How to interpret and profit from financial statements

Financial statements are a useful tool for judging the health of a company, and for comparing it to its competitors. They show what the company owes and owns, the profits or loses it has made over a given period, and how their position has changed since their last statement. Generally if you can tell which direction a company is heading in, you can also forecast future stock prices with some accuracy. Gaining a basic knowledge of financial statements, and applying this knowledge when choosing or assessing investments can help you pick tomorrow's winning stocks, while avoiding tomorrow's losers. Of course, financial statement analysis will not always factor in significant news events, unexpected incidents, changes in management, and other factors which may influence share prices, but it provides a starting point from which to gauge the present value of shares, independent of future occurrences. The following report details some simple financial statement explanation and analysis methods. Although the topic can get much deeper and more complex, this article is designed to give investors the ability to understand the numbers and simpler of financial ratios, and be able to use that knowledge to assist them to make better decisions when doing their due diligence. Balance Sheet The balance sheet shows a company's financial position at a specific date, usually the last day of the company's fiscal year for annual reports. One side of the balance sheet shows what the company owns and has owing to it, called assets. The other side represents liabilities, which are what the company owes, and also has shareholders' equity, which represents the excess of the company's assets over its liabilities. Shareholder's equity is often referred to as book value. Total assets are equal to the sum of the company's liabilities plus the shareholders' equity. In other words, take away liabilities from assets and the remainder is what value is owned by the shareholders. The Balance Sheet can be used to uncover the value of the company, the debt load, and cash position. Earnings Statement Also called the Income Statement or Profit and Loss Statement, it shows how much revenue a company received during the year from the sale of its products and services, and the expenses the company incurred due to wages, taxes, operating costs, etc... The difference between the two is the company's profit or loss for the year. The amount left over after taxes is the net earnings. Net earnings are basically saying how much money the company ‘really' made over the course of the year. Some companies can have low earnings if they used much of their money for research and development, to acquire other companies, fuel aggressive growth, move into new markets, etc, which is much more favorable than if the company had low earnings because they didn't generate many revenues, their expenses were too high, etc... Statements of Changes in Financial Position This shows how the company's financial position changed from one year to the next. Also called the cash flow statement, this details how the company generated and spent its cash during the year. This statement can be used in evaluating the liquidity and solvency of a company, and to assess the ability of that company to generate cash internally, to repay debts, to reinvest in itself, etc... Sources of Financial Reports Certainly you can get financials from the companies themselves. Most will gladly fax them to you, or mail you their latest quarterly and annual reports. However, a faster way to access the information can be by Internet. For example, go to Yahoo and choose stock quotes. Enter the ticker symbol for the company you are interested in, and Yahoo will provide its most recent press releases, which will include past quarterly and annual reports with the financial statements. You can also check the previous reports to compare which direction the company is moving in and look for trends (i. e. increasing debt load, unpredictable earnings, decreasing revenues, erratic revenues, etc...). There are also many other Internet resources which provide similar information, such as wsrn, bigcharts, (canada-stockwatch for Canadian issues), etc... Comparison Shopping To familiarize yourself with some of the numbers, try looking up the financials of three companies you own or are interested in. (Balance Sheet) Which of the companies has the greatest long term debt load? Do any of the companies have greater current liabilities than current assets? Compare the current share price to the shareholder's equity (book value): is the share price much greater or less than the book value? (Earnings Statement) What were the revenues of the most recent year (or quarter) and does the number represent an increase or decrease from the previous period? How much money per share did the company earn (or lose) in the most recent period? (Statement of Changes in Financial Position) Has company debt been increasing or decreasing? What was the greatest expense the company incurred according to the statement? Decision Making Understand that financial statements can provide investors with a partial fundamental snapshot of a company. They only represent one piece of the puzzle. Remember that, while financial statements can help investors compare several companies, comparison is limited only to the numbers provided. In other words, you can see that one company made money while the other lost money, but you don't know which has the better technical outlook (based on analysis of the trading chart), which is a potential takeover target, which will have the best future earnings, etc... As well, the impact of financial statements tends to be long-term as it relates to share prices. Four quarterly reports showing increasing earnings may push the stock into an upward trend as the market begins to recognize the fundamental improvements of the underlying company, but one quarter of increasing earnings may or may not have a significant impact on shares. Therefore, most investors use financial statements as part of a greater overall decision making process. Certainly, though, an understanding of and familiarization with the data can benefit any investor who takes the time to make educated trading decisions. Important Points Many growth companies don't need nor are expected to have positive earnings. Instead, they generally accumulate debt as they focus on research and development of new technologies, aggressively move into new markets, fight for market share with competitors, etc... Other companies with minimal growth prospects on the other hand, have more importance placed on actual earnings, lowering operational costs, etc... Be sure to understand what numbers are important and unimportant to a specific company based on their situation and the position they are in. This can be done easily by going to wsrn and doing an industry comparison on the company in question. Do companies in the same industry seem to have positive earnings, or is the focus on growth, research, etc... Are they a larger or smaller company than the industry average, and are they growing faster than the others? Read the fine print to make sure the numbers you are reading have been audited, rather than being just company estimates, or unverified results. This generally is not something you need to worry about with most exchange-listed companies, but it is important practice. Many annual statements will begin with positive news about sales or revenue increases, or other positive comments, but further reading reveals that the company actually lost more money, increased debt, or had a poor quarter or year. For most companies their financial statements are part of their promotional material and they need to make the information sound as impressive and positive as possible, even if the overall results were disappointing. Be wary of one-time earnings or loses. For example, a company may win a huge lawsuit settlement and the influx of money gives them positive earnings for the quarter. However, how would they have done when the one-time extraordinary is ignored? Learn more at pennystockinsider.

