1. Select TWO of the four companies provided by your professor for analysis. chose (WALMART & KROGER)
2. Follow these instructions to access the Mergent Online database:
   1. Access the library websiteLinks to an external site..
   2. Select Databases.
   3. Click Database by Name, then search for Mergent Online.
   4. Inside Mergent, search for companies information in the main "Company Search search box by name of ticker symbol for public companies.
   5. Click on each companys name to open its main page.
3. Data Retrieval for Each of the Two Companies:
   1. On the main page, choose Company Financials, the fourth green tab on the left-hand side.
   2. Next, select Ratios. Make sure that the dropdown menus read Annuals and 5 Years/Quarters.
   3. In the screen, Mergent provides a five-year historical record of ratios for Profitability, Liquidity, Debt Management, Asset Management, and Per Share results.
   4. Download the screen from Mergent into Excel by clicking Download next to the Printer Friendly icon.
   5. Repeat these steps for the second of the two companies you have chosen.
      • The data that Mergent provides serve as the building blocks for the narrative to be included the Research Project. Note: Mergents time series data is ordered with the most recent year first followed sequentially going back in preceding years. In Excel, it will be necessary to reverse the date order so that the oldest date is in column B and the most recent date appears in column J.
      • As described in the book, financial ratios can be grouped into categories. For Mergent, these include Liquidity, Debt Management, Asset Management, and Profitability (we will leave aside Per Share for this assignment).
   6. Alter the Excel spreadsheets as directed above so that the data is ordered historically oldest to most recent.
   7. Create line graphs or bar charts (five in total) depicting the following comparisons between the two companies you are evaluating during each of the last five years:
      • Current Ratio
      • LT Debt to Equity
      • Total Asset Turnover
      • ROA % (Net)
      • ROE % (Net)
4. Write a 3-4 page paper (approximately 600 words) in APA format that includes:
   1. An introduction that identifies the two companies that are the subject of your analysis.
   2. Your Excel graphs are inserted into the body of your paper. There should be a total of four graphs discussed in your narrative. For each graphed ratio, respond to the following:
      • What is the difference between the two companies on this ratio? What is a plausible explanation as to why they would differ? Is one company clearly different than the other?
      • Are there economic or end-market influences that explain why the ratios differ? What might they be?
      • Over time, is each companys overall financial performance improving, or declining, or is something strange going on?
      • Do you think evaluating financial statements is a good idea? What do you regard as some of the shortcomings of financial ratio analysis?