Value Investing – Financial Statements (Lesson 10)
To comprehend financial information, first the member must understand their general purpose and how they are prepared. The first section of this lesson introduces financial statements and their two primary purposes. In addition, pertinent issues are introduced that a company must endure to finally present a well prepared set of reports. Next, each of the five major types of financial statements are introduced. Most companies present a core set of five that include a 1) balance sheet, 2) income statement, 3) cash flows statement, 4) statement of retained earnings, and 5) a set of notes to clarify the four other statements. Some go further and present industry and highly customized financial reports. These are covered in Phase Two of this program along with the Pool’s information center that members have access to on this website. Finally, this lesson covers the importance of a few key bits of information and how these critical financial values impact the respective buy/sell models value investors develop.
Many stock market investors are not familiar with financial reports; they rely on accountants to provide the results in laymen’s terms in order to make decisions. This program is designed to build the confidence of non-accountant types to not only understand financial reports but to appreciate and ultimately, eagerly await their arrival each quarter. Again, Phase Two of this program goes in-depth about financial statements and how to interpret the information.
This lesson utilizes the financial reports as presented for the year 2019 from the Coca-Cola company. Coke is a DOW company and is considered one of the best stocks to own if you can purchase the stock at a good price. Coke is a dividend based purchase and often buyers purchase Coca-Cola stock to hold and receive dividends.