A comparative balance sheet analysis is a method of analyzing a company's balance sheet over time to identify changes and trends. Public companies are required to include the information needed for a ...

When you review your small business's balance sheet, it's important to compare accounts across multiple years to identify any trends. To make this process easier, you can convert each account's dollar ...

Many investors focus on how much a company pays in dividends. Most companies report their dividends on a cash-flow statement or in a separate accounting summary in their regular disclosures to ...

One of the most useful metrics in assessing a company's profitability is earnings per share, and it can be calculated from information found on that company's balance sheet and income statement, two ...

Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry. With over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts ...

When your company makes a profit, you can issue a dividend to shareholders or keep the money. The profits you keep are called retained earnings. You can use retained earnings to fund working capital, ...

A balance sheet is a versatile document that offers a snapshot of a company's or individual's finances at a given point in time. Businesses can use balance sheets to develop plans for the future and ...

When you want to know a company’s financial health, it helps to look at its balance sheet. But if you’ve never seen a balance sheet before or don’t know how to read one, all you’ll see is a collection ...

A balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a broad overview of a given firm's assets, liabilities and shareholders' equity. This important document gives management and other interested ...

If you’ve ever looked at a balance sheet and immediately wanted to slam your laptop shut, you’re not alone. Most business owners don’t come from accounting backgrounds, and the sheer volume of numbers ...

If you're interested in investing, you've probably read quite a few articles that say "do your homework" before buying a stock. Reading and understanding a balance sheet is part of that homework.