Presented below are selected ratios for four firms. Mays is a heavy equipment manufacturer, Riley is a newspaper publisher, Salling is a food manufacturer, and Ushkowitz is a grocery chain.

Required:
1. Which firm has the weakest current ratio?
2. Explain why the turnover ratios vary so much among the four firms.
3. Explain why the return on equity ratio is larger than the return on asset ratio for all four firms.
4. Discuss whether the large differences in the return on equity ratios can exist over long periods of time.

Salling Ushkowitz Shortterm liquidity ratio Current ratio Long-term debt-to-equity Accounts receivable turnover Debt management ratio 116.15 2 Profitability ratios income Net income Return on assets Return on equity 2