Phase 1
1) Obtain the most recently filed report on Form 10-K for BOTH:
The Kroger Co. (“KR”), Filed on 3/30/2021
AND
Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (“SFM”), Filed on February 25, 2021
Phase 1a
2) Read Item 1 – Business, Item 1A – Risk Factors and Item 1B – Unresolved Staff Comments, of BOTH 10-Ks. You do not have to read the special note regarding forward-looking statements
3) Prepare a summary of the relevant information contained in Items 1, 1A and 1B for both companies. Include this summary with your Phase 1b submission.
4) Based solely on your reading of Items 1, 1A and 1B, select one of the two companies as your primary company for the semester.
5) Prepare a CQAD memorandum (see page 4) identifying the company that you will be using as your primary company and explaining the factors that led to your selection based solely on the disclosure provided by each company in Items 1, 1A and 1B. Did one company give the impression of being more or less forthcoming than the other company? Did this impression impact your decision as to which company you will use as your primary company during the semester?
Phase 1B
6) Read Items 2, 3, 4, 4A, 5, 9, 9A and 9B of the form 10-K for the company you selected as your primary company in phase 1a.
7) Prepare a summary of the relevant information contained in each of the items identified in step 6. (add these summaries to the summaries of item 1, 1a and 1b that you prepared in step 3 above.
8) Obtain the closing stock price for your company’s common stock as of or near March 31, 2021 for KR and as of or near 2/28/21 for SFM and the stock price on or about that same date for each of the previous 5 years. You will end up with 6 data points so that a 5 year CAGR can be determined. DO NOT USE THE DATA INCLUDED IN ITEM 5 OF THE 10-K. Obtain the dividend history for the company’s common stock during the past five-year period.
9) Prepare a CQAD memorandum summarizing the information presented in Parts 1 and 2 of the report on Form 10-K EXCLUDING Items 6, 7, 7A and 8. Include a table or graph (with data points) indicating the closing stock prices obtained in step 8 and a summary of the dividend history of the company. This memo will be much longer than your Phase 1a memo.