- Financial performance: Here you're looking at how much a company collects from customers who buy its products or services, and how much it keeps in profit. Terms you probably hear quite a bit about, such as earnings and revenue, are examples of ways fundamental analysts evaluate a company's financial performance.
- Financial resources: It's not enough for a company to sell goods and services. It's not even enough to turn a profit. Companies must also have the financial firepower to invest in themselves and keep their businesses going and growing. Aspects of a business, such as its assets and liabilities, are ways to measure a company's resources.
- Management team: When you invest in a company, you're entrusting your money to the CEO and other managers to put your cash to work. Fundamental analysis helps you separate the good managers from the bad.
- Valuation: It's not enough to identify which companies are the best. What's a "good" company anyway? Definitions of "good" can run the gamut. You also need to consider how much you're paying to own a piece of a company. If you overpay for the best company on the planet, it's still likely you'll end up losing money on the investment.
- Macro trends: No company operates in a vacuum. A company's performance is highly influenced by actions of competitors or the condition of the economy. These broad factors need to be incorporated into fundamental analysis.
