Before you buy a single share, fill this in. If you can't answer most of the questions, that's the answer — you're not ready to buy it yet.
One page per company. Keep them. When a stock drops 30% and you want to panic-sell, read what you wrote here first. If your reasons for buying it still hold, hold it.
Company Name
Ticker
Date Researched
Step 01
What Does This Company Actually Do?
Step 02
Why Am I Interested?
Step 03
Key Numbers
You don't need to be an expert. You just need to know what these mean and roughly where this company sits. Find them on the company's investor relations page, or sites like Morningstar or Simply Wall St.
Share Price
Today's price
P/E Ratio
Price vs earnings. Industry avg?
Dividend Yield
Annual dividend ÷ share price
Market Cap
Total company value
Revenue Growth
Year on year
Profit Margin
Net income ÷ revenue
Debt / Equity
How leveraged is it?
52-Week Range
High and low this year
Step 04
Red Flag Check
Tick anything that applies. One or two flags isn't necessarily a dealbreaker — but you should know about them and have a view on each one.
Revenue is declining year on year
Profits are inconsistent or shrinking
High or growing debt load
I can't explain what they actually do
I heard about it from social media or a tip
The stock has already risen dramatically
Recent management changes or scandal
Heavy regulatory or political risk
Concentrated revenue from one customer
No clear competitive advantage
Step 05
My Verdict
Based on everything above — what's your call?
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