# Financial Statement Analysis: Techniques for Balance Sheet, Income & Cash Flow

## What Is Financial Statement Analysis?

Financial statement analysis is the process of analyzing a company’s [financial statements](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financial-statements.asp) for decision-making purposes. External stakeholders use it to understand the overall health of an organization and to evaluate financial performance and business value. Internal constituents use it as a monitoring tool for managing the finances.

### Key Takeaways

*   Financial statement analysis is crucial for evaluating a company's performance and can aid both internal management and external stakeholders in decision-making.
*   Three main financial statements provide different perspectives on a company's financial health: the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.
*   Analysts use horizontal, vertical, and ratio analysis techniques to examine financial statements, providing insights into growth trends, structural efficiencies, and financial relationships.
*   The balance sheet shows a company's assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity, providing a snapshot of its financial worth, while the income statement offers details on profitability by analyzing revenues and expenses.
*   The cash flow statement details cash movement from operating, investing, and financing activities, highlighting the company's cash generation and financial flexibility.

![Financial Statement Analysis](https://www.investopedia.com/thmb/-fxLMizWuwqQznQzwSgxQ9YPtEI=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Financial-Statement-Analysis-FINAL-224d7e8f12f246c8b29d1b99330a7b8e.jpg)

*— Jiaqi Zhou / Investopedia*

## Techniques for Financial Statement Analysis

Financial statement analysis involves scrutinizing a company's balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement to assess its financial performance and business value. This process allows stakeholders to evaluate past, current, and projected financial health, guiding informed decision-making.

In general, financial statements are centered around [generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gaap.asp) in the United States. These principles require a company to create and maintain three main financial statements: the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement. Public companies have stricter standards for financial statement reporting. Public companies must follow GAAP, which requires accrual accounting. Private companies have greater flexibility in their financial statement preparation and have the option to use either accrual or cash accounting.

Common techniques in financial statement analysis include [horizontal analysis](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/horizontalanalysis.asp), [vertical analysis](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/vertical_analysis.asp), and [ratio analysis](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/ratioanalysis.asp). Horizontal analysis compares data horizontally, by analyzing values of line items across two or more years. Vertical analysis looks at the vertical effects that line items have on other parts of the business and the business’s proportions. Ratio analysis uses important ratio metrics to calculate statistical relationships.

## Comprehensive Overview of Key Financial Statements

Companies use the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement to manage the operations of their business and to provide transparency to their stakeholders. The three statements are interconnected, offering different views of a company's activities and performance.

### Understanding the Balance Sheet: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity

The balance sheet is a report of a company’s financial worth in terms of book value. It is broken into three parts to include a company’s [assets](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/asset.asp), [liabilities](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/liability.asp), and [shareholder equity](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/shareholdersequity.asp). Short-term assets such as cash and accounts receivable can tell a lot about a company’s operational efficiency; liabilities include the company’s expense arrangements and the debt capital it is paying off; and shareholder equity includes details on equity capital investments and retained earnings from periodic net income.The balance sheet balances assets and liabilities to equal shareholder equity, representing the [book value](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/110613/market-value-versus-book-value.asp#:~:text=Book%20value%20is%20the%20net,if%20they%20liquidated%20the%20company.), an important performance metric that changes with financial activities.

### Analyzing the Income Statement: Revenue to Net Income

The income statement details a company's revenue and expenses, providing the net profit or loss. The income statement is broken into three parts that help to analyze business efficiency at three different points. It begins with revenue and the direct costs associated with revenue to identify [gross profit](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/grossprofit.asp). It then moves to [operating profit](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/operating_profit.asp), which subtracts indirect expenses like marketing costs, general costs, and depreciation. Finally, [net income](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/netincome.asp) is calculated after deducting interest and taxes.

Basic [income statement analysis](https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100715/how-do-i-read-and-analyze-income-statement.asp) includes calculating gross, operating, and net profit margins, which divide profit by revenue. Profit margin helps to show where company costs are low or high at different points of the operations.

### Decoding the Cash Flow Statement: Operations, Investments, and Financing

The cash flow statement provides an overview of the company’s [cash flows](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cashflow.asp) from operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities. Net income is carried over to the cash flow statement, where it is included as the top line item for operating activities. Like its title, investing activities include cash flows involved with firm-wide investments. The financing activities section includes cash flow from both debt and equity financing. The bottom line shows how much cash a company has available.

### Insights into Free Cash Flow and Valuation Statements

Companies and analysts also use free cash flow statements and other valuation statements to [analyze the value of a company](https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032315/how-does-ratio-analysis-make-it-easier-compare-different-companies.asp). Free cash flow statements arrive at a [net present value](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/npv.asp) by discounting the free cash flow that a company is estimated to generate over time. Private companies may keep a valuation statement as they progress toward potentially going public.

## Evaluating Financial Performance: Methods and Metrics

Financial statements are maintained by companies daily and used internally for business management. In general, both internal and external stakeholders use the same corporate finance methodologies for maintaining business activities and evaluating overall [financial performance](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financialperformance.asp).

Analysts use data from multiple years for comprehensive financial statement analysis, facilitating horizontal analysis. Vertical analysis helps understand how different statement categories influence results. [Ratio analysis](https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/102714/what-are-main-income-statement-ratios.asp) isolates performance metrics and integrates data across statements. Below is a breakdown of some of the most common ratio metrics:

*   **Balance sheet**: This includes asset turnover, quick ratio, receivables turnover, days to sales, debt to assets, and debt to equity.
*   **Income statement**: This includes gross profit margin, operating profit margin, net profit margin, tax ratio efficiency, and interest coverage.
*   **Cash flow**: This includes cash and [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA)](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/ebitda.asp). These metrics may be shown on a per-share basis.
*   **Comprehensive**: This includes [return on assets (ROA)](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnonassets.asp) and [return on equity (ROE)](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnonequity.asp), along with [DuPont analysis](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dupontanalysis.asp).

## What Are the Advantages of Financial Statement Analysis?

The [main point of financial statement analysis](https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/050615/what-items-balance-sheet-are-most-important-fundamental-analysis.asp) is to evaluate a company’s performance or value through a company’s balance sheet, income statement, or statement of cash flows. By using a number of techniques, such as horizontal, vertical, or ratio analysis, investors may develop a more nuanced picture of a company’s financial profile.

## What Are the Different Types of Financial Statement Analysis?

Most often, analysts will use three main techniques for analyzing a company’s financial statements.

First, horizontal analysis involves comparing historical data. Usually, the purpose of horizontal analysis is to detect growth trends across different time periods.

Second, vertical analysis compares items on a financial statement in relation to each other. For instance, an expense item could be expressed as a percentage of company sales.

Finally, ratio analysis, a central part of fundamental equity analysis, compares line-item data. Price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, earnings per share, or dividend yield are examples of ratio analysis.

## What Is an Example of Financial Statement Analysis?

An analyst may first look at a number of ratios on a company’s income statement to determine how efficiently it generates profits and shareholder value. For instance, gross profit margin will show the difference between revenues and the cost of goods sold. If the company has a higher gross profit margin than its competitors, this may indicate a positive sign for the company. At the same time, the analyst may observe that the gross profit margin has been increasing over nine fiscal periods, applying a horizontal analysis to the company’s operating trends.

> **Article Sources**
>
> 1.  Congressional Research Service. “[Cash Versus Accrual Basis of Accounting: An Introduction](https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43811.pdf),” Page 3 (Page 7 of PDF).
>     
> 2.  Internal Revenue Service. “[Publication 538 (01/2022), Accounting Periods and Methods: Methods You Can Use](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p538#en_US_201809_publink1000270634).”