Financial Accounting Project (PAYPAL & SQUARE)

Two publicly traded companies that compete with each other. (Paypal & Square)

They must be publicly traded, as private company financial statements will not be publicly available. While the two companies do not need to be head-to-head competitors, their main lines of business should broadly overlap. At this stage, choose companies that are profitable (net income is positive) and that have positive retained earnings and stockholders’ equity. Select companies whose financial statements are not overly complicated. (Probably avoid the automotive, banking, insurance, and financial services industries. Automotive companies have large financial services subsidiaries that act like banks for customers, which complicates the analysis. Banking, insurance, and financial services have operations that differ drastically from the usual industrial companies common in practice. While these companies can be analyzed, they present challenges for the beginning analyst.) 

1. Access the relevant step by clicking the link below, or through the tabs at the bottom

2. Once you complete a part of your project, be sure to mark it as complete on this page.

Use the SEC EDGAR website to locate the recent Form 10-K (or other annual report such as 20-F or 40-F) for each of your chosen companies. (ATTACHED)