Making yourself smart investments

There is a harsh fact about reality. The good job that you have may not last your entire life or career. The stability of the job may change and the particulars about it may change it to one that is completely undesirable. You must think ahead and plan on making your money work for you. No matter how much you have, you must plan on saving at least three months salary for a rainy day. Additionally you must set aside a proportion of your salary to invest now in well performing businesses on the stock exchange, as well as through available mutual funds which have a superior performance and you should consider investing in real estate. Particularly you should consider real estate that you can fix up for rental properties. Stock investment on the internet in one such new technological avenue. Stock brokers have understood long before the public the great advantage that the speed of the internet gave them in financial matters. They offer to the public the advantage of internet sales and buying of company stocks and mutual funds. At least seven years ago the stock market utilized proprietary computers, intranets, wide area networks (WANS) to manage and predict the public sales and purchases of commodities, stocks, and bonds. The market place is a very competitive place. The government and the stock market board exist to provide a fair market where no one person or block of investors have a larger influence than any other. Prior to the internet and the 21st century only large blocks of investors or extremely wealthy ones could purchase stocks and commodities as an investment. This is because they were limited to how small or large a package of stock could be sold. When banks or other groups of investors, retired math teachers, became involved then investment packages could be subdivided smaller. Hence more people could afford to invest their surplus cash into more risky but profitable ventures. The invention of the telegraph allowed the transfer of information at the speed of light. After this the invention of the Teletype maintained the technological edge into most of the 20th century. when the age of the personal computer arrived then financier Mr. Bloomberg advanced both the electronic management of stock but provided the pioneer work to facilitate the inclusion of the internet into the confines of Wall Street. You can acquire attractive properties which require very little in the way of repair. Some only need cleaning and painting to become profitable rentals. Today in Tulsa, Oklahoma there is a vast excess of available homes which have become available. These are offered by banks, mortgage investment firms, and real estate agencies. On the other hand the reason why these are available should be mentioned. The city of Tulsa has been through a devastating financial depression which began shortly after major internet companies and communications groups went bankrupt. This led to the loss of over 75,000 technical jobs and over $250,000,000 in lost revenues from income and sales taxes. These jobs have not be replaced but have been out sourced to off shore resources. I remember walking several miles along the edge of several housing divisions which were marked by the rarity of an occupied house. Most were marked by the "For Sale" signs and tall unmown grass. There are some real bargains here in Tulsa for those with good salaried jobs! These can become a smart investment for you which has stability and that can increase in profitability over the years.

