Finansiella nyckeltal i svenska börsbolag - En empirisk studie av historiska värden och förekomsten av konvergens till långtidsmedelvärden
Practitioners of financial statement analysis are dependent on key ratios in a multiple number of situations, one in particular being equity valuation. A lack of historical benchmarks, and knowledge regarding the time series behaviour of such ratios, has been identified regarding Swedish companies. Therefore, this study sets out to provide such data and knowledge. Companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange are examined over the period 1979-2009 where the sample is divided into nine industry groups. Historical values for eight common key ratios are documented with regards to median, mean, standard deviation and percentiles. Furthermore, special attention is given to key drivers of return on equity (Re). The values are also related to Swedish business cycle trends and changes in accounting standards (IFRS).Finally, using 10 portfolios and tracking the average of median values over a period of five years the time series behaviour of each key ratio is described. Movements towards typical long-run steady state values are documented and the study finds that mean reversion can be observed in all cases. However there is a significant difference in the degree of reversion between individual key ratios.