See the business behind the stock.
Clear metrics, disciplined frameworks, and practical research for fundamental investors.
Already know the basics? Use the 10-step company-analysis framework.
Start Here
New to investing? Start here
A free four-part introduction for complete beginners. Start with Lesson 1, What Is a Stock, then learn about risk, funds, and your first stock chart.
Before committing money, make a simple money plan for goals, bills, and unexpected cash needs.
To understand an investment projection, practice compounding, fees, and inflation with fictional amounts.
New to stock research?
Start with one useful idea, try a free calculator, and see how the idea applies to a real company. You can learn without buying a stock or paying for a tool.
1. Follow the cash
Understand free cash flow, common formulas, and the adjustments that can make the headline number misleading.
2. Build the full process
Use a repeatable ten-step framework to connect the business model, financial performance, risks, and valuation.
3. Read the primary filing
Work through a Form 10-K with a checklist for the business, risks, statements, footnotes, and management discussion.
Already know the basics?
Go directly to company research, search by ticker, or browse analyses by sector.
Read a stock chart, one step at a time
Curious about investing? Start with a company you know and one simple question. You can explore the examples without buying a stock or subscribing to a paid tool. Use charts alongside what you learn about the business.
1. Where do I start?
Learn what one candle, the time and price axes, and volume are showing before moving on to a weekly review.
2. Which way is the trend?
Learn how a moving-average line helps you see the direction of prices over time.
3. Is this stock keeping up with the market?
Compare a stock with the market over the same dates and see what the comparison tells you.
Take one guide at a time. When you are ready, choose your next chart question →
TradingView guides, organized by task
Set up your workspace, create alerts, or choose a chart question. Find a practical walkthrough in our dedicated TradingView section.
Turn assumptions into numbers
Use our free, browser-based valuation tools. No account is required, and your inputs are not sent to Stock Metric Lab.
New to valuation? Start with the free FCF Yield Calculator and its fictional example. Compare annual cash flow with the market value of a company’s shares, then investigate what the number leaves out.
DCF Calculator
Estimate enterprise value, equity value, and value per share from your own growth and discount-rate assumptions.
Reverse DCF Calculator
Work backward from a share price to estimate the FCFF growth rate implied by the market.
Optional Excel workbooks
Paid downloads for keeping a reusable record of your research. Start with the free guides and browser calculators above.
SML DCF Comparison Workbook
Compare previous and current valuation assumptions across Bear, Base and Bull cases.
USD 9
SML Earnings Check
Record quarterly results, sources and questions for your next assumption review.
USD 9
SML Position Size Planner
Compare a planned purchase with the cash, loss and concentration limits you choose.
USD 7
SML Stock Research Workbook Bundle
Get all three workbooks with the Investment Thesis Notebook included.
USD 20
Educational tools. You choose the data, assumptions and decisions.
Latest Research
Explore newly published, evidence-based company analysis and practical investing frameworks.
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Why Did My DCF Value Fall When Cash Flow Improved?
A DCF estimate can fall even when the cash-flow forecast improves. A higher discount rate, weaker long-term assumptions, or a less favorable equity bridge…
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How to Calculate TTM Free Cash Flow From a 10-Q
To calculate trailing 12-month free cash flow, add the latest year-to-date figure to the previous full fiscal year, then subtract the previous year's matching…
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What Is the Difference Between Market and Limit Orders?
Investing foundations A market order asks to buy or sell at the best available prices. It usually favors getting the trade completed quickly, while…
Featured Analyses
Start with a focused selection spanning technology, AI infrastructure, insurance, energy, and financial software. Every article examines the business model, financial performance, competitive advantages, valuation questions, and material risks.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Azure, AI investment, margins, cash flow, and valuation.
NVIDIA (NVDA)
AI accelerators, competitive moat, growth, and cyclicality.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B)
Insurance float, capital allocation, cash, and succession.
Exxon Mobil (XOM)
Upstream growth, refining, cash flow, capital allocation, and commodity risk.
Intuit (INTU)
QuickBooks, TurboTax, platform economics, AI strategy, and valuation.
Research with a clearer process
Understand the metrics
Learn what cash-flow and profitability measures show—and what they miss. Start with free cash flow and return on invested capital.
Use a repeatable framework
Apply the same questions across companies so attractive stories do not replace disciplined analysis. Follow the ten-step stock-analysis process.
Keep assumptions visible
Separate reported facts from estimates, test alternative outcomes, and return to the filing when the thesis changes. Use the 10-K checklist.
Ready to research with a clearer process?
Choose one concrete next step: learn the framework or examine a company.
Built for thoughtful investors
Stock Metric Lab emphasizes primary sources, explicit assumptions, material risks, and independent judgment. Learn more about our editorial standards.