.0

ROEU 27.0% 9.0% 0.0%

FIRM L [LEVERAGED (SOME DEBT)]

Current assets $ 50 Debt $ 50
Fixed assets 50 Common equity 50
Total assets $100 Total liabilities and equity $100
BUSINESS CONDITIONS
Good Expected Bad

Sales revenues $150.0 $100.0 $75.0
Operating costs Fixed 45.0 45.0 45.0
Variable 60.0 40.0 30.0
Total operating costs 105.0 85.0 75.0
Operating income (EBIT) $ 45.0 $ 15.0 $ 0.0
Interest (Rate = 10%) 5.0 5.0 5.0
Earnings before taxes (EBT) $ 40.0 $ 10.0 $ 5.0

Taxes (Rate = 40%) 16.0 4.0 0.0
Net income (NI) $ 24.0 $ 6.0 $ 5.0
ROEL 48.0% 12.0% 10.0%

assets exceeds the interest rate on debt, as it generally is expected to do, then a
company can use debt to acquire assets, pay the interest on the debt, and have
something left over as a “bonus” for its stockholders. Under the expected conditions,
our hypothetical firms expect to earn 15 percent on assets versus a 10 percent
cost of debt, and this, combined with the tax benefit of debt, pushes Firm
L’s expected rate of return on equity up far above that of Firm U.

We see, then, that firms with relatively high debt ratios have higher expected
returns when the economy is normal, but they are exposed to risk of loss when
the economy enters a recession. Therefore, decisions about the use of debt require
firms to balance higher expected returns against increased risk. Determining the
optimal amount of debt is a complicated process, and we defer a discussion of

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

Debt Ratio

The ratio of total debt
to total assets.

Times-Interest-Earned
(TIE) Ratio

The ratio of earnings
before interest and
taxes (EBIT) to interest
charges; a measure of
the firm’s ability to
meet its annual interest
payments.

that subject to a later chapter on capital structure. For now, we simply look at
two procedures analysts use to examine the firm’s debt: (1) They check the balance
sheet to determine the proportion of total funds represented by debt, and

(2) they review the income statement to see the extent to which fixed charges are
covered by operating profits.
Total Debt to Total Assets

The ratio of total debt to total assets, generally called the debt ratio, measures
the percentage of funds provided by creditors:

Total debt

Debt ratio

Total assets

$310  $750 $1,060

53.0%

$2,000 $2,000
Industry average  40.0%

Total debt includes all current liabilities and long-term debt. Creditors prefer
low debt ratios because the lower the ratio, the greater the cushion against creditors’
losses in the event of liquidation. Stockholders, on the other hand, may
want more leverage because it can magnify expected earnings.

Allied’s debt ratio is 53.0 percent, which means that its creditors have
supplied more than half the total financing. As we will discuss in the capital
structure chapter, a number of factors affect a company’s optimal debt ratio. Nevertheless,
the fact that Allied’s debt ratio exceeds the industry average raises a red
flag, and this will make it relatively costly for Allied to borrow additional funds
without first raising more equity. Creditors will be reluctant to lend the firm more
money, and management would probably be subjecting the firm to the risk of
bankruptcy if it sought to borrow a substantial amount of additional funds.12

Times-Interest-Earned Ratio

The times-interest-earned (TIE) ratio is determined by dividing earnings before
interest and taxes (EBIT in Table 3-2) by the interest charges:

EBIT

Times-interest-earned (TIE) ratio

Interest charges

$283.8

3.2

$88
Industry average  6.0

The TIE ratio measures the extent to which operating income can decline before
the firm is unable to meet its annual interest costs. Failure to pay interest will
bring legal action by the firm’s creditors and probably result in bankruptcy. Note
that earnings before interest and taxes, rather than net income, is used in the
numerator. Because interest is paid with pre-tax dollars, the firm’s ability to pay
current interest is not affected by taxes.

