The Financial Performance of Kraft and General Mills Essays

The purpose of this paper is to compare the financial health of The Fresh Market and Kroger. The Fresh Market and Kroger focus on selling organic food. The Fresh Market is a 1.7 billion corporation compared to Kroger 108 billion. The information was obtained from the 2014 Balance Sheet and Income Statements for both grocery stores. . There are three different categories of ratios; liquidity, profitability and efficiency. Ratios enable one to not focus on the size of the company, but on the liquidity, profitably and efficiency and the overall financial health of the organization.

General Mills is a company that has many brands in the food industry, however, they are more famously known for their individual brands. Their primary brands include Cheerios, Nature Valley, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Hamburger Helper, Betty Crocker and Yoplait (General Mills Canada). When these brands are organized into different categories, General Mills’ product mix is the result. Taken right from General Mills Canada website and how they organize their brands for consumer friendliness, their product mix includes: baking products, cereals, dough/pastries, fruit, ice cream, meals, organic/natural, pasta, pizza, snacks, soup, vegetables, and yogurt. Each individual type in the product

The ratios in this report are going to be used to compare WF to its competitior and also to compare its financial performances to the whole Grocery store industry (SIC: 5411) to see how Whole Foods Inc is doing in regards to the whole industry. It is crucial to compare a company’s ratios with the industry’s, because they may appear good or bad when comparing with the company’s competitors, however, when comparing these ratios to the industry a different

Based upon my knowledge learned on financial reporting, I had compared to companies reporting statistics. The two companies in comparison are PepsiCo Incorperated and The Coca-Cola Company in which both have reported annual statistics for 2004 and 2005. During my comparison of net incomes, gross expenses, stock statistics, and assets accumulations, I have suggested some strategies for each business to take into consideration for better future results. As an accountant in training, I will be giving specific details of my analysis and recommendations, as these are my opinions for financial success.

General Mills, Inc. has three segments. U.S. Retail sells ready-to-eat cereals, meals, yogurt, organic foods, etc. The International segment includes retail business in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region. Bakeries and Foodservice sells to retail and wholesale bakeries, and convenience stores. The company makes money through producing various food and products and distributing them all over the world.

For the analysis the packaged food company ConAgra Foods, Inc (CAG) was chosen. According to ConAgra 2013 Annual report, ConAgra Foods, Inc. is one of the USA’s leading food companies. It has a strong brand recognition and consumer loyalty. ConAgra 's products are sold both in large supermarkets and convenience stores. Company operates in Commercial and Consumer Foods segments. The food industry is especially interesting for the research as the demand on food will stay relatively stable even during economic crises and is continuously growing.

Kraft Foods established in 1903 has been in existence for over a century and is a household name. It's a company that when spoken of a thought of Mac-n-Cheese or dairy products come to mind but it is so much more. This organization has progressed dramatically over the years buying over other companies, improving existing brands, and introducing new product lines. Today, Kraft Food products include beverages, cheese, dairy, and snack foods. How has Kraft been able to thrive? Is it because they are striving to ensure that their Mission, Vision, and Values are easily understood and achievable?

The company selected for our financial analysis project is Chipotle Mexican Grill. Chipotle (for short) is a company that is a major player in the fast food and restaurant industry. The name “chipotle” is derived from the Mexican Spanish name for a smoked, dried Jalapeno pepper. The restaurant sells large burritos and bowls in an assembly line production system where all the condiments are arranged and all the customer has to do is request what they want their burrito to consist of. This in turn lends itself to an air of individuality (creating multiple combinations and choices for the clientele). The Corporation trades under the ticker symbol CMG on the New York Stock Exchange. The most recent Fiscal Year End

Company Overview:  Conduct research and describe the company, its operations, locations, markets, and lines of business. Collect financial statements for the past three years, fiscal or calendar.

The ratio comparison in table in the appendix suggests that Whole Foods Market inc. is in good shape financially, healthy company. Whole Foods market is liquid company; it has high liquidity- strong cash flow to cover its debts and future projects. Our analysis of Whole

The strategy of Kraft Heinz dramatically changed after the merger in 2015. The new strategy is considered to be iconoclastic. This is because the new leaders of the company are not reminiscing in the past or using the former strategies that worked for the company. They did a complete overhaul to the leadership and the strategies that “worked” for the company. The new company objectives are as follows: 1. Profitable sales growth, 2 Best-in-class margins, and 3. A superior return of capital. The company will no longer let employees slip in to the cracks and gain a retirement, it must be earned.

On February 2, 2010 Kraft and Cadbury, two leading firms in the snack industry finalized their merger decision after five months of negotiation. In this report we will examine why it made strategic sense for the two companies to combine and evaluate the performance of the combined companies since its merger. In particular we will analyze the post-merger financial statements and highlight a few points regarding the accounting.

Kraft Foods is the second largest consumer packaged food and beverage company in the world with revenues of approximately $19B. After 110 years Kraft Foods has excelled as an organization and become a well recognized household name. Through the utilization of a SWOT analysis Kraft Foods has been able to determine internal and external threats and opportunities to help them remain on top of their industry. Competition in the food industry is extremely high and through adaptability and change Kraft Foods is able to provide their consumers with better quality and affordable foods. This adaptability has

We support the goals of the company by applying the highest ethical conduct within our corporate philosophy in all our business transactions (6), treatment of employees (9), and social and environmental policies (8). We at Kraft Foods focus highly on our consumers’ lifestyles and aim to grow profitable in the worlds’ food market and provide a higher than expected return to shareholders (5). Our company takes pride in making today and the future-delicious.

In today’s economy a company needs to expand its customer base if it wants to continue to grow and develop. This process is sometimes difficult for older business managers. The need to stay locally and only focus within natural boundaries that were a staple in business in the past is no longer the way business operates. If the company does not branch out, it gives the opportunity for other companies to take more of the global market share and could eventually creep into the local area affecting the business that was not looking to expand. The international market place has provided a new template for many companies leading to adjusted and improved products or even in many incidents new products that would not have been realized at the local levels. Anson Zong-Liscum in a 2013 article provides five excellent reasons for why companies should expand internationally, staying competitive, opens up opportunities, growth for the company, increase personnel resources and advances in technology (Zong-Liscum, 2013). In the Oreo case study three of these reasons were directly looked at as being keys to the successful outcome in both China and India. This paper will review how Kraft strategically planned to enter the Oreo brand into new markets, the obstacles that occurred, lessons learned and how these processes changed the next expansion for the Kraft Oreo brand.