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Oct 14, 2026 · 11 min read
Charter reported $22.7 billion of adjusted EBITDA. About $5 billion was left
EBITDA is the profit number companies love to quote. Built step by step from Charter's 2025 annual report: $22.7 billion of adjusted EBITDA, $5.0 billion of free cash flow, and where the rest went.
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Oct 12, 2026 · 9 min read
How to read an earnings report in 15 minutes, on Coca-Cola
An earnings report in 15 minutes, on a real one: Coca-Cola's second quarter of 2026. The six places to look, in order, and the four traps, including an adjusted profit lower than the official one.
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Sep 26, 2026 · 6 min read
The ten-year is above 5%. Whose interest bill bites?
The ten-year Treasury closed at 5.18% on 24 September, its highest since July 2007. The interest coverage ratio tells you which companies feel that. Of 630 we cover outside financial services, 218 earn less than three times their interest bill. How to read the ratio, and why 2.4 is fine for a utility and a warning for an airline.
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Sep 22, 2026 · 8 min read
What is a good P/E ratio? The answer is another number
Every guide says 15 to 20 is a good P/E ratio. On the market of September 2026 a 15 sits in the cheapest fifth. The median of the 968 companies we cover is 25, Walmart is 39, Tesla 337, and 180 companies have no P/E at all. What the number means, the three comparisons that give it meaning, and the four ways it lies.
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Sep 22, 2026 · 8 min read
How to read financial statements in an hour, on McDonald's
The three statements every listed company files, read in twenty minutes each on McDonald's 2025 annual report: an income statement that shows it is a landlord, a balance sheet with less than nothing left for the owners, and a cash flow statement that explains why that is fine.
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Sep 22, 2026 · 8 min read
How to read a balance sheet, on one real filing
A balance sheet in one hour, using a real one: Home Depot's 10-K for the year to 1 February 2026. What each line means, which four numbers matter, and why a $105 billion company owns $13 billion on paper.
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Sep 20, 2026 · 9 min read
How to invest in stocks in 2026: a plain guide
Six steps in order, the 2026 numbers behind them with dates, and one figure from our tables: the index rose 15% in a year while the middle company of 966 rose 0.5%.
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Sep 17, 2026 · 10 min read
Before you pay for a stock research tool, test it on one company
Compare stock research tools using five practical checks: coverage, sources, assumptions, workflow and subscription limits. Start with a company you know.
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Sep 2, 2026 · 6 min read
I made a year's salary in one day. Then I gave it all back
How a windfall, a bankruptcy and a lot of expensive tuition turned into a scoring model. The short version: every rule in it is a mistake I already paid for.
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