12 The ratio of debt to equity is also used in financial analysis. The debt-to-assets (D/A) and debt-toequity
(D/E) ratios are simply transformations of each other:

D>
AD>
E
D/E = and D/A =

1  D>
A1  D>
E

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

Allied’s interest is covered 3.2 times. The industry average is 6 times, so
Allied is covering its interest charges by a relatively low margin of safety. Thus,
the TIE ratio reinforces the primary conclusion from our analysis of the debt
ratio, namely, that Allied would face difficulties if it attempted to borrow additional
funds.

EBITDA Coverage Ratio

The TIE ratio is useful for assessing the ability to meet interest charges on debt,
but it has two shortcomings: (1) Interest is not the only fixed financial charge—
companies must also retire debt on a fixed schedule, and many firms also lease
assets and thus must make lease payments. If they fail to repay debt or meet
lease payments, they can be forced into bankruptcy. (2) EBIT does not represent
all the cash flow available to service debt, especially if a firm has high depreciation
and/or amortization charges. To account for these deficiencies, bankers and
others also use the EBITDA coverage ratio, which shows all of the cash flow
available for payments in the numerator and all of the required financial payments
in the denominator. This ratio is defined as follows:13

EBITDA  Lease payments

EBITDA

coverage ratio
Interest  Principal payments  Lease payments

$383.8  $28 $411.8

3.0

$88  $20  $28 $136
Industry average  4.3

Regarding the numerator, Allied had EBITDA of $383.8 million, consisting of
$283.8 million of operating income (EBIT) and $100 million of depreciation.
However, $28 million of lease payments were deducted when we calculated
EBITDA, yet that $28 million was available to meet financial charges. Therefore,
we must add it back to EBITDA, giving a total of $411.8 million that is available
for fixed financial charges.14 Fixed financial charges consisted of $88 million of
interest, $20 million of sinking fund payments, and $28 million of lease payments,
for a total of $136 million.15 Therefore, Allied covered its fixed financial
charges by 3.0 times. However, if operating income declines, the coverage will
fall, and operating income certainly can decline. As Allied’s ratio is well below
the industry average, we again see that the company has a relatively high level
of debt.

13 Different analysts define the EBITDA coverage ratio in different ways. For example, some would
omit the lease payment information, and others would “gross up” principal payments by dividing
them by (1  T) because these payments are not tax deductions, hence must be made with after-tax
cash flows. We included lease payments because, for many firms, they are quite important, and failing
to make them can lead to bankruptcy just as surely as can failure to make payments on “regular”
debt. We did not gross up principal payments because, if a company is in financial difficulty, its
tax rate will probably be zero, hence the gross up is not necessary whenever the ratio is really
important.
14 Lease payments are included in the numerator because, unlike interest, they were deducted when
EBITDA was calculated. We want to find all the funds that were available to service fixed charges,
so lease payments must be added to the EBIT and DA to find the funds that could be used to service
debt and meet lease payments.
15 A sinking fund is a required annual payment designed to reduce the balance of a bond or preferred
stock issue. A sinking fund payment is like the principal repayment portion of the payment
on an amortized loan, but sinking funds are used for publicly traded bond issues, whereas amortization
payments are used for bank loans and other private loans.

EBITDA Coverage
Ratio

A ratio whose numerator
includes all cash
flows available to meet
fixed financial charges
and whose denominator
includes all fixed
financial charges.

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

Profitability Ratios

A group of ratios that
show the combined
effects of liquidity,
asset management,
and debt on operating
results.

Profit Margin on Sales

This ratio measures net
income per dollar of
sales; it is calculated by
dividing net income by
sales.

The EBITDA coverage ratio is most useful for relatively short-term lenders
such as banks, which rarely make loans (except real estate–backed loans) for
longer than about five years. Over a relatively short period, depreciation-
generated funds can be used to service debt. Over a longer time, those funds
must be reinvested to maintain the plant and equipment or else the company
cannot remain in business. Therefore, banks and other relatively short-term
lenders focus on the EBITDA coverage ratio, whereas long-term bondholders
focus on the TIE ratio.

What are three important implications of financial leverage?

