Refer to the financial statements of The Home Depot in Appendix A and Lowe’s in Appendix B at the end of this book, or download the annual reports from the Cases section in the Connect library.
1. Does Lowe’s report higher or lower Net Sales than The Home Depot during the year ending nearest February 1, 2014?
2. Assuming that Cost of Sales is the same thing as Cost of Goods Sold, compute Lowe’s gross profit percentage for the fisacl years ending nearest February 1, 2014 and 2013. Is it greater or less than The Home Depot’s? Based on this, where are consumers likely to find lower markups?
3. Assume that Lowe’s and The Home Depot experienced no shrinkage in the most recent year. Using both companies’ balance sheets and income statements, estimate the amount of purchases in the ending nearest to February 1, 2014 year. How much greater (or less) were Lowe’s purchases than The Home Depot’s in that year?