Apple Company (APPL) Financial Analysis Assignment Coursework

Apple Company (APPL) Financial Analysis Assignment - Coursework Example By profession he was a former clerk, but he had expended a huge capital over the expansion of the network of offices and captured a huge customer base in a very short period of time. In 1933, a historic merger was occurred between the two top rivals of the industry, i.e. R.G Dun and Company (Douglass agency) and Bradstreet Companies and resulted in the form of the present D&B Inc. Since then the company had made a number of achievements and the most significant and recognizable was â€Å"The D&B D-U-N-S Number†, which has been used as a standard numerical business identification code for the purpose of data processing for the U.S Government, European Commission and the United Nations. (Dnb.com, 2014) In order to make the financial analysis of the company, it is important to get a thorough analysis of the operational, investing and financial activities of the company and make its comparison with the overall industry norms. (Stickney, 1993) A. Net Sales: - The Company’s revenues are gradually increasing and it was reached to its highest point in 2011 with revenues of $1,759 million. But as compared to its two major competitors, i.e. Equifax Inc. and Experian PLC, its revenues are still very low because these companies have a high market share and market capitalization rate as compared to the DNB. B. Gross Margin: - Being a service provider company, it is capable of earning a high gross margin over its sales because of lower operating cost. After analyzing the gross margin numbers of the company for the previous 5 to 6 years, we will come to know that it has been decreased gradually from 73.1% in 2007 to 66.7% in 2013. The major reason behind the decrease is the increasing competition from the competitors and their low price offerings. C. Operating Margin: - The operating margin figures of the company show that how effectively the company is managing its operations. The operating margin of the overall industry is comparatively same and ranging from 25% to