单选题 Jack George, CFA, does research about financial leverage and gathers the following information about a company (in millions):
2011 2010
Interest expense $15 $15
Net profit margin 12.0% 9.0%
Total asset turnover 2.0 2.2
If return on equity decreased over the same time period, the company's financial leverage most likely:
A. decreased.
B. remained the same.
C. increased.

【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] ROE= ROA×financial leverage。
2011: ROA=Net profit margin×Total asset turnover=12.0%×2=24.0%
2010: ROA=Net profit margin×Total asset turnover=9.0%×2.2=19.8%
从2010年到2011年,ROA在上升,而已知ROE在下降,因此财务杠杆(financial leverage)一定在下降。