5 7 Common-Size Statements Principles of Finance

However, as you will learn in this chapter, there are many other measures to consider before concluding that Coca-Cola is winning the financial performance battle. As you can see from Figure 13.6 „Common-Size Balance Sheet Analysis for „, the composition of assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity accounts changed from 2009 to 2010. Unlike the unadjusted income statement and balance sheet, the common size variations can be used for peer-to-peer comparisons between different companies. Which of the following is true for common-size comparative statements? Comparing these two income statements reveals two significant red flags.

This caused net income to increase as well, from 22.0 percent in 2009 to 33.6 percent in 2010. In the expense category, cost of goods sold as a percent of net sales increased, as did other operating expenses, interest expense, and income tax expense. Selling and administrative expenses increased from 36.7 percent in 2009 to 37.5 percent in 2010. Horizontal analysis is used in financial statement analysis to compare historical data, such as ratios or line items, over a number of accounting periods.

An Example of Common Size Income Statement Analysis

Common-size financial statements facilitate the analysis of financial performance by converting each element of the statements to a percentage. This makes it easier to compare figures from one period to the next, compare departments within an organization, and compare the firm to other companies of any size as well as industry averages. On the income statement, analysts can see how much of sales revenue is spent on each type of expense.

The percentages calculated by taking the respective common bases are then compared with the corresponding percentages of other periods, through which meaningful conclusions can be drawn. A Common-size Statement can be prepared for inter-firm and intra-firm comparisons or a Balance Sheet and Income Statement. The above common size percent common size statements are prepared in a vertical analysis, referencing each line on the financial statement to a total value on the statement in a given period. While evaluating the income statement, the analyst looks at the cost of goods sold compared to revenues and notices that this year it is 45% of revenue.

Common Size Balance Sheet

Similarly, considerable increases in the value of assets may mean that the company is implementing an expansion or acquisition strategy, potentially making the company attractive to investors. There isn’t an „industry standard“ presentation, but typically, you would display a balance sheet with the actual numbers on the left, and the corresponding percentages on the right. Get instant access to video lessons taught by experienced investment bankers. Learn financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel shortcuts. For each line item, we’ll divide the amount by the corresponding period’s revenue to arrive at our contribution percentages.