
1-46 FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS
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Industry
comparisons
An astute analyst will first calculate a company's ratios and then make
comparisons with other similar companies in that industry or with the
industry as a whole. Any significant discrepancies will signal the
analyst that closer inspection may be needed.
For example, if most of the industries competing with XYZ Corporation
have Profit Margin Ratios of over 4% and XYZ has a Profit Margin
Ratio of 2.16%, the analyst will begin to look for reasons why XYZ is
performing so poorly. It is important to compare companies within the
same industry to gain useful observations. An automobile manufacturer
will have a much different structure than a consulting company.
Trend analysis
Trend analysis can also provide insights into the conditions of a
company. By calculating ratios over a period of several years, an
analyst can uncover potential problems within the firm.
For example, if XYZ Corporation has an Inventory Turnover Ratio of
3.24 times in 1993, 3.86 times in 1992, and 4.56 times in 1991, an
analyst will begin to look for reasons why it is taking longer for XYZ
Corporation to sell its products. These trends give clues as to whether
the financial condition is improving or deteriorating. By using industry
comparisons and trend analysis, the analyst can focus the investigation
on areas of a company that may need attention.
UNIT SUMMARY
In this unit, we discussed the three types of financial statements:
• Balance Sheet – a snapshot of conditions at a specific point
in time
• Income Statement – a summary of the operations of the
company and its profitability over a given period of time
• Cash Flow Statement – a summary of the sources and uses of
funds