Determine the company's most profitable sales mix and the contribution margin that results from that sales mix.

In its 2016 annual report, caterpillar inc. reported the following (in millions): 2016 2015 sales $38,537 $47,011 cost of goods sold 28,309 33,546 as a percentage of sales, did caterpillar's gross profit increase or decrease during 2016? select one: a. gross profit increased from 26.8% to 28.6% b. gross profit decreased from 28.6% to 26.5% c. gross profit increased from 71.4% to 73.2% d. gross profit decreased from 73.2% to 71.4% e. there is not enough information to answer the question.

Calculate the cost of each capital component—in other words, the after-tax cost of debt, the cost of preferred stock (including flotation costs), and the cost of equity (ignoring flotation costs). use both the capm method and the dividend growth approach to find the cost of equity.calculate the cost of new stock using the dividend growth approach.what is the cost of new common stock based on the capm? (hint: find the difference between re and rs as determined by the dividend growth approach and then add that difference to the capm value for rs.)assuming that gao will not issue new equity and will continue to use the same target capital structure, what is the company’s wacc? e. suppose gao is evaluating three projects with the following characteristics.each project has a cost of $1 million. they will all be financed using the target mix of long-term debt, preferred stock, and common equity. the cost of the common equity for each project should be based on the beta estimated for the project. all equity will come from reinvested earnings.equity invested in project a would have a beta of 0.5 and an expected return of 9.0%.equity invested in project b would have a beta of 1.0 and an expected return of 10.0%.equity invested in project c would have a beta of 2.0 and an expected return of 11.0%.analyze the company’s situation, and explain why each project should be accepted or rejected g

You've arrived at the pecan shellers conference—your first networking opportunity. naturally, you're feeling nervous, but to avoid seeming insecure or uncertain, you've decided to a. speak a little louder than you would normally. b. talk on your cell phone as you walk around. c. hold an empowered image of yourself in your mind. d. square your shoulders before entering the room.