摘要：An analysis was conducted to evaluate the cross-sectional variations of financial
ratios among different size private companies. The study examines four ratio
categories for the retail and service sectors over the period 1998 to 2000. The ratio
categories include: (1) liquidity, (2) activity, (3) leverage, and (4) profitability. Results
provide strong evidence that small retail firms perform differently than larger retail firms
in all categories and time periods. Service firms had the strongest and most consistent
differences in activity and profitability ratios. Separate comparisons of the retail and
service sectors also showed significant performance differences in every ratio category.
