Book Review: Corporate Financial Analysis

I wish I had found this book years ago. Fundamental Analysis when done right requires a thorough understanding of every line item in every financial statement- what is it, what ratios use it, and most importantly, what does it tell you about the business you are trying to analyze.

I have read more than a few books on this subject, most take the approach of showing each line item of each statement and then providing an explanation of the ratios that use it and then how these ratios work. This approach of explanation has all the excitement of reading the dictionary and as a result when reading these books I often find myself staring off into nowhere or deciding that now is the perfect time to go out and clean those pesky rain gutters.
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Red Flags: Intangibles

I very much dislike intangible assets, the growth or continued presence of them on a balance sheet always throws up a red flag for me. Maybe it is due to my value investor perspective but giving financial credence to a resource that I can’t see, can’t touch and can’t prove generated a cent of revenue in a business is something I just don’t like.

Definition

An asset that is not physical in nature. Corporate intellectual property (items such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, business methodologies), goodwill and brand recognition are all common intangible assets in today’s marketplace.
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Yahoo Are You Kidding Me

I usually get very excited when I see a stock that is incorrectly priced, this usually indicates a good buying opportunity.  Every once in a while a stock comes along that is incorrectly priced the wrong way- namely massively overpriced. So overpriced are these stocks that I am at a complete loss to explain why any investor would buy them. Yahoo in its current state falls firmly in this bucket. In reviewing some of the company’s key stats I was shocked to see the poor condition of the business.  Lets look at a few key statistics:
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The Balance Sheet: Goodwill

To understand a balance sheet requires that we understand every line item, what each means, and how it can be manipulated. Today we are going to look at the line item for Goodwill.

Goodwill Definition

Goodwill is one of the most commonly misunderstood line items in the balance sheet, I once met a junior investor who thought that Goodwill was the amount of money that the company had donated to charitable organizations. This unfortunately is not the case, goodwill, simply put, is the byproduct of two companies merging.
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Dashboard Tool for Fundamental Analysis

I have been rather displeased with the tools that are out there on the web for analyzing stocks. Their is no limit to the tools that can be found for technical analysis, but when it comes to fundamental analysis I seem to always find myself staring at raw numbers on a balance sheet. All I was looking for were some simple graphs and a dashboard that would let me look at a company’s overall fundamental condition- so I started building one.
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