Ratios Tell a Story

Running head: Case study assignment: ratios tell a story

Case Study Assignment: Ratios Tell a Story

Abstract

This paper is a case study assignment for XXXXX University’s Master of Arts in XXXXX. In this paper, I will review the Harvard Business School Case Study, Ratios Tell a Story and explore the financial statements for Wal-Mart, Amazon.Com, Northwest Airlines, Robert Half International, Adobe Systems Inc., and Hewlett-Packard. The purpose of this paper is to examine the above organizations’ financial condition and provide the reader a detailed description of their Total Assets, Total Liabilities, and Total Equity. Upon conclusion of this paper, I will attempt to analyze and compare Solvency Ratios, Activity Ratios, and Profitability Ratios.

Case Study Assignment: Ratios Tell a Story.

The case study, Ratios Tell a Story was prepared by Professor Mark Haskins of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. This case study serves as a guide for students who are analyzing and comparing corporate financial statements. It was designed to challenge each student in matching the metrics of thirteen industries. These industries include: airline, automobile manufacturing, pharmaceutical, commercial banking, computer / office equipment manufacturing, discount general-merchandise retail, electric utility, fast food, wholesale food distribution, supermarket, internet retail, specialized staffing services, and software development. Once the student selects the companies for these industries, the student will obtain data that supports or contradicts the metrics matching. This data consists of using the following formulas: return on sales, asset turnover, return on assets, financial leverage, return on equity, current ratio, inventory turnover, receivables collection, revenue growth, gross margin,...