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A Few Related Terms

Horizntal Analysis
Income Statement
CAGR
Profit margin

Vertical Analysis
Term category: Finance/Accounting
In 10 words or less: A method of analyzing financial statements that looks at the breakdown for one period.

Definition: Vertical analysis puts the balance sheet and income statement into percentage terms.  This allows you to compare, for example, what percent of sales is spent on marketing.

Example:

Sales                   100%
COGS                    79%

Gross Margin         21%

SG&A                      7%

Operating Margin   14%

StockJargon Advice: Vertical analysis is very useful when used with horizontal analysis.  This helps investors determine such trends as margin expansion and contraction.

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Related Books

The Interpretation of Financial Statements by Benjamin Graham
How to Use Financial Statements by James Bandler
How to Read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy
Finance for Non-financial Managers by Gene Siciliano

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