Stock investing, if done well, is among the most effective and popular ways to build wealth in the long run. Investors can invest in individual stocks if – and only if – they have time and the desired knowledge to thoroughly research and monitor stocks.
If this is the case, you can consider investing in stocks. In the long run, chances are quite high for a smart and patient investor to beat the market.
On the other hand, if you think it will be quite difficult to understand things like quarterly earnings reports and mathematical calculations, there’s absolutely no harm in taking a more passive approach.
For long-term investors, knowing how to work with numbers in a company’s financial statements is of utmost importance.
Meaningful interpretation and in-depth analysis of balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements can help an investor to make smart investment choices.
Such analysis should form the basis of stock investing. However, the diversity of financial reporting makes it important to become familiar with some financial statement characteristics before working on individual corporate financials.
Experts believe that financial statements are important for investors as they can help get enormous information about a company’s revenue, expenses, profitability, debt, etc.
There are KPIs that investors and lenders should see in a company’s financial statements before making any sort of investment decision.
Simply put, business financial statements represent financial report card that shows how well a particular business is performing. Therefore, investors should know where to find company financial statements and what all sources are authentic.
This article will help our readers in knowing where to find company financial statements, and how these statements can help in long-term wealth creation.
Financial Statements – What Are They?
In simple terms, financial statements refer to a collection of summary-level reports related to an organization’s financial results, financial position, and cash flows. These statements include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
Such statements help determine the ability of a business to make cash, its sources of cash flow and how it uses this cash, and whether a business has enough capability to pay back debts.
Apart from these benefits, financial statements help track financial results on a trend line to locate any alarming profitability issues.
Balance sheet – The balance sheet is probably the most critical financial statement. It represents the entity’s assets, liabilities, and stockholders’ equity as of the date of reporting. In a balance sheet, the total of all assets should match the combined total of all liabilities and equity.
While asset information on the balance sheet gets subdivided into current and long-term assets, the liability section gets subdivided into current and long-term liabilities. This sort of division is important to determine the liquidity of a particular business.
Income statement – Income statement helps in showing results of an entity’s operations and financial activities for a particular reporting period. Income statements can be quarterly, half-yearly, or annually.
Its general structure is, to begin with, all revenues, from which the cost of goods sold (COGS) is subtracted. After this, all selling, general, and administrative expenses are deducted. The result is either a profit or loss.
Statement of cash flows – The final financial statement is the cash flow statement. This statement shows changes in the company’s cash flows during the particular reporting period.
The cash flow statement is divided into cash flows from operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities. Now that we know the basics of financial statements, let us check where to find company financial statements.
Are Financial Statements Available To The Public?
Financial statements of publicly traded companies are available for everyone. They are available on the company’s official website, under the Investor section.
In this section, readers will be able to know about the sources for financial information for a company and a few sources that can be used to compare and benchmark companies in comparison to their peers.
Apart from these databases and sources, there is certain paid software that is available on a subscription basis.
1. Subject Company’s Website
Visiting and downloading the financial statements from the company’s website is probably the most reliable source available. Chances of wrong and misleading information are at its minimal if the data has been downloaded from the official website of the company.
Financial information and statements can be found on the company’s web page under the “Investor Relations” section. By selecting the relevant period (i.e., quarterly, half-yearly, and annual), investors can download the press release or other important information.
2. Trade Brains Portal
Trade Brains Portal – Portal 2.0 is a revamped version of the pre-existing Trade Brains Portal. It is one of the few stock screeners that provides a visually appealing Dark mode and lets you compare any two stocks head to head.
The stock screener is available both on mobile and the web. Besides an in-depth analysis of the stocks, it also gives you the latest news updates, customized buckets, a Superstar portfolio of ace investors, and much more for free.
Straight from the landing page, users are greeted with a market meter and a custom portfolio meter for registered users.
The detailed analysis takes the investor through all the important metrics required for investing such as – updated quarterly results, a 5-year P&L statement, important ratios, and a unique dividend meter for payout and yield.
All the while, the data is presented in a visually appealing Dark Mode.
3. Screener
The website of the screener is customized in such a way that investors can read all the appropriate 10-year financial data. Important data points can be analyzed without switching to different tabs.
Apart from the basic revenue and expense items, investors can get financial ratios on the same page. Its website also gives information about the company’s closest peers on the same page.
Information about peers is of utmost importance so that the subject company’s position can be estimated. Apart from such data, the website also offers the shareholding patterns of a particular company.
Long-term investors tend to give much importance to a shareholding pattern as it gives a broad idea about the holdings of promoters and other important investors.
4. Moneycontrol
Moneycontrol has been categorized as one of the most popular financial websites in India. This website or application is being used by both traders and investors to read financial reports, news, announcements, and other critical information.
In the financial section, individuals can find past financial reports. Apart from the company’s financial reports, its website covers other important financial data such as information related to mutual funds, personal finance, commodities, etc.
Therefore, it is regarded as a one-stop shop for a financial expert.
5. Websites Of Stock Exchanges
Another source where individuals can find the financial statements of the company is the websites of stock exchanges. Therefore, if the company is listed on NSE, investors or traders can visit its website and access the financial information.
In the same way, if a stock is listed on BSE, experts can go to its website and fetch important financial data. More often than not, companies tend to provide critical information to the stock exchanges on a regular basis.
Also Read: Techniques Of Financial Statement Analysis – Do It Yourself!
To Sum Up
While the above are some of the renowned websites from where financial information can be sourced, there are several other websites from where such information can be downloaded easily.
Long-term and short-term investors are required to know where to find company financial statements as it will help in wise decision-making.
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