Introduction
The Boeing Company is a global-based organization that models builds, and sells aircraft, rockets, rotary-wing airplanes, satellites, missiles, and telecommunications devices. Its inception dates back to 1916, when William Boeing established Aero Products Company following his development of a single-engine seaplane, the B&W, with the United States Navy major Conrad Westervelt.
Over the years, the corporation has undergone a series of strategic developments, such as Vertol Company’s purchase, which was the leading producer of helicopters in 1960 (Nirino et al., 2021). In the following years, in the 1970s, the American aircraft behemoth expanded its operations by diversifying into segments such as marine craft, energy production, transit systems, and agriculture (Dong et al., 2020). Today, the consortium’s business units are divided into three significant groups: commercial airplanes, space and communications, and military aircraft (Dong et al., 2020). The corporation has developed to become one of the leading aircraft producers in the world, alongside Europe’s Airbus.
Uber Technologies is an American-based firm that offers a wide range of services such as food and package delivery, freight transportation, and ride-hailing. The establishment of this company occurred in 2009 when it was created as Ubercab by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick (Muller, 2020). The latter traded his Red Swoosh venture for approximately $19 million in 2007 (Muller, 2020). The idea for the creation of Uber originated from a simple concept when Camp and his acquaintances spent about eight hundred US dollars hiring a private driver; therefore, he developed an idea to minimize the cost of transportation (Muller, 2020). This paper compares and contrasts the financial information of Boeing and Uber by analyzing their balance sheets and operating margins to gain insight into the differences in their accounting practices.
Boeing Balance Sheet
Table 1 below illustrates the financial information associated with Boeing’s operations for the year ended 2020. During this financial year, the American aircraft maker recorded about $152.136 billion in total assets, accompanied by nearly $170.211 billion in aggregate liabilities (Nirino et al., 2021). From the information indicated in table 1, the corporation’s liquidity can be computed to analyze its ease of conversion to cash while using both current and quick ratios.
Table 1. Boeing Balance Sheet for the Year Ended 2020 (Boeing Reports Fourth-Quarter Results, 2021).
Current ratio = (Current assets/current liabilities)
Table 2. Current Ratio of Boeing (Boeing Reports Fourth-Quarter Results, 2021).
In Boeing’s case, its current ratio as of December 31st, 2020, was 1.39. This metric suggests that if the corporation was requested to settle all its short-term debt, it could have done so. Generally, the whole S&P 500 has an average current ratio of approximately 1.20, implying that Boeing is in a better financial position than most multinational organizations in its industry (Nirino et al., 2021). As compared to Uber technologies current ratio of 1.44 (December 31st, 2020), both companies are in an excellent financial position since their current assets are almost twice as many as the liabilities.
Quick ratio = (Current assets – inventory) – current liabilities
Table 3. Quick Ratio of Boeing (Boeing Reports Fourth-Quarter Results, 2021).
A quick ratio shows the number of assets that a company has available to cover its temporary obligations. Therefore, a quick ratio of above 1 indicates that a corporation is in an excellent financial position. However, in the case of Boeing, its quick ratio is 0.46 for the year ended 2020. It suggests that the aircraft maker does not have adequate liquid assets to settle its current liabilities.
Uber Balance Sheet
Table 4 below illustrates Uber’s financial information for the year ended 2020. During this time, the American ride-hailing company recorded about $33.252 billion in total assets, accompanied by approximately $20.285 billion in aggregate liabilities (Muller, 2020). Therefore, Uber’s quick and current ratio can be calculated to analyze its ability to settle its current debt obligations without relying on external financiers. Thus, the table below shows Uber’s balance sheet for 2019 and 2020.
Table 4. Uber Balance Sheet (Uber Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019, 2020; Uber Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020, 2021).
Table 5. Current Ratio of Uber (Uber Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019, 2020; Uber Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020, 2021).
In Uber’s case, its current ratio is computed by dividing the values of the current assets by the figures in the current liabilities section. Its current ratio equals 1.44 and 2.47 for the years 2020 and 2019. These values suggest the American ride-hailing company was in a financial position that allows to it settle its short-term obligations twice as much in 2019 than in 2020.
Operating Margin
A company’s profitability is a significant metric that determines if a firm is performing well in its industry. Accountants use operating margin to measure the amount of profit a corporation generates on a unit of sales after settling the variable costs of manufacturing, such as wages and raw materials exclusive of interest or tax (Cokins, 2017). It is computed by dividing the values of operating income by revenue. In Boeing’s case, its trailing 12 months (TTM) revenue is about $58.16 billion and an operating income of approximately -$12.77 billion as of December 31st, 2020 (Dong et al., 2020). In contrast, Uber’s TTM revenue is about $11.14 billion and an operating income -$4.86 billion (Dong et al., 2020). Table 6 below shows a comparison of Boeing and Uber’s operating income for the year ended 2020.
Table 6. Operating Margin.
Different industries have different operating margins based on multiple reasons. As such, most corporations prefer to record an operating margin of about 15% or higher. Managers want to see their organizations’ operating margin growing because it shows that they are managing their operating costs well and making more profits. Both the American companies above have negative values in their operating margin indicating their inability to control their costs.
Lessons Learnt
Both Boeing and Uber companies are operating in the United States, but they have different approaches. According to both companies’ liquidity ratios, their financial position can help the two settle their short-term obligations. However, since the companies operate in an oligopolistic market with its dominant competitor, Airbus, the American brand can incorporate several strategies to increase its liquidity ratios, such as managing its receivables and payables, cutting back specific costs, and opting for long-term financing. Moreover, both corporations have a negative operating margin, which indicates that they should consider reducing their costs. It is recommended that both companies should improve their revenue-generating activities such as boosting sales. Additionally, both of them can lower their operational costs, such as opting for alternative sources of raw materials.
Conclusion
This paper has analyzed the financial aspects of Boeing and Uber companies. The former is an American-based aircraft maker headquartered in Chicago, where it models, makes and sells airplanes. Generally, this company offers its target market products in various categories such as military airplanes, space and communications, and commercial aircraft. According to its liquidity ratios, this corporation should consider implementing some strategies of lowering its operational costs to improve its profitability. In contrast, Uber is an American consortium specializing in offering its customers ride-hailing services while also participating in food and package delivery, freight transportation, and several other benefits. The company has recorded a good financial performance, but it needs to improve its liquidity ratios by considering long-term financing also to boost its operating margin.
References
Boeing Reports Fourth-Quarter Results. (2021). Web.
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Muller, E. (2020). Delimiting disruption: Why Uber is disruptive, but Airbnb is not.International Journal of Research in Marketing, 37(1), 43–55. Web.
Nirino, N., Santoro, G., Miglietta, N., & Quaglia, R. (2021). Corporate controversies and company’s financial performance: Exploring the moderating role of ESG practices.Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, 120341. Web.
Uber Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019. (2020). Web.
Uber Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020. (2021). Web.