Financial Analysis
95-711
Fall 2002
Case Analysis Guideline
Overview
The first session of class choose a public company on which to base your semester
long case analysis assignments. I must approve your choice of companies and no two
people may choose the same company. I suggest you choose a company that you may
someday like to work for or invest in. The sooner you choose a company the better
since your first assignment is due at the beginning of the Second session.
The company you choose must have been in business for at least 3 years. Product
based firms are generally easier to analyze. Because we are not addressing the special
issues of financial institutions (banks, stockbrokers, etc.) you are not permitted to
choose this type of company.
Four times during the semester you will be given a series of questions to answer about
your chosen company. You will be required to provide appropriate attribution of sources
you used to derive information for your answer along with URL’s, article titles, etc. You
should include the relevant information from these outside sources within the answer
and provide exhibits as necessary. You may not choose AOL – which is the class case
or Microsoft which has been analyzed to death!
Do not be tempted to simply answer the questions – this would be considered a
marginal effort. You should interpret your answer and include relevant background
information as it relates to the class discussion. You should make it clear where you are
answering the assigned questions and should provide background information on the
industry and market and financials where appropriate. Include charts, graphs and
diagrams where they provide greater insight. Sources for all information require proper
attribution including URL’s, copies of articles and page numbers, etc. I should be able
to easily locate where the information was found. If you are using information from a
printed source as opposed to the Internet, you should provide this information in the
appendix of your report.
Show all your calculations and note the source of the original data. Do not simply pull
pre-calculated ratios, etc. from a website or other sources for your company. In some
cases, comparative data ratios can be used but make sure you note the source and
check that the ratio uses the same formula you used. Your best sources of original data
are Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings like 10K’s and the company’s
annual reports.
You will have to do some research to answer most questions. After doing the research
you still may not find with the information you think you need. Do not make stuff up.
Briefly explain the research you did and if necessary, you may make some reasonable
assumptions that you will explain in the write up to answer the questions.
If you believe that a question is not applicable to your company, it is not adequate to say
that it is not applicable. You have to explain why it is not germane to the company and
how it might have affected the company.
Do not “cut and paste” any text directly from a website or copy directly from an article.
This is plagiarism and you run the risk of failing the course. You may quote or provide
charts or other graphics with proper attribution.
You will be graded on your writing. Written communication is important in business.
Your report should contain proper spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and
paragraphing and that the content should flow logically.
Typing: The assignment should be typed using Word. A cover page containing the
relevant case assignment number, the name of the company and the and your name is
required. I’d like 12-point type but can live with 10-point if necessary.
Length: There is no minimum or maximum length. While you should be thorough, you
should make your paper as concise and coherent as possible.
Exhibits: Exhibits should be used to support your argument and not as an extension of
the report. If you are using a printed article that cannot be transmitted electronically to
the “drop box” you should bring a copy to class with the same cover page as you used
for your case report.
Proofreading: Please proofread your paper. It should be of the same quality that you
would provide to the management of a business with which you were dealing
professionally. Run spell check, watch headings at the bottom of the page, paginate
your document. Do
No assignments will be accepted after the beginning of the class in which they are due.
You should keep a set of notes to refer to during our discussions of the analysis.
Sources of information
Primary sources of information will be SEC filings and Annual Reports for your chosen
companies and their competitors. You should not confine yourselves to these sources
however. The following are some additional suggestions.
Securities and Exchange
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar
IBM Patent Website
http://www.patents.ibm.com
US Patent & Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov
Fedstats One Stop Shopping for Federal Statistics
http://www.fedstats.gov/
Trade Associations on the Net (AON)
http://www.ipl.org/ref/AON/
Hoovers on Line – go through CMU Library Portal for greater access.
http://www.hoovers.com/
Standard Industrial Codes (SIC)
http://bamboo.tc.pw.com/EdgarScan/sic_list.html
Market Guide Inc. - stock lookup
http://fool.marketguide.com/MGI/home.asp
U.S. Department of Commerce - Resources
http://osecnt13.osec.doc.gov/public.nsf/docs/resources
Companies not Eligible for Analysis Fall 2002
Amazon Companies not Eligible for Analysis Fall
2002
Accenture
Adobe
AMS
Apple(aapl)
Applied Materials (AMAT).
banana republic
Borland
Business Objects
Cerner
Checkpoint Software
Coca Cola
Colegate Palmolive
Computer Associates
Doubleclick
EDS
E-Piphany
Exxon Mobile
Freemarkets
Gateway
GE
Heinz
Home Depot
Interwoven
Intuit
Johnson & Johnson
Lockheed Martin
LSI Logistics
Lucent
MacroMedia
Marriott
Mercury Interactive
MRO
NOKIA
Nortel
Nvidia
Palm
Pixar
Playboy
Qualcomm
ROSS Systems Inc
SBC Communications
SouthWest Airline
Sybase
Symmantec
Target
Unisys
UPS
Veritas
Vitria
Wendy's
Xerox
Yahoo