Fiscal Year In Millions, Except Per Share Data, Percentages and Ratios Operating data: Net sales Gross margin (b) (d) 2020 (a) 2019 2018 2017 2016 $ 17,626.6 $ 16,865.2 6,129.9 5,756.8 $ 15,740.4 5,435.6 $ 15,619.8 $ 16,563.1 5,567.8 5,843.3 Selling, general, and administrative expenses (d) 3,151.6 2,935.8 2,850.1 2,888.8 3,141.4 Operating profit (d) 2,953.9 2,515.9 2,419.9 2,492.1 2,719.1 Net earnings attributable to General Mills 2,181.2 1,752.7 2,131.0 1,657.5 1,697.4 Advertising and media expense 691.8 601.6 575.9 623.8 754.4 Research and development expense 224.4 221.9 219.1 218.2 222.1 Average shares outstanding: Diluted Earnings per share: Diluted Adjusted diluted (b) (c) Operating ratios: Gross margin as a percentage of net sales (d) Selling, general, and administrative 613.3 605.4 585.7 598.0 611.9 SS S 3.56 $ 2.90 3.61 $ 3.22 SS S 3.64 S 3.11 6969 $ 2.77 $ 2.77 $ 3.08 $ 2.92 34.8% 34.1% 34.5% 35.6% 35.3% expenses as a percentage of net sales (d) 17.9% 17.4% 18.1% 18.5% 19.0% Operating profit as a percentage of net sales (d) 16.8% 14.9% 15.4% 16.0% 16.4% Adjusted operating profit as a percentage of net sales (b) (c) (d) 17.3% 16.9% 16.6% 17.6% 16.8% Effective income tax rate 18.5% 17.7% 2.7% 28.8% 31.4% Balance sheet data: Land, buildings, and equipment Total assets S 3,580.6 $ 3,787.2 $ 4,047.2 30,806.7 30,111.2 30,624.0 $ 3,687.7 21,812.6 $ 3,743.6 21,712.3 Long-term debt, excluding current portion Total debt (b) Cash flow data: 10,929.0 11,624.8 12,668.7 7,642.9 7,057.7 13,539.5 14,490.0 15,818.6 9,481.7 8,430.9 Net cash provided by operating activities (e) S 3,676.2 $ 2,807.0 S 2,841.0 $ 2,415.2 $ 2,764.2 Capital expenditures Free cash flow (b) 460.8 3.215.4 537.6 622.7 2,269.4 2,218.3 684.4 1,730.8 729.3 2,034.9 Share data: Cash dividends per common share 1.96 S 1.96 S 1.96 $ 1.92 $ 1.78 (a) Fiscal 2020 was a 53-week year; all other fiscal years were 52 weeks. (b) See "Glossary" in Item 8 of this report for definition.