Congress approves .9999 fine gold coins

New .9999 fine (24 karat) 1-oz legal tender $50 gold coins will be added to the U. S. Mint's line of gold bullion coins in 2006 when President Bush signs into law a bill that Congress passed in December. The legislation calls for the Mint to have the coins ready to distribute by June 2006, but the coins may be ready before then. The legislation authorizing the new .9999 fine gold coins was quite specific, mandating the design and even the method of packaging. For the first year of issuance, the coins "shall bear the original designs by James Earle Fraser, 'which appear on the 5-cent coin commonly referred to as the 'Buffalo nickel' or the '1913 Type 1'." This wording, without specifically saying it, calls for the obverse (front) of the coins to carry the famed Indian Head design by Fraser. The reverse will carry the equally-famed buffalo design. Each Indian Head-Buffalo coin is to be encased in a protective capsule, possibly such as the capsules used by Australia's Perth Mint to protect its .9999 fine gold bullion coins, including the popular limited edition Lunar Series Gold Bullion Coins. The protective cases "shall be readily distinguishable" from the packaging for proof coins, which are also authorized by the bill. For years, proof coins have been individually encapsulated in protective cases. Individually encapsulating bullion coins will be new to the U. S. Mint. The Mint's 22-karat (.9167 fine) American Gold Eagles, which are the world's best-selling gold bullion coins, are packaged twenty to a tube and are not individually encapsulated. Production of the Indian Head-Buffalo coins will be unlimited, and they will be marketed toward gold investors who prefer .9999 fine (24-karat) gold coins. The U. S. Mint already has the world's best-selling gold bullion coins with its 22-karat (.9176 fine) Gold Eagles. Still, there is a huge market for pure gold coins, and the new Indian Head-Buffalo coins will give the U. S. Mint a product for that market. The Asian and Indian markets clearly prefer pure gold coins, while alloyed gold coins are more popular in the Western World. Presently, the Royal Canadian Mint's .9999 fine Gold Maple Leafs are the world's best selling pure gold coins. However, the Gold Maple Leafs have fallen into disfavor with investors because of the ease with which they are damaged. To counter this, the Royal Canadian Mint recently introduced new packaging for the 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs. The new packaging for the 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs will put the coins individually in capsules that are suspended in credit card sizes cards, twenty-five coins to a box. It is too early to gauge market acceptance of the new packaging for the Gold Maple Leafs. Considering the popularity of the of Indian Head-Buffalo design, the U. S. Mint's new .9999 fine gold coins could provide stiff competition for the Gold Maple Leafs. Fraser's designs proved to be a winner in 2001 when the U. S. Mint produced a limited number of Indian Head-Buffalo $1 silver coins sets. The sets sold out immediately and today carry prices several times their initial offering prices. The new Indian Head-Buffalo .9999 fine gold coins, however, will not be limited edition, at least not the first year. The bill permits the Mint to "change the maximum number of coins issued" in subsequent years. Further, the bill authorizes the Mint to change the designs on either the obverse or the reverse after the first year's production. Although the U. S. Mint produces its popular American Gold Eagles in four sizes, 1-oz, Ѕ-oz, ј-oz, and 1/10-oz, the new Indian Head-Buffalo pure gold coins will be minted in only one size: 1-ounce. With the popular Indian Head and Buffalo designs, the Mint's new .9999 fine gold coins could quickly become favorites with gold coin investors.