Chapter 13, Problem 25E

For a recent year, OfficeMax and Staples are two companies competing in the retail office supply business. OfficeMax had a net income of $34,894,000, while Staples had a net loss of $210,706,000. OfficeMax had preferred stock of $28,726,000 with preferred dividends of $2,123,000. Staples had no preferred stock. The average outstanding common shares for each company were as follows:

1. a. Determine the earnings per share for each company. Round to the nearest cent.
2. b. Evaluate the relative profitability of the two companies.