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Financial Analysis and Comparison of American Eagle Outfitters Incorporated & Staples Incorporated Accounting XXXX: Term Paper XXXXXXX 11.26.2010 Table of Contents Table of Contents…………………………………...…2 Introduction…………………………………………..…3 Financial Trends……………………………………….3 Staples Background………………..…………………3 American Eagle Outfitters Background………4 Business Environments…………………………….4 Return on Equity Ratio……………………………..5 Return On Assets Ratio………………………..……6 Gross Profit Margin…………………………….…….7 Net Profit Margin……………………………...………8 Current Ratio………………………………………...…9 Debt to Equity Ratio………………………..………10 Inventory Turnover Ratio……………………….11 Accounts Payable Turnover Ratio…………....13 Quality of Income Ratio…….……………………..14 …show more content…

The economic downturn, which had a major impact on the U.S. economy beginning in 2008, can be considered an appreciable contributor to this decline. As the economy declined, individuals and businesses had less discretionary spending. Due to uncertainty in the market place and an increased unemployment rate, individuals spent less on retail luxuries such as clothing, which reduced the net income of apparel retailers such as AEO and therefore negatively affected return on equity. Small businesses, the primary customers for Staples, also had less cash on hand to invest into new technology, computers, and office supplies. As such, new purchases were delayed and net sales of Staples declined. Both companies experienced a relative increase in stockholder equity due to increased stock prices and/or newly issued shares. As a result of decreased net sales and increased average stockholder equity, return on equity and therefore profitability of both companies declined over this time period. Figure 1: Return on Equity Trend Return on Assets Ratio Similar to return on equity, return on assets can be used to measure profitability between two companies. It measures the total investment made by a company with respect to net income. Net sales for both companies declined as described in the return on equity section. At the same time, both Staples and AEO continued to

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