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 2012 annual report. Included is a five-year Summary of Financial and Operating Results for the period 2008–2012. 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.