Financial Statement Analysis by Industry for Stock Investing: Reading Business Structure and Profitability Through Numbers

Have you ever found it difficult to know which numbers to look at first when reviewing financial statements and business reports, or to interpret why revenue and profit have changed? For more than 15 years, I have analyzed companies across a wide range of industries in the corporate finance field, and I have learned that even when looking at the same financial statements, the numbers that matter most differ depending on the industry and business model. Corporate analysis is not simply about calculating financial ratios; it is the process of understanding what a company sells to make money, what costs it bears, and how industry risks appear in the numbers. This course begins with finding the information needed for analysis in the “Business Overview” section of a business report and in the notes to the financial statements. We examine the causes of growth by breaking revenue down into selling price (P) × sales volume (Q), and assess pricing power and bargaining power by comparing raw material prices with product prices. We then classify key costs into fixed and variable costs and connect CAPEX, depreciation, capacity utilization, and cost ratios to analyze how a company’s profitability and risks differ. We also examine what needs to be reviewed differently in business reports across industries such as manufacturing, food, semiconductors, secondary batteries, shipbuilding, construction, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and rentals. Through real-world company examples, you will learn how to connect numbers with business structures. The goal of this course is not to memorize the many numbers in a business report. It is to learn the flow of analysis—from industry and business structure → revenue structure → cost structure → profitability and risk—and establish a framework for analyzing companies independently.