ACCT 503 Week 8 Final Project; A Financial Statement Analysis - A Comparative Analysis of Apple, Inc. and Alphabet, Inc.

Complete one paragraph, profiling each company's business, including information such as brief histories, where each company is located, number of employees, the products each company sells, and so forth. Please reference any websites that you used for the profiles on the Bibliography tab. Apple, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, is a multinational technology company headquartered at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, known for its personal computers, smartphones (like the iPhone), tablets (iPad), wearable devices (Apple Watch), and a wide array of services, including AppleCare, digital content, and payment services. Incorporated in 1977, the company evolved from its early personal computer focus to encompass a broader range of consumer electronics, officially changing its name from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple Inc. in 2007. Microsoft, founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and based in Redmond, Washington, is a global technology leader with over 221,000 employees. It develops software, consumer electronics, and cloud services, with key products like Windows, Microsoft 365, Xbox, and Azure cloud solutions. Its business model centers on software ubiquity, cloud innovation, and strategic partnerships, with the mission to empower individuals and organizations worldwide to achieve more. You all get the chance to play the role of financial analyst below. The summary should be a comparison of each company's performance for each major category of ratios listed below. Focus on major differences as you compare each company's performance. A nice way to conclude is to state which company you feel is the better investment and why. Liquidity: Apple has the advantage for the current ratio.Apple has $3.05 in current assets for every dollar in current liabilities while Alphabet has only 98 cents in current assets for every dollar in current liabilities. Apple has the advantage for the inventory turnover ratio, but Alphabet has the advantage for the accounts receivable turnover ratio. Apple turns over its inventory 4.1 times to Alphabet's 3.1 times. Apple has the advantage for the accounts receivable turnover ratio as Apple collects on its receivables 12.6 times to Alphabet's 8.5 times. Solvency: In some cases Apple has less debt than Alphabet as evidenced by Apple's 35.5% debt-to-assets ratio as compared to Alphabet's 41.8% debt-to-assets ratio. Apple can cover its interest expense 108.4 times with income before interest and taxes, while Alphabet can only cover its interest expense 65.1 times with their income before interest and taxes. In most cases Apple has free cash flow of $1.3 billion while Alphabet has $78.5 million in free cash flow. Profitability: Apple has the advantage for the gross profit rate at 49% while Aplhabet has a 44.8% gross profit rate percentage. Apple has the advantage for the profit margin ratio at 9.7% versus 6.7% for Alphabet. Apple has the advantage for asset turnover as they turn their assets 1.68 times to Alphabet's 1.54 times. Apple has the advantage for both return on assets (ROA) and return on common stockholder's equity (ROE). Apple has an ROA of 14.9% to Alphabet's 11.3%. Apple also has the advantage