Company Analysis: Past, Present, and Future

Free CFA Level I lesson in Equity Investments. 13 min read, ~1,994 words.

Three generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, focus. Mixing them ("stuck in the middle") destroys returns. Five forces frame position: rivalry, new entrants, substitutes, supplier power, buyer power. Revenue decomposes into price × volume × mix. Pricing power is raising price without losing volume, visible as gross-margin stability through input-cost shocks...