This gives the impression of greater cash flow stability. Yet FedEx has enjoyed a steady rate of dividend increase (2 cents per year). That they do not pay as much as UPS reflects their youth but it is a fallacy to assume that FedEx's future cash flows are less certain. Indeed, their dividend rates going in to the future are entirely predictable.
Despite this, the market appears to prefer UPS' business model to that of FedEx. The latter company is still dependent on air shipping. This is the high-end model for the industry. In difficult economic times the short-term outlook is relatively poor for the air business. Rising fuel prices compromise the long-term viability of this business as well. That said, the fundamentals of FedEx are much stronger, so it is curious why the market has valued the company more poorly that UPS in terms of price-to-book and especially price-to-sales.
Conclusion
Overall, FedEx has the stronger financial performance of the two companies. Over the past five years, they have improved liquidity, lowered their long-term debt and improved their asset management. FedEx has weaker profitability ratios than does UPS, but they are still strong.
Conversely, UPS does not have solid financials across the board. The company's debt management is poor. The dramatic increase in leverage in the past five years has corresponded with a volatile liquidity position. Whereas FedEx has experience stable cash flow from operations, UPS's cash flows have been anything but stable.
The betas of these companies indicate that historically UPS has had the more stable operation. To some extent, the market still prices these firms based on that rational. However, the ratios of these two firms point to a different picture. UPS has been the more volatile of the two in most respects. The only point of strong consistency is with their gross margins.
On balance, however,...
Competitor Analysis There are many service categories that are commonly provided by nursing homes (Tulenko, 2012). Among those are the activities that residents have and the care offered to those who are struggling with Alzheimer's or dementia. Many nursing homes have separate wings or locked wards for these particular residents (Tulenko, 2012). Other homes do not have such strong precautions, and some homes do not take these types of patients at
Yahoo is definitely facing difficult challenges in the near future. Consumption is probably going down, but that is not something that will only affect Yahoo! The competition will also be seriously shaken. Another aspect that the firm's managers should consider is the more personalized approach proposed by Google. The G-mail service will be tailored to fit the desires of each and every user. The needs of each person, as manifested
This is the point that customers would go different locations and they received poor service. The lack of accountability is what contributed to the communication breakdown. How could the crisis be avoided? The way that this crisis could have been avoided, is by implementing a policy of improving employee training and communication. The way that this could have been conducted, was to teach everyone on the store level how to deal
They will also be demonstrating a clear understanding of the broad role that they play in the wider society which will build trust with the community at large. In order to ensure that employees do not partake in fraud activities with the food that would be donated to the food bank, Company Q. should pay their staff fairly, providing a good work environment and encourage open communication channels so
Innovation occurs when the company is focused on developing applications that are: superior and less expensive than the ones that they are currently selling. This is troubling, because the current lines of products that are being offered, means that they are losing ground to alternative ones that are being produced. As a result, Husky needs to focus on developing products that are: competitively priced and have better quality. This
The burning of fossil fuels affects the environment, leading to air pollution, global warming, severe climate changes, and health problems such as asthma. Alternative sources of energy may be more expensive or more difficult to obtain, but the negatives seem to pale in comparison to this generation's responsibility to ensure livable conditions on Earth for future generations. Given the rocketing prices of gasoline and the prospect that oil and gas
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now