Comparing Capital Expenditures: Business Finance Assignment – Week 5, Week 5

Summary

This is a guide for comparing the capital expenditures of two companies. Students learn how to analyse annual reports and compare them to draw conclusions about capital spending and its impact on debt capacity and capital structure.

Accessing Annual Reports

It explains where to find the annual reports of publicly traded companies. It suggests using the Mergent database in a library and gives a tip on how to read an annual report.

Analysing Capital Spending

It describes how to find the amount of capital spending in the annual reports. It explains how to check if the spending has been consistent or has changed over three years.

Comparing Capital Expenditures

It asks students to describe the capital expenditures of two firms. It explains how to compare the level of capital spending between the two firms and speculate why any similarities or differences might exist.

Writing the Paper

It explains how to summarise the findings and format the paper. It also explains how to use APA style for citations.

Key terms

Capital expenditure

Money spent by a company on acquiring or upgrading physical assets.

Debt capacity

The amount of debt a company can reasonably take on and repay.

Capital structure

The mix of debt and equity financing that a company uses.

Annual report

A yearly publication by a company that includes financial and operational details.

Mergent Database

A library database containing company profiles and financial information.

APA style

A writing style for citing sources and formatting papers.

Questions this document helps with

• How do I find the capital expenditure of a company?
• How do I compare the capital spending of two firms?
• How do I format my paper using APA style?

Summary written with AI from the document's text.