The financial statements of large public companies are often accompanied by a multiple-year summary of key financial and other information that is helpful in understanding the company. Appendix A of this text includes the financial statements of Home Depot, Inc., and selected other information from the company’s 2018 annual report. Included is a five-year Selected Financial Data for 2014 to 2018. Locate this summary in Appendix A and respond to the following. 

a. Considering the “store data” section of the five-year summary, what conclusions can you draw about the change in size of Home Depot, Inc., during the five-year period? 

b. Comment on the five-year trend in net earnings as a percentage of sales and what this trend means to you as an investor in the company. 

c. Has the company’s liquidity improved or diminished over the five-year period? Justify your answer.