Briefly describe the ratios that can be used to evaluate a company’s profitability.

Short Answer

Expert verified

A company can use theprofitability ratiosto evaluate its profitability.

Step by step solution

01

Meaning of Profitability Ratio

The profitability ratios are the ratios that determine a company's power to produce revenue concerning its outlays and other expenses incurred in income production during a specific timeframe. This ratio can determine the company's ultimate performance.

02

Explanations of various profitability ratios

  • Return on Equity

This ratio evaluates the profitability of the equity fund that the corporation has invested in the business. The higher the ratio, the better it is.

Returnonequity=ProfitafterTaxNetworth

  • Earnings per Share

This ratio calculates the amount each shareholder can earn on the company's net income according to the number of shares they have. A higher proportion indicates a better company.

Earningpershare=NetProfitTotalno.ofsharesoutstanding

  • Return on Capital Employed

This ratio calculates the percentage of the money a business earns by how efficiently using the capital invested in the company. A higher ratio is considered better.

Returnoncapitalemployed=NetOperatingProfitCapitalemployed×100

  • Return on Assets

This ratio calculates the rate of return a company earns by using the company's assets efficiently. A high ratio indicates that a company is doing better.

ReturnonAssets=NetProfitTotalAssets

  • Gross Profit

This ratio calculates the percentage of profit a company earns on its selling price. A high ratio helps the corporation since it indicates a higher profit margin.

Grossprofitratio=GrossProfitSales×100

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Verifine Corp. reported the following on its comparative income statement:

(In millions)2019 2018 2017

Revenue \( 9,890 \) 9,690 $ 9,135

Cost of Goods Sold 6,250 6,000 5,890

Prepare a horizontal analysis of revenues and gross profit—both in dollar amounts

and in percentages—for 2019 and 2018.

Using ratios to decide between two stock investments

Assume that you are purchasing an investment and have decided to invest in a company in the digital phone business. You have narrowed the choice to Digitalized Corp. and Every Zone, Inc. and have assembled the following data.

Selected income statement data for the current year:

Digitalized

Every Zone

Net sales revenue (all on credit)

\(423,035

\)493,845

Cost of goods sold

210,000

260,000

Interest expenses

0

19,000

Net income

51,000

72,000

Selected balance sheet and market price data at the end of the current year:

Digitalized

Every Zone

Current assets:

Cash

\(24,000

\)17,000

Short-term investment

40,000

14,000

Accounts receivables, Net

40,000

48,000

Merchandise inventory

66,000

97,000

Prepaid expenses

23,000

12,000

Total current assets

\(193,000

\)188,000

Total assets

266,000

323,000

Total current liabilities

105,000

96,000

Total liabilities

105,000

128,000

Common stock

\(1 par (12,000 shares)

12,000

\)1 par (17,000 shares)

17,000

Total stockholders equity

161,000

195,000

Market price per share of common stock

76.50

114.48

Dividend paid per common stock

1.10

1.00

Selected balance sheet data at the beginning of the current year:

Digitalized

Every Zone

Balance sheet:

Accounts Receivable, net

\(41,000

\)54,000

Merchandise Inventory

81,000

87,000

Total Assets

261,000

272,000

Common Stock:

\(1 par (12,000 shares)

12,000

\)1 par (17,000 shares)

17,000

Your strategy is to invest in companies that have low price/earnings ratios but appear to be in good shape financially. Assume that you have analyzed all other factors and that your decision depends on the results of ratio analysis.

Requirements

  1. Compute the following ratios for both companies for the current year:

a. Acid-test ratio

b. Inventory turnover

c. Days’ sales in receivables

d. Debt ratio

e. Earnings per share of common stock

f. Price/earnings ratio

g. Dividend payout

2. Decide which company’s stock better fits your investment strategy.

Question: What are the three main ways to analyze financial statements?

Monroe Corp. reported the following amounts on its balance sheet at December 31, 2018 and 2017:

2018, 2017

Cash and Receivables \( 35,000 \) 40,000

Merchandise Inventory 20,000 15,000

Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net 80,000 60,000

Total Assets \( 135,000 \) 115,000

Prepare a vertical analysis of Monroe Corp. for 2018 and 2017.

Completing a comprehensive financial statement analysis

In its annual report, ABC Athletic Supply, Inc. includes the following five-year financial summary:

ABC ATHLETIC SUPPLY, INC.
Five-Year Financial Summary (Partial; adapted)

(Dollar amounts in thousands except per share data)

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

Net Sales Revenue

\(250,000

\)216,000

\(191,000

\)161,000

\(134,000

Net Sales Revenue Increase

16%

13%

19%

20%

17%

Domestic Comparative Store Sales Increase

5%

6%

4%

7%

9%

Other Income—Net

2,110

1,840

1,760

1,690

1,330

Cost of Goods Sold

189,250

164,592

148,216

126,385

106,396

Selling and Administrative Expenses

41,210

36,330

31,620

27,440

22,540

Interest:

Interest Expense

(1,080)

(1,380)

(1,400)

(1,020)

(830)

Interest Income

125

165

155

235

190

Income Tax Expense

4,470

3,900

3,700

3,320

2,700

Net Income

16,225

11,803

7,979

4,760

3,054

Per Share of Common Stock:

Net Income

1.60

1.30

1.20

1.00

0.78

Dividends

0.40

0.38

0.34

0.30

0.26

Financial Position

Current Assets, Excluding Merchandise Inventory

\)30,700

\(27,200

\)26,700

\(24,400

\)21,500

Merchandise Inventory

24,500

22,600

21,700

19,000

17,500

$16,700

Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net

51,400

45,200

40,000

35,100

25,600

Total Assets

106,600

95,000

88,400

78,500

64,600

Current Liabilities

32,300

28,000

28,300

25,000

16,500

Long-term Debt

23,000

21,500

17,600

19,100

12,000

Stockholders’ Equity

51,300

45,500

42,500

34,400

36,100

Financial Ratios

Acid-Test Ratio

1.0

1.0

0.9

1.0

1.3

Rate of Return on Total Assets

17.2%

14.4%

11.2%

8.1%

7.1%

Rate of Return on Common Stockholders’ Equity

35.5%

26.%

20.8%

13.5%

13.0%

Requirements

Analyze the company’s financial summary for the fiscal years 2014–2018 to decide whether to invest in the common stock of ABC. Include the following sections in your analysis.

  1. Trend analysis for net sales revenue and net income (use 2014 as the base year).
  2. Profitability analysis.
  3. Evaluation of the ability to sell merchandise inventory.
  4. Evaluation of the ability to pay debts.
  5. Evaluation of dividends.
  6. Should you invest in the common stock of ABC Athletic Supply, Inc.? Fully explain your final decision
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