Read the Financial Position section of the paper and respond to the following three questions.

1. What are some of the strengths of this section?

2. What are some of the weaknesses of this section?

3. What recommendations for improvement would you share with its author?

Bell Financial Position Bell is a holding company Whose subsidiaries and afliates operate in the communications and entertainment services industry. The company provides services and equipment that deliver voice, video and broadband services both within the United States and internationally. In the year of 2012, Bell successfully acquired STRAIGHTV as an entity and its wireless properties in Mexico. During this period, they experienced changes in the operating revenues and expenses which were impacted by the timing of these acquisitions. Bell has endured many weaknesses. Some have come and gone while others are still very present today. Bell's business continues to see ups and downs. Competition has affected its prots and customer base. Continued assaults from the rival brands during the last few years have led to a loss of customers. The U.S. generally coincides and acknowledges the accounting principles of the 2012 results which included 160 days of STRAIGHTV-based strategies paralleled with a full year in 2012. Bell suffered a loss of $11.746 billion which declined to 65.9% by 2013; sinking the nancials for the company and creating more problems. At this time, the organization also had a drop in voice calling because the voice calls kept malfunctioning causing the overall revenue to shift which hindered prots of the company. Bell depends on its procurements such as STRAIGHTV for television services, multiplying its customer base to more than 30 million. Bell has always been in competitions with telecommunication companies such as, Titan and USA Mobile and other competitors just to name a few. It's a fact that more than 98% percent of the US population reside in areas with at least three service providers while others live in areas where 94% of the population typically have four carriers resulting in the company being in a highly competitive environment. On the other hand, the strengths behind Bell supersede its weaknesses. Bell is one of the largest broadband providers in the U.S., holding the position of the world's largest telecommunications companies by revenue. The company has a wide variety of products and services ranging from wireless communications to data, broadband and intemet services. It also has a network capacity of ber optics and Wireless services. Conclusion Castnet is a pioneer in the eld of cable, entertainment, and communications. As a result of the study, we nd that Castnet continues its outstanding performance in the eld by developing work tools, Short-term and long-term development plans, and increased investment in multiple areas. Castnet showed the following: -ROE rate showed 11% in 2012, 12% in 2013, 11% in 2014, and 13% in 2015. -Prof1t margin: 14% in 2012, 16% in 2013, 15% in 2014, and 18% in 2015. -Quick ratio: 2015 was 55.43% and averaged 54.38% over the four-year period. -Current ratio was 147.85%. Bell along with Castnet, are both two of the largest telecommunication companies in the world. Like what has been detailed in previous sections, Castnet has shown major growth in revenue year after year with strong performances in each segment of their organization. Bell utilizes their debt slightly differently and continues to decrease their debt moving forward. Year end performance in 2015 for Bell ended with: ROE (7.08%); Gross Prot Margin (53.56%); Current Ratio (.80); and Quick Ratio (.79). Overall, Bell will continue to be a strong organization to invest in with continual year over year growth and with expectations of much higher demand in 4G wireless network services. Ultimately, Castnet would be the best choice to invest in because it holds a much more signicant price-to-earnings ratio compared to Bell, which leads to a higher projected earnings growth for investors. Castnet the brand is expected to have a revenue growth of 1% to 2% in 2016 with a forecasted adjusted earnings-pershare increase between $3.60 and $3.70. I predict that Castnet will execute a rather interesting performance throughout the next three years although it poses limited upside with very little risk. From 2009 to 2013, wireless contribution prot grew from $15.3 billion, to $21.7 billion, which is equivalent to the pedestrian 4% compounded annual growth rate. That prot growth rate will largely increase over the next several years. Also, with 4G entering the picture, this means that enhanced wireless coverage is upon us. This also implies that there will be a mass amount of phone and network advancements over the years to come. Further, this couldn't have come at a better time because every device is becoming connected, so not only will there be a ton of upgrades over the next few years, but there will also be a ton of new devices which come online. That means more revenue for Castnet and a superior outlook on Bell stock. On top of that, the launch of 4G will give Bell more pricing power (since it's a higher-quality service), so margins should move higher, too. It has a strong brand loyalty and a concrete market share making it a good t for most stock portfolios that put safety and income rst. Castnet is well-known for connecting with communities nationwide and internationally, creating opportunities where individuals live, learn, and work. Castnet is the second largest US Wireless carrier that contributes approximately 40% of its revenue, connecting well over 100 million devices, those being postpaid and prepaid consumers. The consumer and entertainment aspect within Castnet services roughly 20 million television consumers and 14 million Internet and broadband users. Providers, such as Castnet, are in constant competition for cable