Build the issuer identity card
For every company, record the legal name, ticker, sector, business segments, geography, reporting currency, fiscal year, share count, major shareholders, free-float considerations, and latest corporate actions. This identity card prevents mistakes when companies reorganize, acquire businesses, change capital, or operate through listed and unlisted subsidiaries.
Follow the economics
| Question | Evidence | Output |
|---|---|---|
| How does it earn? | Segment revenue, customers, contracts, pricing | Plain-language business model |
| Does growth create cash? | Operating cash flow, working capital, capital expenditure | Cash-conversion trend |
| Can it survive stress? | Debt, maturities, liquidity, covenants, capital ratios | Downside balance-sheet case |
| Are incentives aligned? | Ownership, board, remuneration, related parties | Governance risk score |
| What is priced in? | Peer multiples, asset values, scenarios, dividend capacity | Valuation range |
| Can the position be exited? | Spread, turnover, depth, free float | Maximum practical position |
Use sector-specific measures
Banks require asset-quality, margin, funding, and capital analysis. Property companies require backlog, collections, recurring income, development cash flow, and asset-value review. Energy and industrial companies need commodity, contract, cost, capacity, and capital-spending analysis. Telecom, consumer, healthcare, and technology businesses each have different unit economics. The metric must follow the business.
Read the notes and governance reports
Accounting notes explain debt terms, related parties, segment definitions, contingencies, fair values, and assumptions that headline presentations may omit. Governance materials reveal board structure, shareholder matters, remuneration, and approvals. Consistent, timely, searchable disclosure is an analytical advantage; opaque or frequently changing presentation increases uncertainty.
Value in ranges
Use at least two methods appropriate to the sector and model a downside, base, and upside case. State the assumptions that drive each result. A valuation range is more honest than a single price target because revenue, margins, rates, and market multiples can change. Compare expected return with the risk of permanent capital loss and with alternative opportunities.