Comparing Two Companies in the Same Industry: Kelloggs and General Mills Refer to the Stockholders Equity section

Question:

Comparing Two Companies in the Same Industry: Kellogg’s and General Mills Refer to the Stockholders’ Equity section of the balance sheets of Kellogg’s as of December 31, 2008, and General Mills as of May 31, 2009.

Required
1. For each company, what are the numbers of shares of authorized, issued, and outstanding as of the date?
2. Did the balance of the Retained Earnings account of each company increase or decrease during the year? What factors can affect the Retained Earnings balance?
3. How does the total stockholders’ equity of each company compare to that of the other company? Does the difference mean that one company’s stock is more valuable than the other’s? Explain your answer.

Common Stock
Common stock is an equity component that represents the worth of stock owned by the shareholders of the company. The common stock represents the par value of the shares outstanding at a balance sheet date. Public companies can trade their stocks on... Balance Sheet
Balance sheet is a statement of the financial position of a business that list all the assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity and shareholder’s equity at a particular point of time. A balance sheet is also called as a “statement of financial...