How to research a share, in 20 minutes
You don't need a finance degree or a trading terminal to size up a company - you need a short, repeatable checklist and somewhere plain-English to find the answers. Here are the six things to check, and where on the Almanac to check them. This is a process for understanding a company - it is not a stock tip and never tells you what to do with your money.
1. Start with what it actually does
Open the company's page and read the one-line summary and the 'In plain English' section. If you can't say in a sentence what the business sells and who pays it, that's your first finding - stop there until you can.
2. Follow the money
Check how it earns and whether sales are growing. On any share's page the 'numbers, explained' tiles put revenue growth in plain pounds-and-percentages, so you can see the direction of travel without a spreadsheet.
3. Make sure it's profitable and not drowning in debt
A business can grow sales while losing money. The financials section shows the margins (how much of each pound of sales it keeps) and the debt load, so you meet both sides.
4. Put the price in context
A P/E of 22 means nothing on its own. Compare it to the company's own past and to similar companies - the compare tool puts two side by side. 'Expensive' and 'cheap' always need a yardstick, never a gut feeling.
5. Read the honest risks, not just the story
Every page lists 'the catch' and the key risks next to the strengths. If the risks surprise you, you knew the company less well than you thought - which is exactly what this step is for.
6. Write down what would change your mind
Note the one or two things that would break your reasoning (each page's 'what flips the thesis' line helps). Then give it time - most of investing is waiting, not watching.
That's the 20-minute pass. It won't make you an analyst, but it means you meet the business, the numbers and the risks before you decide anything - and the decision is always yours. Ready to try it? Pick a name you recognise, or let the finder suggest a few.
Questions beginners ask
How long does it take to research a share?
Once you know where to look, the basics take about 20 minutes: what it does, how it makes money, whether it's profitable, what it costs versus its own history, and the honest risks. Going deeper - annual reports, competitors - takes longer, but the 20-minute pass catches most of the surprises.
Do I need to understand all the jargon first?
No. Every figure and term on a company's page has a plain-English tooltip, and the glossary decodes the rest. If a page uses a word you don't know, it's one tap to a definition.
What do beginners most often skip?
The risks. It's easy to read the upside and stop. The 'catch' and 'key risks' on each page exist so you meet the downside before you decide, not after.