The financial statements of large public companies are often accompanied by a multiple-year summary of key financial and other information that is helpful in understanding the company. Appendix A of this text includes the financial statements of Home Depot, Inc., and selected other information from the company’s annual report. Included is a ten-year Summary of Financial and Operating Results for the period 2000–2009. Locate this summary in Appendix A and respond to the following.
a. Considering the “store data” section of the ten-year summary, what conclusions can you draw about the change in size of Home Depot, Inc., during the ten-year period?
b. Comment on the ten-year trend in net earnings as a percentage of sales and what this trend means to you as an investor in the company.
c. Has the company’s liquidity improved or diminished over the 10-year period? Justify your answer.