The company is Lowes. I am needing help locating the industry averages and evaluating them to the trend and comparative analysis. I am also comparing it to Home Depot. Any help or suggestions is appreciated!

You will be evaluating the financial strength of the company using both trend and comparative analysis.

• Trend analysis involves assessing a company's performance over time.
• Comparative analysis involves comparing a company's financial ratios to the industry norm or average.

For most ratios, three numbers are listed, breaking the results into quartiles. Presenting the data in this form offers the user a broader perspective than a single average would provide. Using quartile data offers the user a broader perspective when interpreting the results. For example, if a company's ratio is a bit below the median, you might be tempted to conclude that the company is not doing well. However, you should also note that the company's ratio falls between the top and bottom figures, putting the company among 50% of all companies reporting.

Use the following breakdown when evaluating the company's ratio against the industry average:

• The middle number of the three ratios is the median, not the average.
• 50% of the companies reporting have a ratio between the top and bottom number.
• 25% of the companies have a ratio that would be above the top number.
• 25% of the companies have a ratio that would be between the top and middle number.
• 25% of the companies have a ratio that would be between the middle and bottom number.
• 25% of the companies have a ratio that would be below the bottom number.

Interpreting Financial Ratios

I am most interested in you keying in on ratios that have significant variation from industry norms, are significantly different than their main competitor, or are trending over time within the company.

I have the following information for Lowe's not sure if that will help

2019

Liquidity Ratio

Current Ratio

Current Assets/Current Liability

14228/14497=.981444

Quick Ratio

(Current Assets-Inventory)/Current Liabilities

(14228-13730)/14497)=.034351

Leverage Ratio

Debt-Equity Ratio

Debt/Equity

16367/1972=8.2996

Debt Ratio

Debt/Total Assets

16367/34508=.474295

Profitability Ratio

Gross Profit Ratio

Gross Profit/Net Sales

22908/72148=31.75%

Operating Profit Ratio

Operating Profit/Net Sales

4018/72148=5.57%