Corporate investment analysis and decision frameworks

Stock Analysis

FedEx Corporation (FDX) is the stock I have chosen for this exercise. The first page that Yahoo Finance shows has the stock price, last trade, change, previous close, open and bid/ask. There are also daily and annual ranges, volume and average volume, market cap, P/E, and dividend information. A small daily price chart is also there. This is the basic stock information, especially for day traders or short-term investors, or anybody looking for just a quick snapshot.

The "Historical Prices" link reveals a page where past FedEx prices can be found. The daily prices for the past few months are listed in a chart. Also, there is a search function, which enables the user to find the stock price on any given day. This can be sorted by daily, weekly or monthly. There is a sort function called "dividends." When a search for Jan 2, 2008 to Jan 2, 2009 was entered, it returned not only the daily prices but separated out the dividends, for example on Dec 10, 2008.

The charts feature allows the user to see the FedEx price chart. This can be over a time period anywhere from one day to over five years. There is a volume chart as well, so that the user can track price movements and volume. The chart is interactive, so if you click on a given day, you will receive the trading information for that day. The basic chart is similar, but without this feature. A final chart is the Basic Technical Analysis chart, which gives a number of charts based on basic technical analysis tools.

The Industry hot link provides a chart of FedEx stock vs. The industry index. There is news about other firms in the Industry, top performers, a rank by market cap and some industry statistics.

The Profile link provides basic information about the company. This includes its address, the number of employees, which indexes it is in, a summary of the company's business, and its corporate governance score. There is also an outline of its key executives and their compensation package.

The Insider link provides a summary of recent trading by company insiders, as reported to the SEC. The most recent individual transactions have been broken down as well. The SEC filings link lists the most recent SEC filings, including quarterly and annual reports, to which links are provided.

The Reports section highlights the different research reports that have mentioned FedEx recently. Each of the reports costs money; clicking on the report bring you to a page where you can pay for that report and received a .pdf. The Research section highlights the various analysts' estimates for FedEx with respect to its earnings, profit, EPS and other similar metrics.

The Financials section provides the three main financial statements -- income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows -- for the past three years. Quarterly data can also be accessed.

2. The accounting data provided is essential to understanding the value of the company. It provides insight into the revenue and cost structure of the company and the nature of its assets and liabilities. With this information, we can get a sense of how the company is performing and how it has historically performed. We can identify weaknesses and strengths that will help us estimate the likelihood that past cash flows can be repeated. Having the full range of financial information directly relates to the future cash flows, upon which our sense of the stock's value is based.

3. FedEx currently closed at $53.25, down $0.99 for the day. The company's current P/E is 22.67. This multiple is applicable to a firm with moderate growth prospects. FedEx meets that profile -- their industry is entering maturity, but they still have strong growth in many segments such as ground and less-than-truckload. A review of the quarterly data shows that revenue is declining, but the long-term trend shows moderate year-over-year revenue growth. FedEx's profits have fluctuated, but the firm recorded $1.1 billion in profits last year. Despite the economic downturn, they still managed to eke out a profit in their latest quarter, indicating a degree of financial strength.