Question

The March 29, 2012, edition of the Wall Street Journal Online contains an article by Miguel Bustillo entitled, "Best Buy Forced to Rethink Big Box." The article explains how the 1,100 giant stores, which enabled Best Buy to obtain its position as the largest retailer of electronics, are now reducing the company’s profitability and even threatening its survival. The problem is that many customers go to Best Buy stores to see items but then buy them for less from online retailers. As a result, Best Buy recently announced that it would close 50 stores and switch to smaller stores. However, some analysts think that these changes are not big enough.

Suppose the following data were extracted from the 2017 and 2012 annual reports of Best Buy. (All amounts are in millions).
2017 2016 2012 2011
Total assets at year-end $17,729 $18,390 $11,880 $10,234
Net sales 50,308 30,768
Net income 1,301 1,143
Using the data above.
Compute the profit margin, asset turnover, and return on assets for 2017 and 2012.

Answer 1

2012

Profit Margin

= Net income / Net sales

= 1,143 / 30,768 * 100

= 3.7%

Asset Turnover

= Net sales / Average operating assets

= 30,768 / [(10,234 + 11,880) / 2]

= 2.78 times

Return on Assets

= Net income / Average operating assets

= 1,143/ [(10,234 + 11,880) / 2]

= 10.3%

2017

Profit Margin

= Net income / Net sales

= 1,301 / 50,308

= 2.6%

Asset Turnover

= Net sales / Average operating assets

= 50,308 / [(18,390 + 17,729) / 2]

= 2.79 times

Return on Assets

= Net income / Average operating assets

= 1,301 / [(18,390 + 17,729) / 2]

= 7.2%