What Is Vertical Analysis?

That is because this approach quickly reveals the proportion of various account balances reflected in the financial statements. When you compare these percentages to prior year numbers, you can see trends and develop a clearer understanding of the financial direction your company is headed in. If investment in assets is rising but owner’s equity is shrinking, you are either taking too much in owner’s withdrawals or your profitability is dropping. The latter could mean how to calculate vertical analysis you are not using your assets wisely and need to make operational changes. Such comparisons help identify problems for which you can find the underlying cause and take corrective action. The business will need to determine which line item they are comparing all items to within that statement and then calculate the percentage makeup. These percentages are considered common-size because they make businesses within industry comparable by taking out fluctuations for size.

ABC Company’s income statement and vertical analysis demonstrate the value of using common-sized financial statements to better understand the composition of a financial statement. It also shows how a vertical analysis can be very effective in understanding key trends over time. The primary difference between vertical analysis and horizontal analysis is that vertical analysis is focused on the relationships between the numbers in a single reporting period, or one moment in time. Vertical analysis is also known as common size financial statement analysis. To perform a horizontal analysis, you must first gather financial information of a single entity across periods of time. Most horizontal analysis entail pulling quarterly or annual financial statements, though specific account balances can be pulled if you’re looking for a specific type of analysis. While vertical analysis is a great tool for analyzing your current financial position, horizontal analysis is better for spotting trends between two accounting periods.

The Definitions of Total Asset Turnover and Profit Margin

Selling general & administrative (SG&A) declined ever so slightly from 38% to 37% of revenues. Once we divide each balance sheet item by the “Total Assets” of $500 million, we are left with the following table. The placement is not much of a concern in our simple exercise, however, the analysis can become rather “crowded” given numerous periods.

Vertical analysis is most commonly used within a financial statement for a single reporting period, e.g., quarterly. It is done so that accountants can ascertain the relative proportions of the balances of each account. In this second example, I will be doing a vertical analysis of Company B’s current assets based on its annual balance sheet. In this first example, I will do a vertical analysis of Company A’s revenue based on its annual income statement.

How Is Vertical Analysis Different From Horizontal Analysis?

You will also learn how to carry out vertical analysis using both an income statement and a balance sheet. The primary advantage of vertical analysis is that it makes financial statements easier to interpret. By expressing each line item as a percentage of the base figure, investors and analysts can quickly identify and measure changes in key financial performance indicators. This helps them to make more informed decisions about investing in a company. Vertical analysis is the proportional analysis of a financial statement, where each line item on a financial statement is listed as a percentage of another item. This means that every line item on an income statement is stated as a percentage of gross sales, while every line item on a balance sheet is stated as a percentage of total assets. As mentioned, vertical analysis is a financial statement analysis technique that shows each line item on a company’s income statement as a percentage of total revenue.

Vertical analysis is the comparison of financial statements by representing each line item on the statement as a percentage of another line item. Vertical analysis is commonly used by investors and analysts for financial statement analysis. It is also regularly used by management for budgeting and forecasting purposes. For example, management may use vertical analysis to compare budgeted performance with actual performance for a particular period. Vertical analysis is a way to compare each line item on a financial statement to some percentage of the total for that category. The first line item might be sales revenue, which totaled $100,000 last year. A vertical analysis is also the most effective way to compare a company’s financial statement to industry averages.

Relevance and Use of Horizontal Analysis Formula

A basic vertical analysis needs an individual statement for a reporting period but comparative statements may be prepared to enhance the usefulness of analysis. When comparing statements from different periods or between different companies, inflation can play a role in skewing results.

• Vertical analysis is a financial statement analysis technique that compares each line item on a statement to a specific percentage of the total amount for that category.
• Such comparisons help identify problems for which you can find the underlying cause and take corrective action.
• The percentage change in gross profit has been relatively higher than that of net sales due to a lower increase in the cost of goods sold.
• Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
• To ensure consistency when comparing statements from different periods or from different companies, it is important to choose a consistent base figure (e.g., total assets or total sales).
• Vertical analysis uses percentages in its analysis, restating either income statement or balance sheet items as a percentage.