How to Interpret the Vertical Analysis of a Balance Sheet and Income Statement

vertical analysis example

While there was a big increase in revenue across the company as a whole in 2023, the majority of this has come from the Asian region. While the US market performance improved, it underperformed the other regions for the year. This could be a normal consequence of a more mature business unit, but highlights a trend worth considering.

Example of Vertical Analysis Formula

Sync data, gain insights, and analyze performance right in Excel, Google Sheets, or the Cube platform. However, you can do this quickly for multiple years, particularly if you use a balance sheet template. Since the total will be the same for all line items in this section, use absolute referencing ($) for the total. Now, it’s time for the most important step – analyzing and interpreting Certified Public Accountant the results for the period. The interpretation of these results is likely to be more accurate if you can compare them to previous results, as well as those of your competitors. Returning to our example above, a vertical analysis of Jackson Widget Company’s balance sheet would look like this.

vertical analysis example

Key takeaways

However, these expenses don’t, at first glance, appear large enough to account for the decline in net income. Overall financial performance is usually analyzed with horizontal or ratio comparison tools. If you are looking to perform this type of analysis on your spreadsheet for either the income statement or cash flow statement. Check out this free template which automatically provides you with all the calculations by simply changing the stock ticker, as shown in the vertical analysis examples. The above steps are essential formula for vertical analysis of income statement and the calculation and preparation of the statement. Correct and clear representation of the calculated figures help in identifying the trends and patterns or any significant variation and fluctuation in any of the line items.

  • Do you want to take your financial analysis skills to the next level and get more detailed insight into your financial statements?
  • After you have crunched the numbers, it is important to take a step back and interpret your results.
  • The company’s sales have grown over this time period, but net income is down sharply in year three.
  • This means Mistborn Trading saw an increase of $20,000 in revenue in the current year as compared to the prior year, which was a 20% increase.
  • A vertical analysis is also the most effective way to compare a company’s financial statement to industry averages.
  • The information provided in the balance sheet provides the change in working capital, fixed income over some time.

How to Perform a Vertical Analysis on Your Balance Sheet

To increase the effectiveness of vertical analysis, multiple year’s statements or reports can be compared, and comparative analysis of statements can be done. This analysis makes it easier to compare the financial statements of one company with another and across the companies as one can see the relative proportion of accounts. Vertical analysis is said to get its name from the up and down motion of your eyes as you scan the common-size financial statements during the analysis process. Most often, vertical analysis is used by management to find changes or variations in financial statement items of importance like individual asset accounts or asset groups. To perform a vertical analysis of a company’s income statement, you must divide each item by the total revenue or net sales.

Marketplace Financial Model Template

  • FP&A leaders gain insights into financial ratios specific to their business, enabling them to assess whether they’re appropriate for the company’s long-term financial health.
  • The balance sheet helps evaluate the company’s liquidity, solvency, and overall financial health.
  • The merger gave the company significant control over the media ecosystem, making it a dominant player in both production and broadcasting.
  • This base amount, which in this case, is the sales or revenue, provides a very useful platform for comparison of each item on a year on year or quarterly analysis.
  • Comparing each number becomes easier when compared as a percentage of sales/revenue.
  • By comparing the proportions of individual accounts from time period to period, companies can track fluctuations and use them to inform strategic decisions, assisting with financial forecasting.

From the above examples it is vertical analysis formula possible to understand the exact procedure to calculate the line items as a percentage of sales from the financial statement of a company. The interpretation shows us how to evaluate the performance of the business using the numbers and make comparison. This not only provides an insight into the current financial condition of the company, but also contributes data to make a forecast about the future possibilities or trends of growth.

vertical analysis example

Vertical analysis, however, studies the proportions of the total amount represented by the different variables during a single period. This percentage can be used to compare both balance sheet and income statementperformance within the company. Much like ratio analysis, vertical analysis allows financial information of a small company to be compared with that of a https://www.bookstime.com/ large company.

vertical analysis example

Multi-year comparisons

vertical analysis example

When we carry out vertical analysis on the income statement, it shows the top-line sales figure as 100% and every other item is shown as percentage of the total sales for that year. Each item in the income statement is divided by the company’s total sales for that year (which gives us a common size income statement). In vertical analysis, each line item in the financial statement is expressed as a percentage of a base figure in the same period (for example, the total assets or gross sales). However, in horizontal analysis, the relative change in a line item from one period to the next is calculated and typically presented as a percentage change. Vertical analysis is important because it helps stakeholders understand the relative proportions of accounts and performance in relation to each other. It gives business owners a more detailed view of their financial health compared to just knowing their total assets, liabilities and equity.

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