Understanding the Annual Report

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that every company that is publicly traded or incorporated must file an annual report that gives a summary of its financial history over the past year. It shows that an annual report is a useful tool for determining the fiscal health of a company; many persons use this information. For example, a potential lender will look at this report to determine if the company is a good financial risk. Stock analysts use it to predict trends and individuals use it to decide if they want to buy or sell a stock. This paper explains the elements of an annual report and shows various methods of analyzing it. It then proceeds to take a look at an actual annual report and discusses the results of that example.

From the Paper:

"Industry comparisons are useful in determining whether a company is in line with others.4 Some industries have typically lower profit margins than others do. For instance the airline industry runs on lower profit margins than the restaurant industry. The airline industry's expenditures are much higher as compared to its revenues as compared to running a restaurant. Profitability must be compared over a period of time to try to predict trends. Then these trends must be compared to its competitors, the industry in which it operates, and the markets as a whole to determine if the trend is due to factors effecting only that company or if they are due to general economic conditions beyond the company's control."

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