Congratulations

It was a close-run competition but congratulations to the winners of the Firm Performance Analysis competition.

1st: Hofstra University - Michael Candela, Christopher Merro, & Aye Chan Sint. Dr. Edward J. Zychowicz

2nd: Kennesaw State University - Cain Beatty, Mambaye Diagne, Amitai Ilan, & Eric McCart. Advisor: Dr. Govind Hariharan

3rd: Eastern Michigan University - Paul Katokwe, Ryan Mills, & Dominic Thomas. Advisor: Dr. Yu Zhang

The Hofstra University team who won Firm Performance Analysis competition

2nd place went to Kennesaw State University and 3rd was Eastern Michigan University
Kennesaw State University also came second in the poster competition

Sponsored by:

This project is a financial analysis exercise of the subject company Amazon (ticker: Amzn). Financial ratios, valuation models and other statistics and variables can be used in the analysis.

Up to three teams (2 to 3 students) from each school can participate in the firm’s analysis competition. Macroeconomic, Industry, and company specific data that are necessary to complete the analysis can be obtained from the following resources or other resources you have access to:

Macroeconomic and Industry Data

Federal Reserve Beige Book and Fred database
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Consumer Board website
World Bank
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
PWC estimates of future outlook
Deloitte estimates of future outlook

Company-specific Data

EDGAR
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Company website
Morningstar

Questions 

Use the techniques and tools you studied in your Finance and Business classes to address the following questions and topics:

1.What special business niches has Amazon developed over time? (10%)

2. How well diversified is Amazon in terms of exposure to regional national, and international economic problems (Inflation, war, and health crises)? Is the firm's asset portfolio heavily invested in assets that are likely to be affected by sharp regional, national or international economic, financial or political, changes? (15%).

3. How well have the stockholders of Amazon faired over the last five years? Compare Amazon's stock performance to the Dow Jones Industrial Average or other market indices and to its peers. (15%)

4. What are the financial strengths and weaknesses of Amazon? Use financial ratios and other statistics to answer this question. (30%)

5. What is the intrinsic value (target price) of Amazon’s stock relative to its market value? Is the stock overvalued or undervalued? Would you recommend purchasing the stock? (30%)

Prizes

Firm analysis prizes (courtesy of Scott College of Business at Indiana State University)

First Place - $1,500
Second Place - $750
Third Place - $500

Information

If more information is required about this competition please contact Dr. Tarek Zaher - Tarek.Zaher@indstate.edu