Compact Disc

It is the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of all the tangible assets acquired, arrived at by carefully ascertaining the value of such assets—at least in theory. The analyst must be alert to the makeup and the method of valuation of Goodwill as well as to the method of its ultimate disposition. One way of disposing of the Goodwill account, frequently preferred by management, is to write it off at a time when it would have the least impact on the market's assessment of the…

However, the large drop in PalmKid’s contribution margin per unit combined with a decrease in the actual number of PalmPro units sold as well as a drop in the actual contribution margin per unit below budget, led to the total contribution margin being much lower than budgeted. Other factors could be discussed here––for example, it seems that the PalmKid did not achieve much success with a three digit price point––selling price was budgeted at $149 but dropped to $102. At the same time,…