Widget Co and Tools Inc -Which of the Following Statements Best Explains the Difference in Industry

question 32

Multiple Choice

Widget Co. and Tools Inc. both operate in the same industry. They are capital-intensive companies producing widgets. Below are selected data:
$\begin{array}{lll}&\text { Widget Co. }&\text { Tools Inc. }\\\text { Net operating assets/common equity } & 1.37 & 1.53 \\\text { Net operating profit margin } & 19 \% & 21 \% \\\text { Income tax rate } & 47 \% & 28 \% \\\text { Revenues/net operating assets } & 0.81 & 0.61 \\\text { EBIT/revenues } & 38 \% & 32 \%\end{array}$
-Which of the following statements best explains the difference in observed net operating asset turnover?

• A)Widget Co's lower financial leverage
• B)Widget Co uses FIFO and Tools uses LIFO
• C)Widget Co's lower tax rate
• D)Widget Co has significant operating leases and Tool Inc. has no leases

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Definitions:

Asset Turnover

A metric that assesses how effectively a company utilizes its assets to produce sales income.

Interest Burden

A financial metric that measures the portion of a company's earnings that is used to pay interest on its debt.

P/E Multiples

A relative valuation metric used to compare the price of a company's shares relative to its earnings per share.

Book Value

Book value is the net value of a company's assets minus its liabilities, as recorded on the balance sheet, often used to assess if a stock is under or overvalued by comparing to its market value.