How does the use of financial leverage affect stockholders’ control
position?

How does the U.S. tax structure influence a firm’s willingness to
finance with debt?

How does the decision to use debt involve a risk-versus-return
trade-off?

Explain the following statement: “Analysts look at both balance
sheet and income statement ratios when appraising a firm’s financial
condition.”

Name three ratios that are used to measure financial leverage, and
write out their equations.

A company has EBITDA of $500 million, interest payments of $50
million, lease payments of $40 million, and required principal
payments (due this year) of $30 million. What is its EBITDA coverage
ratio? (4.5)

4.5 PROFITABILITY RATIOS
Accounting statements reflect things that happened in the past, but they also
give us clues about what’s really important—what’s likely to happen in the
future. The liquidity, asset management, and debt ratios covered thus far tell us
something about the firm’s policies and operations. Now we turn to the
profitability ratios, which reflect the net result of all of the financing policies
and operating decisions.

Profit Margin on Sales

The profit margin on sales, calculated by dividing net income by sales, gives the
profit per dollar of sales:

Net income

Profit margin on sales

Sales

$117.5

3.9%

$3,000
Industry average  5.0%

Allied’s profit margin is below the industry average of 5 percent. This sub-par
result occurs because costs are too high. High costs, in turn, generally occur
because of inefficient operations. However, Allied’s low profit margin is also a

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVESGLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Global Accounting Standards:
Can One Size Fit All?

These days you must be a good financial detective
to analyze financial statements, especially if the
company operates overseas. Despite attempts to standardize
accounting practices, there are still many differences
in financial reporting in different countries that
create headaches for investors making cross-border
company comparisons. However, as businesses become
more global and more foreign companies list
on U.S. stock exchanges, accountants and regulators
are realizing the need for a global convergence of
accounting standards. As a result, the writing is on
the wall regarding accounting standards, and differences
are disappearing.

The effort to internationalize accounting standards
began in 1973 with the formation of the International
Accounting Standards Committee. However, in 1998 it
became apparent that a full-time rule-making body
with global representation was necessary, so the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB), with
members representing nine major countries, was
established. The IASB was charged with the responsibility
for creating a set of International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) for European Union (EU)
companies by January 1, 2005, when more than 7,000
publicly listed European companies were supposed to
conform to these standards. In contrast, only 350 European
companies were using international standards as
of 2003. A number of other countries, including Australia
and other Pacific Rim countries, South Africa,
Canada, Russia, Japan, and China are interested in
adopting IFRS.

A survey of senior executives from 85 financial
institutions worldwide found that 92 percent of those
responding favored a single set of international stan

dards but only 55 percent thought universal adoption
was achievable. Obviously, the globalization of accounting
standards is a huge endeavor—one that will
involve compromises between the IASB and FASB.
Part of the problem is that U.S. GAAP takes a rules-
based approach, while the IASB insists on using a
principles-based approach. With a rules-based system,
companies can tell whether or not they are in
compliance, but they can also develop ways to get
around a rule and thus subvert its intent. With a principles-
based system, there is greater uncertainty
about whether certain border-line procedures will be
allowed, but such a system makes it easier to prosecute
on the basis of intent.

A global accounting structure would enable
investors and practitioners around the world to read
and understand financial reports produced anywhere
in the world. In addition, it would enhance all companies’
access to all capital markets, which would
improve investor diversification, reduce risk, and
lower the cost of capital. However, it remains to be
seen whether the IASB’s lofty goal can be achieved.

