Please, respond to the attached classmate discussion posts. (125 words each)
The response is not an evaluation of their discussion posts. You can agree with their post and add new information on your response regarding the topic in discussion. (No citation needed)
Thank you
Please, respond to the below classmate discussion posts. (125 words each) The response is not an evaluation of their discussion posts. You can agree with their post and add new information on your response regarding the topic in discussion. (No citation needed) Thank you Discussion 1 Marice Wilson Founded in 1909 by Milton Hershey and his wife, Catherine, the multi-billion company virtually invented modern candy and in the United States, at least, is all-but synonymous with the word chocolate. Hershey bars and kisses, KitKat bars, Reese’s, Twizzlers and Ice breakers have been household names for decades; together, they had $7.7 billion in sales in 2018. Moreover, Hershey’s enjoyed consistently strong growth for many years, holding or increasing market share in all of its businesses, and buoyed by people’s love of chocolate that has held steady in both good times and bad. And the company had become so efficient at supply chain management, production and distribution that for more than a decade it had consistently added new variations in products, pricing and packaging that captured ever greater real estate on store shelves (Kash, 2012). Although Hershey’s is still the top dog in modern candy, we see that revenue was down 2.6% from last year in 2018; however, the company is still in good shape as its gross profit has increased by 10 percent from 2013 to 2019. In 2019, the company's gross profit reached a high of 3.62 billion U.S. dollars (Statista, 2020). Ultimately, Hershey is still performing at a high level; the company is present in more than 50 product variants and this is a huge collection for a chocolate manufacturer. You can find any type of chocolate under the sun in the portfolio of Hershey’s. The company stands 249 on the highest regarded companies list of Forbes. It is also 269th in the world for the best employers. These 2 figures show the amount of respect for the brand. Kash, R. (2012). The Hershey Company: Aligning inside to win on the outside. The Ivey Business Journal. Retrieved from https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/the-hershey-company-aligning-inside-to-win-on-the-outside-2/ Statista. (2020). Gross profit of the Hershey Company worldwide from 2013 to 2019. Statista Premium Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117016/gross-profit-of-the-hershey-company/ Discussion 2 Michael Barry P/E Ratio TTM 24.77 36.07 Price to Sales TTM 3.41 2.06 Price to Cash Flow MRQ 32.67 34.44 Price to Free Cash Flow TTM 37.76 31.92 Price to Book MRQ 16.34 3.44 Price to Tangible Book MRQ - 4.68 Gross margin TTM 44.92% 29.26% Gross Margin 5YA 45.35% 28.21% Operating margin TTM 18.48% 15.58% Operating margin 5YA 17.25% 4.10% Pretax margin TTM 16.48% 14.09% Pretax margin 5YA 15.49% 3.28% Net Profit margin TTM 13.88% 10.65% Net Profit margin 5YA 11.19% -0.26% Revenue/Share TTM 38.01 62,240.21 Basic EPS ANN 5.49 6,980.97 Diluted EPS ANN 5.46 6,980.96 Book Value/Share MRQ 8.03 75,268.96 Tangible Book Value/Share MRQ -8.61 31,528.84 Cash/Share MRQ 5.26 16,976.52 Cash Flow/Share TTM 6.65 9,892.24 Return on Equity TTM 72.36% 60% Return on Equity 5YA 75.56% 37.31% Return on Assets TTM 13.30% 5.49% Return on Assets 5YA 13.76% 4.86% Return on Investment TTM 19.49% 7.01% Return on Investment 5YA 21.06% 6.58% EPS(MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago MRQ -10.84% 90.67% EPS(TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago TTM -0.70% 310.31% 5 Year EPS Growth 5YA 7.69% 17.27% Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago MRQ 1.03% 17.20% Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago TTM 2.19% 12.55% 5 Year Sales Growth 5YA 1.48% 6.97% 5 Year Capital Spending Growth 5YA -3.01% 14.17% Quick Ratio MRQ 0.7 0.87 Current Ratio MRQ 0.99 1.37 LT Debt to Equity MRQ 206.65% 63.02% Total Debt to Equity MRQ 303.96% 72.53% From IFE we can say that the company has sound financial and sufficient funds to operate. It is having 12.8% of operating income which means every dollar invested has 12 cents of income. From the report it seems that financial prudence is maintained and there is less chance of financial fraud in the company. From both IFE and key financial ratios, we can say that the company has healthy working capital and has maintained proper working capital management. The current ratio stands at 0.99 which is better than the industry standard and the quick ratio is 0.7. The cash conversion cycle is also healthy. It is getting a return of 19.49 cents per every dollar of capital employed in the system. The return is quite healthy. The efficiency of the company is also good and has maintained a 206.65% debt-equity ratio. Reference David, F. R., David, F. R. (08 February 2016). Strategic Management, 16th Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from vbk://9780134153872 “Hershey (HSY) Financial Ratios.” Investing.com, www.investing.com/equities/hershey-co-ratios.