Financial Statement Comparison

Income Statement Comparison:
Target Link to Financial Statements: http://investors.target.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=65828&p=irol-SECText&TEXT=aHR0cDovL2lyLmludC53ZXN0bGF3YnVzaW5lc3MuY29tL2RvY3VtZW50L3YxLzAwMDEwNDc0NjktMTEtMDAyMDMyL3htbA%3d%3d#fa11101_item_8._financial_statements_and_supplementary_data
Target's income statement information for the fiscal quarter ended January 29, 2011 is as follows:
-Total Revenue: $67,390,000,000
-Total Expenses: $64,470,000,000
-Net Income/Earnings: $2,920,000,000
Component Percentage of Total Expenses: 95.7%
Component Percentage of Total Expenses: 4.3%

Hershey's Link to Financial Statements: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9ODQ3MzR8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=&t=1
Hershey's component percentage for their total expenses is 79.2% and 20.8% for net income. Compared to Target's component percentages, Hershey's is much stronger financially. They are spending less of their money on expenses and therefore have a larger net income compared to Target.

Balance Sheet Comparison:
Target's balance sheet for the fiscal quarter ended January 29,2011:
Total Assets: $43,705,000,000
Total Liabilities: $28,218,000,000
Total Equity: $15,487,000,000

Hershey's balance sheet for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010:
Total Assets: $4,272,732,000
Total Liabilities: $3,370,416,000
Total Equity: $902,316,000

Hershey's is more financially strong because their total equity outweighs their liabilities greatly. This means that they have more money on hand and less that they still owe.

Fiscal Period

Target became incorporated in 1902 in Minnesota. Target's business comes from two segments, retail and credit card. Their retail segment has a vast variety that is primarily driven through their online operations. They provide an easy access online Target site that allows for simple purchases from the comfort of your home. Target also offers credit cards of their own to customers, hoping it strengthens the relationship between the company and the customer. Target's fiscal period ends on January 29 of every year. The link to the site that displays the fiscal period is as follows: http://investors.target.com/phoenix.zhtmlc=65828&p=irolSECText&TEXT=aHR0cDovL2lyLmludC53ZXN0bGF3YnVzaW5lc3MuY29tL2RvY3VtZW50L3YxLzAwMDEwNDc0NjktMTEtMDAyMDMyL3htbA%3d%3d#ge11101_item_15._exhibits_and_financial_statement_schedules I believe the management of target chose January 29 to be the end of the fiscal period because there is very little business during that time compared to the rest of the year. It is right after all of the holiday shopping which is very busy for Target so it's good to have a fiscal period after a time of high business activity.