Fundamentals

This is a more accurate method to use when trying to find a target price for a stock.

It's a big mistake for a fundamental investor to ignore technical analysis. Find out how to become chart smart.

SEC forms can be a real headache. Find out how to make your research more efficient - and more effective.

Find out why some companies thrive while others flounder.

Find out how to use this figure to analyze a firm's financial condition.

Borrowed funds can mean a leg up for companies, or the boot for investors. Find out how to tell the difference.

Share ownership in a private company is usually quite difficult to value due to the absence of a public market for the shares. Unlike public companies that have the price per share widely available, shareholders of private companies have to use a variety of methods to determine the approximate value ...

Portfolio turnover is one of the simplest measures of mutual fund quality quality. Find out how to measure it.

Learn how and why investors are using cash flow-based analysis to make judgments about company performance.

Investors can count on secular trends to be just as important today as in the future. Check out some industries for the long-term.

Pressure to be the best can sometimes push corporations to cheat. Learn how they do it and how to spot it.

Evaluate your investments with this simple tool.

During a recession there are a lot of numbers thrown around. Find out what those economic statistics really mean.

Do you understand how the various types of shares differ? We give you the pros and cons of each.

Don't let company lawsuits hit you unprepared. Learn how to uncover how they might affect you.

Search for the "bloody" fingerprints in accounting crimes.

In weaker economic times, banks may be tested by the government to see how safe they are.

Learn how to confirm your analysis based on intermarket trends by watching global markets and particular stocks to pinpoint reversals.

Yes, a balance sheet should always balance. The name "balance sheet" is based on the fact that assets will equal liabilities and equity every time. The assets on the balance sheet consist of things of value that the company owns or will receive in the future and which are measurable.

Beta is a useful tool for calculating risk, but the formulas provided online aren't specific to you. Learn how to make your own.

Physics uses math to define the laws of the universe; here, we look at what laws explain the financial universe.

Studies show that transparency and listening to the market are a winning combination for CEOs and the companies they run.

Though patent trolls can help patients achieve cheaper medication in the short-term, everyone pays for it in the long term.

Due diligence does work, but the loose reporting standards for hedge funds make extra care and attention necessary.

This esteemed investor rarely changes his long-term investing strategy, no matter what the market does.

In the wake accounting scandals, more people are calling for full disclosure. But what would that even help?

Learn how to determine if your assets are safe or if your bank has spread itself too thin.

A "N/A" reported in a stock's price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), can mean one of two things. The first, and simplest, would be that there is no data at time of reporting to calculate this ratio. This will be the case with a newly listed company that has yet to release its earnings.

Are the markets random or cyclical? It depends on who you ask. Here, we go over both sides of the argument.

This analysis tool is an effective way to value mergers and acquisitions. The deal's on the table, but should you sign the papers?

Find out how the Tier 1 capital ratio can be used to tell if your bank is going under.

Companies provide distress signals long before they go under. Find out how to read them.

On this day in 1947, the association of investment professionals was formed.

On Tuesday, GM's stock symbol changed to GMGMQ. What can shareholders expect from this bankrupt company?

These high-risk, in-and-out stocks offer plenty of potential loss.

Learn how to filter out the noise of the market place in order to find a solid way of determing a company's value.

Mark-to-market accounting can be a valuable practice, but all bets are off when the market fluctuates wildly.

Return on equity (ROE) and return on capital (ROC) measure very similar concepts, but with a slight difference in the underlying formulas. Both measures are used to decipher the profitability of a company based on the money it had to work with.Return on equity measures a company's profit as a percentage ...

Find out what happens to municipalities when they need money, but have no other option than bankruptcy.

Find an investment that will give your portfolio a shot in the arm.

Check out the returns this newer technical analysis tool would've yielded over the period from 1920 to 2003.

Uncover the three things most good stocks have in common: performance, profitability and value.

This situation may seem a bit counter-intuitive at first, but it is actually quite common and not too difficult to understand. Let's break down the factors at play to examine more closely how a company can have a negative net income and a positive cash flow. When people talk about net income, they are ...

Inflation affects equity prices in several ways. Most importantly, investors are willing to pay less for a certain level of earnings when inflation is high, and more for a certain level of earnings when inflation is low (and expected to remain so). Let's review the two concepts involved: the price-to-earnings ...

This growing sector can tell you a lot about the companies you are investing in.

The amount of shares outstanding in a company will often change due to a company issuing new shares, repurchasing and retiring existing shares, and other financial instruments such as employee options being converted into shares. The weighted average of outstanding shares is a calculation that incorporates ...

When it comes to valuing stocks, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is one of the oldest and most frequently used metrics. It is calculated by taking a company's share price and dividing this by its earnings per share. This provides a measure of the price being paid for the earnings - the higher the P/E, ...