roa-analysis

name	roa-analysis
description	Compare two retail companies side by side using the ROA (Return on Assets) DuPont breakdown — Net Profit Margin % × Asset Turnover = ROA. Queries the Dolt database for both companies and displays a full comparison table with interpretation. Triggered by "/roa-analysis TICKER1 TICKER2 YEAR".

roa-analysis

Compare two companies using the DuPont ROA breakdown.

Inputs

/roa-analysis TICKER1 TICKER2 YEAR

• TICKER1, TICKER2 — stock tickers of the two companies to compare (e.g. WMT, M, COST)
• YEAR — fiscal year stored in the database (e.g. 2024)

Step 1 — Look up both companies

For each ticker, query the database for company metadata:

SELECT company, display_name, ticker_symbol
FROM company_info
WHERE ticker_symbol = '{TICKER}'

Use db_string: calvinw/BusMgmtBenchmarks/main.

If a ticker returns no row, tell the user that company is not in the database and stop.

Step 2 — Fetch financial data for both companies

For each company, run:

SELECT year, reportDate,
       `Net Revenue`,
       `Cost of Goods`,
       `Gross Margin`,
       `SGA`,
       `Operating Profit`,
       `Net Profit`,
       `Total Assets`
FROM financials
WHERE company_name = '{company}' AND year = {YEAR}

If no row is returned for a company/year combination, tell the user the data is missing and stop.

Step 3 — Calculate ROA components

For each company compute the following. All percentages should be rounded to two decimal places.

Metric	Formula
SGA % of Revenue	SGA ÷ Net Revenue × 100
Net Profit Margin %	Net Profit ÷ Net Revenue × 100
Asset Turnover	Net Revenue ÷ Total Assets
ROA %	Net Profit Margin % × Asset Turnover

Note: ROA % = Net Profit ÷ Total Assets × 100 (the DuPont product is equivalent). SGA is not part of the DuPont formula directly, but it affects ROA indirectly by reducing operating profit and net profit margin.

Step 4 — Display side-by-side comparison table

Present a clear table with both companies in columns. Use the display_name from company_info for column headers.

Financial Summary ($ thousands)

Metric	{Company 1}	{Company 2}
Net Revenue
Cost of Goods
Gross Margin
SGA
SGA % of Revenue
Operating Profit
Net Profit
Total Assets

ROA Breakdown

Metric	{Company 1}	{Company 2}
Net Profit Margin %
× Asset Turnover
= ROA %

Step 5 — Interpret the results

After the tables, write a short plain-English interpretation (3–5 sentences) covering:

1. Which company has a higher ROA and what that means overall
2. Which company is more profitable per dollar of sales (higher Net Profit Margin %)
3. Which company uses its assets more efficiently (higher Asset Turnover)
4. How SG&A % of Revenue helps explain how much gross margin is consumed by operating costs
5. What the DuPont breakdown reveals about each company's business model — for example, a discount retailer like Walmart typically has low margins but very high asset turnover, while a department store like Macy's may have higher margins but lower turnover

Keep the interpretation in plain English suitable for a business student with no finance background.

Step 6 — Save the report to the reports directory

After displaying the analysis to the user, save the full report as a markdown file to the reports/ directory. The filename should follow this pattern:

reports/roa-analysis-{TICKER1}-{TICKER2}-{YEAR}.md

For example: reports/roa-analysis-M-JWN-2021.md

The file should contain:

• A top-level heading: # ROA Analysis — {Display Name 1} vs {Display Name 2}, {YEAR}
• A note that all dollar amounts are in $ thousands
• The Financial Summary table (same as displayed to user)
• The ROA Breakdown table (same as displayed to user)
• The plain-English interpretation
• A footer line: *Generated by the /roa-analysis skill.*

Use the Write tool to create the file. Tell the user the file has been saved and where to find it.