Fundamentals of Financial Accounting 4th Edition by Fred Phillips,Robert Libby,Patricia Libby

Exercise 41

Computing, Charting, and Interpreting Time-Series and Cross-Sectional Analyses
Assume that Candy Industry Magazine has contracted you to write an article discussing the financial status of Hershey Foods Corporation over the last few years. The editor suggests that your article should also compare Hershey's recent financial performance to competitors like Tootsie Roll Industries and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. You gather the following information from the 2010 10-Ks of the three companies.

Required:
Enter the above information into a spreadsheet and perform the following analyses:
1. Time-series analysis : Demonstrate the changes in Hershey's size over the three years by charting its total liabilities, total assets, sales revenues, and net income.
2. Cross-sectional analysis : Demonstrate the size of Hershey relative to Tootsie Roll and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, by charting the three companies' total liabilities, total assets, sales revenues, and net income for 2010.
3. Ratio analysis : Compare the performance of Hershey relative to Tootsie Roll and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, by computing the debt-to-assets and net profit margin ratios for 2010.