and Internet subscribers. Over the past few years, they have each made huge moves to boost their TV businesses. To compare, both Bell and Castnet are companies whose stocks are divided. However, Bell is a prominent dividend stock associated with Dividend Aristocrats, which is what businesses are considered to be once they reach 25 consecutive years or more of dividend payouts. Castnet put off its dividend from 1999 and reinstated in 2008. Since its reinstatement, shareholder payouts have doubled each year meaning in due time, Castnet will be identied as a Dividend Aristocrat. Both Bell and Castnet have parallel business models, but each company offers different products and services at different dividends. As a current investor, I would personally invest in Castnet because it holds a much more signicant price- to-earnings ratio compared to Bell, which points to a higher projected earnings growth for investors. Bell Cash Flow Most will find that Bell generates a heavy cash flow that's equipped to withstand the changes of the telecommunication industry. For 2015, Bell had net income of $15.0T. Their average net income over the past four years was $19.5T with the largest year being 2013. The majority of Bell's Operating Activities consists of Depreciation and Amortization. The total for 2015 was $28.2T and the average from 2012 to 2015 was $26.7T. This made up 58.0% of total operating activities. Additionally, Amortization of Film and Television Costs also made up a large portion of the operating activities for Bell. In 2015, $9.6T was attributed to this. Amortization of Film and Television Costs made up 20.0% of operating activities. Depreciation and Amortization and Amortization of Film and Television Costs made up approximately 78% of total operating activities. Investing activities bottom line was $(17.0T) with the majority of investing activities consisting of Purchase of Property and Equipment. The 2015 total for Purchase of Property and Equipment was $(19.4T) and averaged $(20.6T) from 2012 to 2015. This was offset by the disposition of assets which totalled $4.7T for 2015 and was the largest year of dispositions. An extraordinary item occurred in 2014 with an acquisition totalling $(43.3T). In 2014, investing activities ended the year at $(63.IT) and the acquisition was the key player. Lastly, Financing activities were $(25.IT) for 2015. In 2013, the issuance of long term-debt far exceeded the repayment of the debt. This caused a positive cash flow in Financing activities for the 2013 fiscal year of $25.9T. The other three years under observance contained the opposite. Repayment of long term debt exceeded the issuance of the long term debt. For the 2015 fiscal year, issuance of long-term debt totaled $17.0T. Repayment of long-term debt was $27.6T for 2015. Dividends paid were also an important contributor to the overall financing cash flow. Dividends paid for the 2015 fiscal year were $14.9T and averaged $13.3T over the four year period. The bottom line for cash flows for Bell was $12.3T in 2015. The largest out of the 4 years was 2013 at $50.9T. This was primarily due to the large difference in the repayment versus the issuance of long term debts discussed in the financing cash flows. In 2014, the large decline in cash flows can be attributed to the acquisition that took place. Cash flows then nearly doubled over 2014 in the 2015 fiscal year.Bell Inc. Operating Position Operating revenues showed the largest year over year growth in 2015 out of the past four years. This was largely due to the acquisition of WT and the fact that Bell had an entire year to report their nancial results. Total Operating Revenues 2015 2014 2013 @493 170 756 _160,&6. Operating income also increased in 2015 from 2014. Operating margin was 15.4% in 2015 from 12.4% in 2013. Although the operating revenues were increased in 2015, the operating expenses were increased as well due to the acquisition of WWT. Interest expense was increased by almost 33.7% from 2013 to 2015. This was primarily due to the fact that spectrum was put into service. Income tax expense saw a decrease in 2015 due to multiple issues, with the rst being the federal income tax changes from 2013 and the second being a decrease in income before income taxes. Expenses continue to be high considering the amount of acquisition and purchases the company makes. For 2015, the Gross Prot Margin of Bell was 53.56%. This industry would like to see gross prot margins in the high 50's. Bell's closest competitor, Maverick Communications Inc. came in at 58.50% for 2015. Current Ratio stayed pretty steady from 2013 to 2015 at .80%. The quick ratio came in at .79 for 2015 and indicated an inability to pay back its short term liabilities, but they continue to push towards goals of lowering their debt position in 2016. Lastly, the Return on Equity (ROE) for Bell ended December 2015 at 7.08%. Based off of the industry, the ROE doesn't necessarily display good or bad performance. It is one piece of the puzzle for Bell especially because this number can be affected by the debt position the company is in, and with Bell pushing towards lowering debt, this could be lowered as a result. Overall, the company hit some targets and fell short on some areas due to the subscription cancellations from STRAIGHTV users. The company will continue to push forward and expects more growth in revenues in 2016 with a higher demand in digital wireless platforms. The operating performance for Bell shows potential growth trends for 2016 as well. The growth of the business in each segment is driven off the demands of its consumers. The demand for faster speed in wireless networks is driving the direction of the business. The quality of Bell's network and connectivity continues to be a focus and with that being the center of everything the business does, it will continue to see growth in 2016 and beyond