Chapter 12

Decoding Company Documents

In This Chapter

arrow Paging through an annual report

arrow Reviewing other information sources for a second opinion

arrow Organizing your own research library

Financial documents — good grief! Some people would rather suck a hospital mop than read some dry corporate or government report. Yet if you’re serious about choosing stocks, you should be serious about your research. Fortunately, it’s not as bad as you think (put away that disgusting mop). When you see that some basic research helps you build wealth, it gets easier.

In this chapter, I discuss the basic documents that you come across (or should come across) most often in your investing life. These documents include essential information that all investors need to know, not only at the time of the initial investment decision, but also for as long as that stock remains in their portfolio.

tip.eps If you plan to hold a stock for the long haul, reading the annual report and other reports covered in this chapter will be very helpful. If you intend to get rid of the stock soon or plan to hold it only for the short term, ...

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