Analyzing the financials consists of studying the past, present and future performance of a company. Essentially, reading the financials lets you compare ratios across multiple periods and statement types. There are three types of financial statements; the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow. 

The balance sheet explores the company’s assets, liabilities and shareholders equity during the period you choose to examine. You would want to use this to find trends in assets and debts.

The income statement will provide you with gross profit, operating profit and net profit; all of which are divided by sales to calculate gross profit margin, operating profit margin, and net profit margin. 

The cash flow is a brief summary of the particular company’s cash flow from operating activities, investing activities and financing activities. 

To see how you would access the financials so you can analyze for yourself in Benzinga Pro, check out the picture below.