Sources: “All Accountants Soon May Speak the Same Language,”
The Wall Street Journal, August 29, 1995, p. A15;
Jim Cole, “Global Standards Loom for Accounting,” East
Bay Business Times, November 12, 2001; “Accountants
Struggle to Reconcile Rules,” BestWire, April 28, 2003;
“For and Against; Standards Need Time to Work,” Accountancy
Age, June 5, 2003, p. 16; Larry Schlesinger, “Overview;
Bringing about a New Dawn,” Accountancy Age, September
4, 2003, p. 18; Cassell Bryan-Low, “Deals & Deal Makers:
Accounting Changes Are in Store,” The Wall Street
Journal, September 10, 2003, p. C4; and Fay Hansen, “Get
Ready for New Global Accounting Standards,” January
2004, www.BusinessFinanceMag.com.

result of its heavy use of debt. Recall that net income is income after interest.
Therefore, if two firms have identical operations in the sense that their sales,
operating costs, and EBIT are the same, but if one firm uses more debt than the
other, it will have higher interest charges. Those interest charges will pull net
income down, and as sales are constant, the result will be a relatively low profit
margin. In this situation, the low profit margin would indicate a difference in
financing strategies, not an operating problem. Thus, the firm with the low
profit margin might end up with a higher rate of return on its stockholders’
investment due to its use of financial leverage.

Note too that while a high return on sales is good, other things held constant,
other things may not be held constant—we must also be concerned with
turnover. If a firm sets a very high price on its products, it may get a high return
on each sale but not make many sales. That might result in a high profit margin
but still not be optimal because total sales are low.

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

Return on Total
Assets (ROA)

The ratio of the net
income to total assets.

Basic Earning Power
(BEP) Ratio

This ratio indicates the
ability of the firm’s
assets to generate
operating income; calculated
by dividing
EBIT by total assets.

We will see exactly how profit margins, the use of debt, and turnover interact
to affect overall stockholder returns shortly, when we examine the Du Pont
equation.

Return on Total Assets

The ratio of net income to total assets measures the return on total assets (ROA)
after interest and taxes:

Net income

Return on total assets  ROA

Total assets

$117.5

5.9%

$2,000
Industry average  9.0%

Allied’s 5.9 percent return is well below the 9 percent industry average. This is
not good, but a low return on assets is not necessarily bad—it could result from
a conscious decision to use a lot of debt, in which case high interest expenses
will cause net income to be relatively low. Debt is part of the reason for Allied’s
low ROA. Never forget—you must look at a number of ratios, see what each
suggests, and then look at the overall situation when you judge the performance
of a company and try to figure out what it should do to improve.

Basic Earning Power (BEP) Ratio

The basic earning power (BEP) ratio is calculated by dividing earnings before
interest and taxes (EBIT) by total assets:

EBIT

Basic earning power (BEP) ratio

Total assets

$283.8

14.2%

$2,000
Industry average  18.0%

This ratio shows the raw earning power of the firm’s assets, before the influence
of taxes and leverage, and it is useful when comparing firms with different
degrees of financial leverage and tax situations. Because of its low turnover
ratios and poor profit margin on sales, Allied is not earning as high a return on
assets as the average food-processing company.16

16 A related ratio is the return on investors’ capital, defined as follows:

Net income  Interest

Return on investors’ capital

Debt  Equity

The numerator shows the dollar returns to investors, the denominator shows the money investors
have put up, and the ratio itself shows the rate of return on all investors’ capital. This ratio is especially
important in regulated industries such as electric utilities, where regulators are concerned
about companies’ using their monopoly power to earn excessive returns on investors’ capital. In
fact, regulators try to set electric rates at levels that will force the return on investors’ capital to
equal a company’s cost of capital as defined in Chapter 10.

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

Return on Common Equity

The “bottom-line” accounting ratio is the return on common equity (ROE),
found as follows:

Net income

Return on common equity  ROE

Common equity

$117.5

12.5%

$940
Industry average  15.0%

Stockholders expect to earn a return on their money, and this ratio tells how well
they are doing in an accounting sense. Allied’s 12.5 percent return is below the
15 percent industry average, but not as far below as the return on total assets.
This somewhat better ROE is due to the company’s greater use of debt, a point
that we discussed earlier in the chapter.

Identify four profitability ratios, and write out their equations.

Why is the basic earning power ratio useful?

Why does the use of debt lower the ROA?

What does ROE measure? Since interest expense lowers profits and
thus the ROA, does using debt necessarily lower the ROE? Explain.

