The Field Guide50 chaptersFree · no account

Learn to read a company the way a desk analyst does.

Start anywhere. Every chapter is one idea, plainly written — then you drive it: sliders, real filings, live benchmarks, and a checkpoint that tells you whether it stuck.

Read the first chapterBrowse the shelf
What are you trying to work out?

Three ways in

Pick the one that sounds like your problem. Each path is short and in order.

Read the filingsOpen a 10-K and know exactly where the truth lives — and which sections most investors skip.Start with the 10-K →Value the businessDCF, multiples, EV/EBITDA — the four lenses, and the moment each one quietly lies to you.Start with valuation →Judge the numbersSpot earnings that flatter, dilution that compounds, and management that destroys value.Start with quality →

Or browse the shelf

Five parts. Every chapter carries its own instrument.
IValuationWhat a business is actually worth, and the lenses you reach for first.14 ch+
How to value a stockThe framing work that decides whether your model is worth the time.14 minDiscounted cash flow (DCF)How to build a DCF that survives a skeptical PM, not just looks precise.16 minDcf sensitivity analysisWhere your DCF actually breaks. Run this before quoting a target price.11 minDCF vs. comparablesDCF anchors to fundamentals; comps anchor to the market. Use both or get surprised.12 minHow stock multiples workWhat multiples tell you, what they hide, and when to walk away from them.10 minTech multiples guideWhy a tech multiple stops working the moment growth normalizes.12 minStock valuation methods comparedDCF, P/E, and EV/EBITDA each answer a different question. Pick wrong and you waste months.12 minEBITDA, explainedEBITDA is a useful bridge and a dangerous destination. The line is here.9 minEV/EBITDAWhen EV/EBITDA is honest about a business and when it lies for the seller.10 minEnterprise value vs. market capWhy two companies at the same market cap can be priced wildly differently.8 minFree cash flow guideWhat free cash flow actually tells you about a business — and the three ways investors misuse it.12 minFree cash flow yieldFCF yield is the cleanest valuation lens you have. Use it without fooling yourself.10 minPrice-to-book (P/B)P/B works for banks and asset-heavy businesses. It quietly fails for everything else.9 minSum-of-the-partsHow to value a conglomerate without papering over its worst segment.12 min
Paired instrumentDCF Calculator →
IIEarnings QualityWhether the numbers a company prints are real, and the patterns that betray them.3 ch+
IIIReading StatementsHow to actually read a 10-K, an income statement, a balance sheet, a cash flow.16 ch+
How to read a 10-KWhere the truth lives in a 10-K, and which sections most investors skip.18 min10-K: business & risk factorsWhat Part 1 and Part 1A reveal — and the diff method for finding risk factors that are new.12 min10-K: the financial statementsIncome statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and the footnotes where the real story hides.14 min10-K: reading the MD&AMD&A is the only section management writes. Reading its silences matters as much as its words.12 min10-K red-flags checklistTen signals that appeared in the 10-K before almost every major accounting scandal.11 minHow to read an income statementWhat an income statement actually tells you — and the line items where most investors stop reading too soon.14 minHow to read a balance sheetWhat the balance sheet says about staying power, in the order you should read it.12 minHow to read a 10-QThe filing you see four times a year — and the quarterly red flags it reveals before the 10-K confirms them.14 minHow to read an 8-KThe filing that moves stocks overnight — and most investors have never opened one directly.13 minHow to read an S-1The document every company writes once to sell you its stock. Read it like the underwriter, not the buyer.15 minHow to read an earnings reportWhat Wall Street sees in 30 seconds that takes most investors 30 minutes — and how to close the gap.14 minHow to read a proxy statementWhat the proxy tells you about governance that no other filing will — and the red flags most investors miss.15 minHow to read a cash flow statementWhy the cash flow statement is where you check whether the income statement is real.12 minGross margin vs net marginFour margins, four different questions about a business. Know which one answers yours.11 minOperating leverage guideThe hidden force that makes one company's earnings explode while another's barely move — and how to read it in the filings.12 minHow to analyze company debtWhat the debt stack tells you about survival odds that the income statement never will.15 min
IVCapital AllocationHow management deploys cash, and why it matters more than next quarter's beat.4 ch+
VBuilding a ThesisTurning research into a written investment view you can defend and revisit.13 ch+
How to analyze a stockFrom first pass to conviction. The workflow that separates a hunch from a thesis.14 minCompetitive moat guideFive moat sources, one financial test, and a scorecard that separates durable businesses from temporary leaders.15 minTechnology stock analysis blueprintWhat to weight when you're analyzing a tech business specifically.13 minSemiconductors stock analysis blueprintHow to read the semiconductor cycle before it shows up in earnings.14 minHealthcare stock analysis blueprintPricing pipeline risk and reimbursement dynamics in healthcare stocks.14 minFinancials stock analysis blueprintCredit cycles, NIM sensitivity, and capital adequacy in financial sector analysis.14 minEnergy stock analysis blueprintReserve quality, breakeven costs, and through-cycle valuation for energy stocks.14 minBull vs bear case guideHow to build both sides of the trade so your thesis survives the first bad quarter.12 minStock reportWhat a serious investment memo must include, and what it should refuse to include.10 minWhen to sell a stockBuying is research. Selling is discipline. Here is the framework that separates the two.14 minEquity research reportsHow to read a sell-side report like an owner, not a customer.11 minAnalyst research reportWhat in an analyst report to trust, what to challenge, and what to ignore.9 minAnalyst reports databaseBuilding your own analyst-report database without drowning in noise.8 min

Numbers to measure against

The reference points a desk keeps in its head — with the judgment attached.

Software · median33×P/E for softwareRich — but often earned by durable, high-margin growth.The quality bar15%+ROIC that creates valueBelow the cost of capital, growth destroys value.Cash-reality check≥ 1.0FCF ÷ net incomeUnder 1.0 for years running is an earnings-quality flag.

Questions about stock analysis

What is fundamental analysis?

Fundamental analysis evaluates a stock by examining the underlying business — its financial statements, earnings quality, management decisions, and competitive position — to estimate what the company is actually worth and compare that to the price.

How do I analyze a stock for the first time?

Frame the business, read the most recent 10-K (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow), then judge earnings quality and capital allocation, and finally estimate intrinsic value and write down your thesis. The Field Guide's parts walk this in order.

What tools do professional stock analysts use?

DCF models, comparable-company analysis (P/E, EV/EBITDA), earnings-quality frameworks, and capital-allocation scorecards. Basis Report offers free versions of each, and every chapter carries the matching instrument.

How do I read a 10-K filing?

Start with Item 1 (Business) and Item 1A (Risk Factors) — diff last year's risks to find what's new — then read the MD&A, the financial statements, and the footnotes. The Field Guide has a full 10-K reading sequence with a red-flag checklist.

When you want the answer, not the method

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