Investing in Stocks For Beginners - How to Analyze Earnings and Growth

When you are considering investing in stocks, youactivities. You should be interested in Cash Flow from
need to do a little research on the earning record ofoperating activities. This is the actual cash the
the company. If a company doesn't have a consistentcompany is generating from its business.
record of earning in the past, you should remove itCash flow from investing activities is the cash flow
from the list of stocks you are considering for investingfrom investment in financial instruments or cash used
your money in. This research is easy to do, just pickby investment in capital assets. Cash flow from
annual reports of last few years and read them. If youfinancing activities is the cash flow resulting from
don't find annual reports, use Google and find a webissuing dividends, borrowing or paying debt and issuing
resource from where you can get last ten yearsequity. If the company is not able to fund its growth
record of listed companies.from the cash it is generating from business, it may not
Ideally, a good stock for investment should have abe a very healthy sign. However, if the company is in a
consistent record of earnings for the last ten years.start up phase or is thinking about big-ticket investment,
Many companies do well for two three years and thenit may have to fund its growth through loan or
they go awry. Do not trust these companies with yourissuance of stocks. You need to make a judgment
money. One more thing that makes a companybased on your analysis of the situation.
attractive for investment is if it has been growing itsUnderstanding the stability and growth of earnings of a
earning over the years. That says a lot about thecompany helps you decide whether you should
future potential of the stock.consider the stock of the company for investment or
You should also see how much cash is coming fromnot. Apart from earning stability and growth, you also
the operating activities. This information can be found inneed to analyze dividend payment record,
the Cash Flow Statement. There are three heads ofmanagement quality and intrinsic value of a stock,
Cash Flow Statement- Cash flow from operatingbefore you decide on picking a stock for investment.
activities, from investing activities and from financing