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The investment, financial and profitability characteristics of different industries vary, often significantly. For example, some industries require substantial investments in property, plant and equipment, while
The investment, financial and profitability characteristics of different industries vary, often significantly. For example, some industries require substantial investments in property, plant and equipment, while in others a larger proportion is invested in liquid assets such as cash and accounts receivable. Differences also frequently exist in the means of financing assets. One industry may have to rely extensively on long-term debt, while in another trade credit is readily available. Also, certain measures of profitability and asset utilization will reveal significantly different results in industry comparisons. Financial statements and the ratios computed from them reflect these and other differences among industries. The table below presents common size balance sheets and selected ratios for one company chosen from each of the following 9 industries: Electric Utility, Airline, Commercial Bank, Computer manufacturer, Bio-engineering /Cloning company, Temp services company, Retail Jewelry chain, Supermarket chain, Drug store chain. Another column represents the S\&P 500 Index (i.e., the average of all companies in the index). Study this information and associate each set of figures in the exhibits with a particular industry. (NOTE: All data is for fiscal year end 2007). The investment, financial and profitability characteristics of different industries vary, often significantly. For example, some industries require substantial investments in property, plant and equipment, while in others a larger proportion is invested in liquid assets such as cash and accounts receivable. Differences also frequently exist in the means of financing assets. One industry may have to rely extensively on long-term debt, while in another trade credit is readily available. Also, certain measures of profitability and asset utilization will reveal significantly different results in industry comparisons. Financial statements and the ratios computed from them reflect these and other differences among industries. The table below presents common size balance sheets and selected ratios for one company chosen from each of the following 9 industries: Electric Utility, Airline, Commercial Bank, Computer manufacturer, Bio-engineering /Cloning company, Temp services company, Retail Jewelry chain, Supermarket chain, Drug store chain. Another column represents the S\&P 500 Index (i.e., the average of all companies in the index). Study this information and associate each set of figures in the exhibits with a particular industry. (NOTE: All data is for fiscal year end 2007)
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