A company has $20 billion of sales and $1 billion of net income. Its
total assets are $10 billion, financed half by debt and half by common
equity. What is its profit margin? (5%) What is its ROA? (10%)
What is its ROE? (20%) Would ROA increase if the firm used less
leverage? (yes) Would ROE increase? (no)

4.6 MARKET VALUE RATIOS
The ROE reflects the effects of all the other ratios and is the best single measure
of performance in an accounting sense. Investors obviously like to see a high
ROE, and high ROEs are generally positively correlated with high stock prices.
However, other things come into play. As we saw earlier, financial leverage generally
increases the ROE but leverage also increases the firm’s risk, which
investors dislike. So, if a high ROE is achieved by the use of a very large amount
of debt, the stock price might well be lower than it would be with less debt and
a lower ROE. Similarly, investors are interested in growth, and if the current
ROE was achieved by holding back on research and development costs, which
will constrain future growth, this will not be regarded favorably.

This takes us to a final group of ratios, the market value ratios, which relate
the firm’s stock price to its earnings, cash flow, and book value per share. These
ratios give management an indication of what investors think of the company’s
risk and future prospects. If the liquidity, asset management, debt management,
and profitability ratios all look good, and if these conditions have been stable
over time, then the market value ratios will be high, the stock price will probably
be as high as can be expected, and management has been doing a good job
and should be rewarded. Otherwise, changes might be needed.

Return on Common
Equity (ROE)

The ratio of net income
to common equity;
measures the rate of
return on common
stockholders’ investment.

Market Value Ratios

A set of ratios that
relate the firm’s stock
price to its earnings,
cash flow, and book
value per share.

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

Price/Earnings (P/E)
Ratio

The ratio of the price
per share to earnings
per share; shows the
dollar amount investors
will pay for $1 of
current earnings.

Price/Cash Flow Ratio

The ratio of price per
share divided by cash
flow per share; shows
the dollar amount
investors will pay for $1
of cash flow.

Price/Earnings Ratio

The price/earnings (P/E) ratio shows how much investors are willing to pay per
dollar of reported profits. Allied’s stock sells for $23, so with an EPS of $2.35 its
P/E ratio is 9.8:

Price per share

Price>earnings 1P>E2 ratio

Earnings per share

$23.00

9.8

$2.35
Industry average  11.3

As we will see in Chapter 9, P/E ratios are higher for firms with strong growth
prospects and relatively little risk. Allied’s P/E ratio is below the average for
other food processors, so this suggests that the company is regarded as being
somewhat riskier than most, as having poor growth prospects, or both.

Price/Cash Flow Ratio

In some industries, stock price is tied more closely to cash flow rather than net
income. Consequently, investors often look at the price/cash flow ratio:

Price per share

Price>cash flow

Cash flow per share

$23.00

5.3

$4.35
Industry average  5.4

The calculation for cash flow per share was discussed in Chapter 3, but to
refresh your memory, it is equal to net income plus depreciation and amortization
divided by common shares outstanding. Allied’s price/cash flow ratio is
slightly below the industry average, once again suggesting that its growth
prospects are below average, its risk is above average, or both.

Note that for some purposes analysts look at multiples beyond just the
price/earnings and the price/cash flow ratios. For example, depending on the
industry, analysts may look at price/sales, price/customers, or price/(EBITDA
per share). Ultimately, though, value depends on earnings and cash flows, so if
these “exotic” ratios do not forecast future levels of EPS and cash flow, they may
turn out to be misleading.17

Market/Book Ratio

The ratio of a stock’s market price to its book value gives another indication of
how investors regard the company. Companies that are well regarded by
investors—which means companies with safe and growing earnings and cash

17 During the “Internet bubble” of the late 1990s and early 2000s, some Internet companies were
valued by multiplying the number of “hits” to a Web site times some sort of multiple. If those hits
translated to sales and profits, this procedure would have made sense, but generally they did not,
and the result was a vast overvaluation of stocks and a subsequent huge crash. Keep your eye on
earnings and cash flows.

