HBS - The Case of the Unidentified Industries -2006
With The Case of Unidentified Industries, William E. Fruhan Jr. wants us to visualize the balance sheets belonging to fourteen unknown companies and connect them with the suitable industries.
In order to determine which balance sheets belong to which industry, we studied several companies in those industries. Using a number of different sources such as Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, Wikipedia and Investopedia, we were able to the link the unidentified firms balance sheets with their associated industries.
In order to give structure to our analysis, we will have two main parts. In part one we will analyze the Service oriented companies and in the second part we will turn towards the
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This situation explains why some big bookstores are going out of business when confronted with online companies like Amazon.
So the company B could be in the same situation as Borders bookstore (BGPIQ.PK) is in right now.
The third company is company C, an online direct factory to customer PC vendor.
The high accounts receivable (24%) explains that half of the sales are B-to-B (Business-to-Business). In addition, the note in the case adds that “most manufacturing [is] outsourced”. Which explains why PP&E and inventories are so low and why the inventory turnover is so high.
The pharmaceutical manufacturer was identified as being company D.
The very high amount in other assets could be pinpointed to patents on drugs. Furthermore, the profit margin (15.8%) of this company is very close to the ones that pharmaceutical companies, like Novartis (ADR), would get.
And company D has a high percentage of common stocks, which could be linked to its big market capitalization, characteristic of pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The company F could be a computer software developer.
The balance sheet shows a very low level of inventory and PP&E (servers, computers), which concurs with the way of doing business of a software company. Furthermore, like companies like Microsoft (MSFT) it has a high percentage in other assets. Usually a sign of several patents characterizing this type of business (e.g. user interface patents, design patents, function
There were two pharmaceutical companies that were looking for ways to expand globally to position themselves in a competitive advantage from their competitors. One was located in the United States, which was Eli Lilly and
In accounting there is much to be learned, about the financial aspects of a business. In the past five weeks I have learned the importance of financial reports and how they relate to the success of an establishment. These reports may include balance sheets and income statements, which help accountants and the public grasp the overall financial condition of a company. The information in these reports is really significant to, managers, owners, employees, and investors. Managers of a business can take and deduce financial
The company is so large that no one drug can lift it from its current sales doldrums. In addition, the company was once highly attractive to investors, but its recent stock price fell to 1997 lows. This may put pressure on the company to attempt acquisitions at a time when the company is ill-equipped to integrate a new company into its organization, and it is engaged in a cost-cutting program at a time when it may need to invest even more in research and development (McTigue Pierce, 2005).
A vertical and horizontal analysis of each company's balance sheet and income statement in this particular case will be enlightening. A vertical analysis will for instance shed some light on how revenue is being used. In this case, each component of the companies' financial statements will be converted into a percentage of a key component of either the balance sheet or the income statement. A special common size balance sheet and income statement will be utilized to ease comparison. The
5. Newmont Mining Company can be linked with balance sheet number three. First clues is the number for PPE, 62, 6 % of total assets, which represents all the heavily machinery for mine excavation. The level of inventory suits best for this company when we take into
In the Case of the Unknown Industries, we matched several industries with their corresponding balance sheets. We used several different methods to come up with our conclusion. An important factor we had to remember was the economic state industries were in their respective year.
In this case, a summary sheet which contains 14 sets of financial data from 14 different industries is provided. The task is to match 14 different firms with 14 industries by distinguishing the differences (e.g. sources of financing, profitability, the inventory turnover and the accounts receivable collection period) in the financial structures.
The Pfizer case provides an introduction to external analysis. The case highlights the pharmaceutical industry, which has enjoyed extraordinary long-run profitability. The case also demonstrates how broad changes in broad environmental factors (i.e. demographics, technology, culture, etc.) have an impact on industry competition. The case is not especially complex, so it is not overwhelming as a first case.
Next is Asset turnover with .55 times which is a measure of the efficiency of asset utilization. Finally the equity multiplier with 2.26 which is a measure of financial leverage of the firm. When compared to the traditional ratios we get similar results; Profit margin 25.44% (27% DuPont) versus 18.75% industry average. Asset turnover is .54 (.55 DuPont) versus .50 industry average. Equity multiplier 2.28 times (2.26 times DuPont) versus 2 times industry average. The results show that the DuPont analysis using ROE as the main determinant are very similar to the regular ratios. Furthermore the ROE of the traditional ratio is 31.32% with DuPont being 33.10% versus the industry average of 18.75% shows that the firms ROE is very robust. While the firm has some challenges with respect to liquidity and inventory management, as well as debt management it still is doing a good job with respect to its shareholders. However it could be doing a little better for the stockholders, and needs to address some of the above issues mentioned.
Receivables Turnover: This shows the degree of realization in accounts receivables. Company N has a lower turnover rate, a lower rate implies that receivables are being held longer and the less likely they are to be collected. Also there is an opportunity cost of tying up funds in receivables for a long period of time. Company M is 29 times higher than company N.
Exhibit 6, 8, and 9 (figures in $ millions) provides selected balance sheet items for Ford, General Motors, and DaimlerChrylser. The given information indicates that Ford carries the highest amount of cash and marketable securities among the three companies. In 1999, Ford had $25,173 of cash and marketable securities while General Motors and Daimler-Chrylser have only $12,140 and $9,163. Comparing at an industry level, we as a team
Balance Sheet: Assets, such as Cash and Cash equivalents are up over last year by $20.72 million dollars, whereas Short Term Investments where 0 at the end of 2013 they were slightly up to $1.12 by January 3, 2015. Other Assets shows a drop of $8.26 million dollars, mostly in Property, Plant and Equipment. Based on the 10-K report the balance sheet was in the thousands other web based financial reporting sites show the numbers to be in the millions. Upon further review of the Balance Sheet from the financial website “Watch” the break down in Property, Plant and Equipment shows the biggest difference in the Accumulated Depreciation. (Market Watch) The Vertical Ratio for 2014 Total Current Assets is 3% of the Total Assets and in 2013 was also 3%. The Horizontal Ratio for Total Asset were 37% reflecting a change from 2014 at $212.05 and 2013 $195.61 signaling a significant increase in 2014. The 2015 financial were not completed at the time of this report but the
Under the category of zero inventories, there are four companies. The nature of these companies show that they are not involved in
Balance sheets and income statements are a snapshot of a company’s stability and financial situation. Combined the statements show the income, expenses, and stockholder’s equity in the company. These statements are often analyzed by financial institutions when a company comes to them needing a loan. Stockholders and other investors also look at these statements to make sure their investment will return a profit for them. This paper will look at four different companies and their balance sheets and income statements. The companies are Eastman Chemical Company, Covenant Transportation
Beside that, Company D keep more stock which is 11.9% compare with Company C 4.3% because their company produces seasonal and year round beers with smaller production volume and their beers’ demand is not whole year long. Hence