Bloomberg Case Study: Find the ratios that explain Industrials: Deere$-$L$,$ Boeing$-$K and Materials: Mosaic$-$ M$,$ Heidelberg$-$N Technology: Facebook Inc$-$O Apple Inc$-$P Utilities: Centrica$-$ Q$$American Electric Power Company, Inc$-$ R

$-$ Compare financial statement ratios to identify critical objective elements of a company and diagnose a company's positives and risks.

Companies are as unique as people. But, like people groups of people share similarities. Companies that operate within the same sector or industry tend to share certain characteristics. Such characteristics are highlighted by calculating and comparing a company's financial ratios.

Comparing a company's ratios over time show if a company is changing, for the better or for worse. Comparing ratios among different companies bring a company's particular characteristics into focus.

The Financial Statements Analysis case study includes two separate components:

Detective Activity

This activity compels you to understand why ratios are what they are for a given company or industy. You will practice interpreting financial ratios by matching financial statements to their companies, sorted by sector. This activity includes nine sectors: communications, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, healthcare, industrials, materials, technology, and utilities.

$-$ Case Study

The case study will require you to access and compare Disney's financial statements to those of its peers. Use the Terminal Tutorial and Case Study Notes to answer the case questions. subject to the agricultural product cycle. Heidelberg is subject to a construction cycle. The agricultural cycle occurs every year while the construction cycle is longer in duration.

TECHNOLOGY

$-$ Facebook Inc. $($FB$)$

Facebook, Inc. operates a social networking website. The Company website allows people to communicate with their family, friends, and co$-$workers. Facebook develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information, photographs, website links, and videos. Facebook users have the ability to both share and restrict information based on their own specific criteria. Approximately $\backslash (85\backslash \%\backslash )$ of the company's revenue comes from mobile advertising while $\backslash (11\mathrm{.}8\backslash \%\backslash )$ comes from desktop advertising. The remaining revenue comes from payments and fees.

$-$ Apple Inc. $($AAPL$)$

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers and related personal computing and mobile communication devices along with a variety of related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. Apple sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, third$-$party wholesalers, and resellers. One product, the iPhone, accounts for more than $60\backslash \%$ of the company's total revenue.

Consider This.

Apple produces a physical product while Facebook sells an online social media platform. Physical products come with costs and operating inefficiencies that online services do not incur. Facebook is a relatively young technology company that recently went public. Although they are very profitable, the company does not pay a dividend.

UTILITIES

$-$ Centrica $($CNA$)$

Centrica PLC operates as an integrated energy company offering a wide range of home and business energy solutions. The Company sources, generates, processes, stores, trades, saves, and supplies energy and provides a range of related services.

$-$ American Electric Power Company, Inc. $($AEP$)$

American Electric Power Company, Inc. operates as a public utility holding company. The Company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity to residential and commercial customers. AEP serves customers in the United States.

Consider This.

AEP is an old fashioned electric utility. It produces, transmits, and distributes electric power over a pre$-$defined service territory as a regulated natural monopoly. Regulators are tasked with ensuring utility companies are sufficiently profitable to attract investment capital but not too profitable. Centrica is an energy marketer. The company generally markets energy produced by other firms.