Inventory turnover OBJ. 7 The following data (in thousands) were taken from recent annual reports of Apple Inc., a manufacturer of personal computers and related products, and American Greetings Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and related products:

Apple American Greetings Cost of goods sold $87,846,000 $741,645 Inventory, end of year 791,000 208,945 Inventory, beginning of the year 776,000 179,730

a. Determine the inventory turnover for Apple and American Greetings. Round to one decimal place.

b. Would you expect American Greetings’ inventory turnover to be higher or lower than Apple’s? Why?