Examine the last five years of annual financial statements from a public company that you think you already know fairly well from your own personal experiences (for example, Starbucks or Apple).

• • Identify patterns in the income statements and balance sheets, and discuss their possible meanings.
• • Use the financial ratios in Appendix A to compare the company to its closest competitor.
• • What differences do you now observe about the company's strategic approach to the market, as compared to observations from your personal experiences or ideas you hear about the company in the news media?
• • Do you believe this company is achieving superior performance? Why or why not?