Financial Analysis of the company of the Walt Disney Company

Abstract

The topic of this thesis is the financial analysis of the Walt Disney Company. Main focus of it is the segment performance analysis and operating ability analysis. This thesis is divided into five chapters, including this chapter (as 1. Introduction); 2. Description of the financial analysis; 3. Description of the Walt Disney co.; 4. Financial analysis of the Walt Disney co.; 5. Conclusion. Among them, chapter 2 and chapter 3 are the basement and theory description parts. In chapter 2, the rules and principle of corporate finance and the methods of financial analysis used in this thesis will be described. It provides an integrative perspective on financial statement analysis and a foundation for the later practical part and conclusion reaching. After motivating the uses of financial statement analysis, the chapter discusses the three main financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statements and Cash Flow Statements) and other information sources relevant to financial analysis. The chapter concludes by presenting a framework for conducting corporate financial analysis. Generally, common-size analysis and financial ratios analysis were taken as main methods of analyzing. In chapter 3, the general introduction and situation of Walt Disney Company will be followed closely. As the analyzing objective, knowing the Company comprehensively is needed. What are the main business fields of the Company and the financial characteristics and general performance of different segments. Chapter 4 is the practical part and also the most important part of this thesis. In this Chapter, the Company’s performance from fiscal 2006 to 2010 will be analyzed comprehensively by using the methods mentioned above on the data from Balance Sheet, Income Statements and Cash Flow Statements of the Company. The trend and development of the change of items and ratios of the Company will be followed closely. Because it can reveals the results from comparison----which years the Company made out better performance on operation and generated higher profits. Besides, due to the external competition in the market, comparing the Company’s performance with its competitors or market index to get more objective conclusion is also needed. Chapter 5 contains the conclusion of this bachelor thesis.

The topic of this thesis is the financial analysis of the Walt Disney Company. Main focus of it is the segment performance analysis and operating ability analysis. This thesis is divided into five chapters, including this chapter (as 1. Introduction); 2. Description of the financial analysis; 3. Description of the Walt Disney co.; 4. Financial analysis of the Walt Disney co.; 5. Conclusion. Among them, chapter 2 and chapter 3 are the basement and theory description parts. In chapter 2, the rules and principle of corporate finance and the methods of financial analysis used in this thesis will be described. It provides an integrative perspective on financial statement analysis and a foundation for the later practical part and conclusion reaching. After motivating the uses of financial statement analysis, the chapter discusses the three main financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statements and Cash Flow Statements) and other information sources relevant to financial analysis. The chapter concludes by presenting a framework for conducting corporate financial analysis. Generally, common-size analysis and financial ratios analysis were taken as main methods of analyzing. In chapter 3, the general introduction and situation of Walt Disney Company will be followed closely. As the analyzing objective, knowing the Company comprehensively is needed. What are the main business fields of the Company and the financial characteristics and general performance of different segments. Chapter 4 is the practical part and also the most important part of this thesis. In this Chapter, the Company’s performance from fiscal 2006 to 2010 will be analyzed comprehensively by using the methods mentioned above on the data from Balance Sheet, Income Statements and Cash Flow Statements of the Company. The trend and development of the change of items and ratios of the Company will be followed closely. Because it can reveals the results from comparison----which years the Company made out better performance on operation and generated higher profits. Besides, due to the external competition in the market, comparing the Company’s performance with its competitors or market index to get more objective conclusion is also needed. Chapter 5 contains the conclusion of this bachelor thesis.