You can find a large amount of information on the Internet to evaluate the performance of companies. Many firms provide links to this information on their home pages.

Access the home page of The Gap, Inc., at the following Internet location:

www.gapinc.com

Instructions

a. What links to financial information are available on the company's home page?

b. Download the company's most recent annual report and use it to answer the following questions:

1. By what percentage amounts did net sales increase or decrease in each of the three years reported?

2. What was the company's gross profit rate for each of the three years reported?

3. What were the company's sales per square foot of selling space for each of the three years reported?

4. For the most recent year reported, how many new stores were opened? How many existing stores, if any, were closed?

5. By what percentage amounts did comparable store sales increase or decrease in each of the three years reported?

6. What dollar amount of inventory does the company report in its most recent balance sheet?