Group Term Paper Write 8-10 pgs research paper on the selected companies below. The 8-10 pgs do not include the title page, graphs or references. The paper must include an introduction or abstract and a summary conclusion. (I will assign the group members to the groups.)

Company Examples:

Coke and Pepsi -This is the company we are working on

Home Depot and Lowe's

Costco and Sam's Club

Giant and Albertson's

CVS and Walgreens

Regal and AMC

HP and IBM

(Any two public companies in the same industry)

Project Assignment Using Coke and Pepsi as an Example: Long time competitors in the soft drink industry, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola continue efforts to gain additional market share. Which do you prefer, Coke or Pepsi? Let's take a look at these two companies from a financial perspective rather than our drink preference.

To learn more about PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Enterprises, download the latest PepsiCo 2014 Annual Report at: https://www.pepsico.com/docs/album/defaultdocument-library/pepsico-2014-annual-report_final.pdf and the Coca-Cola 2014 Annual Report at http://ir.cokecce.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=117435&p=irolreportsannual:. Review the annual reports for general information.

Required:

1. Read -Understanding the Income Statement at:

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/022504.asp

2. Read -Reading the Balance Sheet at:

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/031004.asp

3. Compute- the following financial ratios for both companies and provide as an

appendix to the required paper. If you need help understanding the meaning of

the ratios or how to they are computed, go to:

http://www.investopedia.com/university/ratios/

Liquidity measurement ratio: Current ratio

Profitability indicator ratios: Return on assets Return on equity

Debt ratio: Debt ratio

Operating performance ratio: Fixed asset turnover ratio

Cash flow indicator ratio: Dividend payout ratio

Investment valuation ratio: Price / Earnings ratio

For each company and comparing the two, you are to write a eight to ten (8-10)

page report that answers the following:

1. Provide a short background on each company, the industry and the market

(growing, declining, etc?) in which they operate. (This should be no more than

1.5 pgs for both companies in total and can be a part of your introduction.)

2. Using the current ratio and debt ratios, discuss what conclusions you can make about each company's ability to pay current liabilities (debt). Support your conclusions. Which company is doing better, why or why not?