Read an income statement top-down as a funnel from revenue to net income, focusing on gross margin, operating margin, and the trend in earnings per share to see if the...
Goodwill after acquisition is the premium a buyer paid above the fair market value of the acquired company’s identifiable net assets, essentially capitalizing the unspottable value of brand, customer loyalty,...
A cash flow statement matters more than profit because it reveals the actual liquidity and timing of money moving in and out of your business, while profit is merely an...
Take net cash from operating activities, subtract capital expenditures (found in the investing section, often labeled 'purchases of property, plant and equipment'), and adjust for any capitalized software or acquisition-related...
A company has enough working capital if its current ratio is between 1.2 and 2.0, but you must strip out low-quality assets like stale inventory and compare the result specifically...
Net income from the income statement flows into retained earnings on the balance sheet and serves as the starting point for the cash flow statement, while the cash flow statement's...
Pro forma earnings are a company's reported profits with certain non-recurring items removed to show 'normalized' operating results, but you should generally not trust them over GAAP numbers because management...
Start with the big picture: how financial statements analysis connects them Financial statements analysis begins before you judge a single number: step back and see how the three main financial...
Why accounting fundamentals matter Mastering accounting fundamentals means understanding that the purpose of accounting in society is to provide the quantitative financial information that allows people, institutions, and governments to...
Start here: how cash flow management connects the statements Understanding why cash flow management is important to a business begins with seeing that the income statement, balance sheet, and cash...
Start with the accounting fundamentals, not the ledger Before you open a single report, it helps to ground yourself in the accounting fundamentals & concepts that make every number interpretable,...
To calculate dividends from the income statement, start with the company's net income, the bottom-line profit after all expenses and taxes, then apply either the dividend payout ratio or the...