How to read a company in ten minutes
Search a ticker and this page plots roughly a decade of fundamentals — quarterly or
annual — so you can judge the trend rather than a single quarter. Here is the
order worth reading them in.
1. Revenue, margins and the shape of growth
Growth matters less than where it came from. Gross margin holding steady through an
inflationary period means customers accepted higher prices; compressing margin means the
company absorbed the cost, which tells you what its moat is really worth. Operating
expenses growing faster than revenue year after year is the signature of growth that is
being bought rather than earned.
2. Cash flow, because profit is an opinion
Compare operating cash flow to net income across several years. Healthy businesses show
cash flow at or above reported profit. When profit runs well ahead of cash for more than
a year or two, revenue is being recognised before the money arrives. Free cash flow —
operating cash flow minus capital expenditure — is what is genuinely available for
dividends, buybacks and debt repayment.
3. Share count, the most ignored line in the accounts
A count creeping up 3% a year means you own 3% less of the business annually, and a 10%
earnings growth story is really 7%. A shrinking count means buybacks are quietly
increasing your slice.
4. Balance sheet, then — and only then — valuation
Look at net debt against free cash flow: how many years would repayment take? Under two
is comfortable; over five and the lenders effectively own the equity of a company that
stumbles. Multiples like P/E and EV/EBITDA only mean something once you have answered
the four questions above.
Fundamentals come from public filings via third-party data providers and can be delayed
or restated — cross-check anything surprising against the company's own reports.
