CHS must identify the reasons for its high expenses and seek to reduce costs, to catch up with other industry rivals by improving considerably in 2012. This is the most concerning of all the reports since the revenues earned by HCA are only double the amount of CHS, but HCA's profit margins amount to seven times the value due to the lower profit margins. However, profit margins have increased since 2011, after the federal investigation caused them to decline after 2010. CHS' return on equity ratio is 9.50%, higher than the industry average of 8. 74%. This is a good value, but the industry average is lower due to the negative ROE of HCA holdings. If this were not considered, the industry average would be 11.28%, resulting in a lower return on equity ratio. The company's earnings per share stood at 0.78 in 2012 and increased from 0.63 in 2011. Long-Term Solvency