Examine the following selected financial information for Best Deal Corporation and Sweet Stores, Inc., as of the end of their fiscal years ending in 2018:

1. Complete the table, calculating all the requested information for the two companies. Use year-end figures in place of averages where needed for the purpose of calculating ratios in this exercise.

2. Evaluate each company's long-term debt-paying ability (strong, medium, weak).

Best Deal Corporation $ 16,820 Sweet Stores, Inc. $ 203, 110 (In millions) 1. Total assets Total common 2. stockholders' equity 3. Operating income 4. Interest expense 5. Leverage ratio 6. Total debt 7. Debt ratio 8. Times interest earned $ 3,072 $ 1,550 $ 88 $ 71,820 25,650 2,060 $