In this assignment, you will incorporate the financial statement analysis you developed
previously into a comprehensive company analysis report.
This paper must be original research using appropriate resources. Examples of good resources
are:
• The company’s website.
• Annual Reports produced by the company.
• Publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, etc.
• Journal Articles from sources such as Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan
Management Review.
• Books on companies or business leaders. For example, the book “The Ride of a
Lifetime” by Bob Iger would be a useful reference for a report on The Disney Company.
The paper must have the following sections:
• Executive Summary
The executive summary is a summary of the complete report that should give the reader
a good understanding of what the
• Background and Company History
A review of how and why the company came into being and the major changes and
shifts in the company’s structure, products, markets and strategies.
• Current Products and/or Services and Markets
A thorough review of the company’s current products and/or services and the markets
that they are competing in. This review should also conclude an analysis of key
competitors in the marketplace.
• Company Strategy
An evaluation of the company’s strategy, including how it has evolved to the current
strategy, an evaluation of this strategy, and a prediction of how well this strategy will
succeed given trends in technology, consumer wants and needs and competitor actions.
• Financial Performance
From the financial statement analysis assignment, you calculated the following financial
performance measures for your company:
1. Gross Margin
2. Operating Margin
3. Net Profit Margin
4. Return on Equity
5. Debt/Equity Ratio
6. Current Ratio
7. The company’s cash and cash equivalents (for as many years as are available)
8. The company’s change in cash (for as many years as are available)
You should present each of these measures along with a comparison to industry
averages, competitors, major companies or “rules of thumb” as appropriate. For each
measure, you should comment on the company’s recent performance, any noticeable
trends and information you have found explaining the company’s performance
measure—for example, an increase in the company’s debt/equity ratio may be due to
borrowing to support developing a new product or service.
• Prediction of Future Company Performance
Based on the analysis provided in the previous four sections, make a prediction of the
performance of the company in the next three to five years and a recommendation as to
whether it would be advisable to invest in this company.
