You want to examine the financial ratios for Dell Computer Corporation. Go to www.marketguide.com and type in the ticker symbol for the company (DELL). Next, go to the comparison link. You should find financial ratios for Dell and the industry, sector, and S&P 500 averages for each ratio.

a. What do TTM and MRQ mean?

b. How do Dell’s recent profitability ratios compare to their values over the past five years? To the industry averages? To the sector averages? To the S&P 500 averages? Which is the better comparison group for Dell: the industry, sector, or S&P 500 averages? Why?

c. In what areas does Dell seem to outperform its competitors based on the financial ratios? Where does Dell seem to lag behind its competitors?

d. Dell’s inventory turnover ratio is much larger than that for all comparison groups. Why do you think this is?