Comparative Financial Statements for Bent Stew Enterprises Are Shown Below

Comparative financial statements for Bent Stew Enterprises are shown below: $\begin{array}{lrrr}&\text { December } 31\\&2018&2017\\\text { Assets }\\\text { Current assets: }\\\text { Cash } & \$ 3,000 & \$ 800 \\\text { Accounts receivable } & 8,500 & 6,000 \\\text { Inventory } & 12,000 & 8,200 \\\text { Prepaid expenses } & 1,400 & 900 \\\text { Total current assets } & 24,900 & 15,900 \\\quad \text { Property, plant, and equipment, net } & 103,600 & 123,300 \\\text { Intangible assets, net } & \mathbf{6 4 , 0 0 0} & \underline{47,000} \\\text { Total assets } & \$ 192,500 & \$ 186,200 \\\text { Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity }\\\text { Current liabilities: }\\\text { Accounts payable } & \$ 11,000 & \$ 12,000 \\\text { Other current liabilities } & 11,800 & 3,200 \\\text { Total current liabilities } & 22,800 & 15,200 \\\text { Long-term debt } & \underline{120,000} & 128,000 \\\text { Total liabilities }& \underline{142,800}& \underline{143,200}\\\text { Stockholders' equity: }\\\text { Common stock } & 15,000 & 15,000 \\\text { Additional paid-in capital } & 20,000 & 20,000 \\\text { Retained earnings } & 14,700 & 8,000 \\\text { Total stockholders' equity }&{49,700}&43,000 \\\text { Total liabilities and stockholders' equity } &\$192,500&\$186,200\\&\text { Year Ended December } 31\\&2018&2017\\\text { Sales } & \$ 250,000 & \$ 230,000 \\\text { Cost of goods sold } & 164,000 & 142,300 \\\text { Gross margin } & 86,000 & 87,700 \\\text { Operating expenses } & 64,000 & 54,000 \\\text { Operating income } & 22,000 & 33,700 \\\text { Interest expense } & \underline{7,500} & 5,900 \\\text { Earnings before income taxes } & 14,500 & 27,800 \\\text { Income taxes } & 7,800 & 7,140 \\\text { Net earnings }&\$6,700&\$20,680\end{array}$ What does vertical analysis for 2018 versus 2017 reveal for Bent Stew Enterprises?

A) There was no change in the proportion of common stock to total assets from 2017 to 2018.
B) Inventory levels have decreased from 2017 to 2018 in proportion to total assets.
C) Gross margin declined to 34.4% in 2017, down from 38.19% in 2017.
D) The company has a higher proportion of long-term debt in 2018 compared to 2017.