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

flows—sell at higher multiples of book value than those with low returns. First,
we find Allied’s book value per share:

Common equity

Book value per share

Shares outstanding

$940

$18.80

50

Then we divide the market price per share by the book value per share to get the
market/book (M/B) ratio, which for Allied is 1.2 times:

Market price per share

Market>
book ratio  M>
B

Book value per share

$23.00

1.2

$18.80
Industry average  1.7

Investors are willing to pay less for a dollar of Allied’s book value than for
one of an average food-processing company. This is consistent with our other
findings.

In today’s market (September 2005), the average Standard & Poor’s (S&P)
500 company had a market/book ratio of about 2.87.18 Because M/B ratios typically
exceed 1.0, this means that investors are willing to pay more for stocks than
their accounting book values. This situation occurs primarily because asset values,
as reported by accountants on corporate balance sheets, do not reflect either
inflation or “goodwill.” Thus, assets purchased years ago at preinflation prices
are carried at their original costs, even though inflation might have caused their
actual values to rise substantially, and successful going concerns have a value
greater than their historical costs.

If a company earns a low rate of return on its assets, then its M/B ratio will
be relatively low versus an average company. Some airlines, which have not
fared well in recent years, sell at M/B ratios well below 1.0, while very successful
firms such as Microsoft achieve high rates of return on their assets, resulting
in market values far in excess of their book values. In September 2005
Microsoft’s book value per share was about $4.49 versus a market price of
$26.28, so its market/book ratio was $26.28/$4.49  5.9 times.

Describe three ratios that relate a firm’s stock price to its earnings,
cash flow, and book value per share, and write out their equations.

How do these market value ratios reflect investor’s opinions about a
stock’s risk and expected future growth?

What does the price/earnings (P/E) ratio show? If one firm’s P/E
ratio is lower than that of another, what are some factors that might
explain the difference?

How is book value per share calculated? Explain how inflation and
“goodwill” built up over time could cause book values to deviate
from market values.

Market/Book (M/B)
Ratio

The ratio of a stock’s
market price to its
book value.

18 This was obtained from the key ratios section shown in http://moneycentral.msn.com.

Part 2 Fundamental Concepts in Financial Management

Trend Analysis

An analysis of a firm’s
financial ratios over
time; used to estimate
the likelihood of
improvement or deterioration
in its financial
condition.

Basic Du Pont
Equation

A formula that shows
that the rate of return
on assets can be found
as the product of the
profit margin times the
total assets turnover.

4.7 TREND ANALYSIS
It is important to analyze trends in ratios as well as their absolute levels, for
trends give clues as to whether a firm’s financial condition is likely to improve
or to deteriorate. To do a trend analysis, simply plot a ratio over time, as shown
in Figure 4-1. This graph shows that Allied’s rate of return on common equity
has been declining since 2002, even though the industry average has been relatively
stable. All the other ratios could be analyzed similarly.

How is a trend analysis done?
What important information does a trend analysis provide?

4.8 TYING THE RATIOS TOGETHER:
THE DU PONT EQUATIONS
Table 4-2 summarizes Allied’s ratios. The profit margin times the total assets
turnover is called the basic Du Pont equation, and it gives the rate of return on
assets (ROA):

ROA  Profit margin Total assets turnover

Net income Sales

(4-1)

Sales Total assets

3.9%  1.5  5.9%

Allied made 3.9 percent, or 3.9 cents, on each dollar of sales, and assets were
“turned over” 1.5 times during the year. Therefore, the company earned a return
of 5.9 percent on its assets.

FIGURE 4-1 Rate of Return on Common Equity, 2001–2005

ROE

(%)
16
14
12
10

Industry
Allied
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Chapter 4 Analysis of Financial Statements

TABLE 4-2 Allied Food Products: Summary
of Financial Ratios (Millions of Dollars)
Ratio Formula Calculation Ratio
Industry
Average Comment

Liquidity
Current
Quick
C

 

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