Annual Report Teardown: Zalando vs. ASOS for an Equity Note
Overview
What this challenge is about.
Build a side-by-side annual report analysis with ratios and accounting differences to earn your verifiable certificate.
The scenario
The client is a boutique, independent equity research firm of roughly fifteen staff, based in New York, that produces unbiased coverage for family offices and small institutional investors weighing exposure to European online retail. It needs clear-eyed, source-anchored notes — not sell-side cheerleading — because its reputation rests entirely on the quality of its independent judgment.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Which of Zalando and ASOS is in stronger financial shape today, and how do their differing accounting choices distort a straight comparison?
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Read and reconcile figures across the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement of two real reporting entities
- Compute and interpret comparable financial ratios when the inputs are not directly comparable
- Identify where accounting policy choices (revenue recognition, inventory, leases) distort a peer comparison and adjust for them
- Build and defend an evidence-based investment thesis with explicit acknowledgment of risks and counterarguments
- Produce a research note that meets professional citation and presentation conventions
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Aligned coursework coming soon.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- Financial Statement Analysis
Apply financial statement analysis to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Ratio Analysis
Apply ratio analysis to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Ifrs Interpretation
Apply ifrs interpretation to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Comparative Analysis
Apply comparative analysis to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Investment Memo Writing
Apply investment memo writing to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles:
Equity Research Analyst
This challenge mirrors the core sell-side and buy-side research workflow: turning raw annual reports into a defensible investment view. You practice computing comparable metrics, writing a thesis-driven note, and defending it under questioning — exactly what a research desk expects from a junior hire.
This challenge sharpens
- financial-statement-analysis
- ratio-analysis
- investment-memo-writing
Credit Analyst
Assessing financial health from statements and ratios is the daily work of a credit analyst. By stress-testing liquidity, solvency, and earnings quality across two peers, you build the comparative judgment used to size and price credit risk for lenders and bond investors.
This challenge sharpens
- financial-statement-analysis
- ratio-analysis
- comparative-analysis
Investment Banking Analyst
Comparable-company analysis and memo writing are foundational deal-team skills. Normalizing two issuers' financials and explaining accounting-driven distortions prepares you for the benchmarking and client-ready documentation that fill an analyst's first years in banking.
This challenge sharpens
- financial-statement-analysis
- comparative-analysis
- investment-memo-writing