A free, end-to-end stock analysis workflow you can run on any ticker. Start with a clean snapshot, work through 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K filings, score the latest earnings, check insider and congressional activity, build a peer comp, sanity-check valuation against the macro setup, and finish with a sized, defensible thesis — all using real OmniFolio tools and primary-source SEC data.
Every serious stock analysis follows the same arc. The full workflow below walks you through each layer, step by step.
Where the workflow starts
Before any spreadsheet, you need to understand what the company sells, who pays for it, and at what scale. The Company Lookup snapshot gets you there in under five minutes.
Primary-source signal
The 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, earnings transcripts, and Form 4 insider transactions are the highest-quality data points you have. Everything else is interpretation.
The decision layer
Once the facts are on the page, you need a comp set, a valuation read, a macro overlay, and a written thesis with a position size. That’s the difference between research and a trade.
Run these nine steps on any ticker. Each step links straight into the OmniFolio tool that runs the workflow on real data.
Ticker · Sector · Market cap · Headlines
Every stock analysis starts with the same boring step: get the basics on one screen. Ticker, sector, market cap, capital structure, recent filings, and the latest headlines. If you skip the snapshot, you end up arguing about a company you don’t actually understand.
Annual report · Risk factors · MD&A
The 10-K is the most important single document in fundamental analysis. You don’t need to read all 200 pages — you need to know which 30 actually matter. Item 1 (Business), Item 1A (Risk Factors), Item 7 (MD&A), and the cash flow statement are the core.
Quarterly trends · Real-time disclosures
Between annual reports, the 10-Q gives you quarterly trends and the 8-K flags anything material — guidance changes, exec departures, M&A, and earnings releases. Watching the 8-K wire is how you catch story-changing news before the price fully digests it.
Beats · Misses · Guidance · Reaction
Don’t just look at "did they beat?" Look at the surprise vs the buy-side whisper, what guidance did, and the after-hours move. The Earnings Surprises tool puts surprise %, reaction, and history in one view so you can score the print in under five minutes.
Form 4 · Cluster buys · 10b5-1 noise
Insider buying is rare and meaningful. Insider selling is mostly noise — most of it is scheduled 10b5-1 sales. The Insider Intelligence and Insider Sentiment tools separate the signal from the noise so you can see real conviction trades.
Congressional trades · Senate lobbying
For stocks with regulatory exposure — defense, healthcare, semis, energy — congressional trades and lobbying spend are alternative signals worth checking. The Congress Tracker shows recent disclosures; lobbying records hint at policy direction.
Same business · Same multiples · Same screen
A peer comp is only useful if the peers are real. Same business model, similar size, similar margin profile. Then you line up the multiples — P/E, EV/EBITDA, P/S, FCF yield — and the question stops being "is it cheap?" and becomes "cheap vs what?"
Multiples · Yield curve · Sector regime
A stock isn’t cheap or expensive in a vacuum. Run the multiples vs the company’s own history and vs peers, then overlay the macro regime — rates, yield curve, sector flows. World Monitor and the economic calendar give you the macro context in one place.
Bull · Bear · Catalyst · Exit
Research without a written thesis is a hobby. Force yourself to write the bull case, the bear case, the catalysts that resolve the debate, your position size, and the conditions under which you exit. If you can’t write it cleanly, you don’t understand it yet.
All examples cite SEC EDGAR filings directly. The workflow is updated when the underlying tools or filings change.
Before you take a position, run this quick checklist. If you can’t tick every box, you’re not done researching yet.
Every step links to a working OmniFolio tool. No paywall, no signup required to read.
Company Lookup
One-screen snapshot for any ticker.
Company Research
Filings, fundamentals, and earnings in one workspace.
Earnings Surprises
Score every print: surprise %, guidance, reaction.
Insider Intelligence
Form 4 transactions with cluster-buy detection.
Insider Sentiment
Net buying vs net selling by ticker.
Congress Tracker
Member trades on the stocks you follow.
World Monitor
Macro overlay: rates, calendar, global flows.
The most common questions we get about analyzing a stock end-to-end.
A first-pass analysis using this workflow takes about 60–90 minutes for a stock you’ve never looked at. With practice — and with the snapshot, earnings, and insider tools doing the data lifting — you can compress it to 30–45 minutes for liquid US large caps. A full deep-dive thesis with a model and a written investment memo is a multi-day exercise.
Step 1 (snapshot) plus step 4 (latest earnings score). The snapshot tells you what the company is; the latest earnings score tells you whether the most recent print changed the story. If both look interesting, schedule the rest of the workflow. If either flags a red flag, you’ve saved yourself an hour.
No. The workflow is built so a beginner can complete every step using OmniFolio’s tools and primary-source SEC data. Each step links to a more detailed guide if you want to go deeper on a specific concept like reading a 10-K, decoding Form 4, or building a peer comp.
All filings data is sourced from SEC EDGAR (the official US regulator filing system). Congressional trades come from official disclosure databases. Earnings dates and economic data come from public-domain government sources and commercially licensed APIs. Portfolio values are user-entered, not fetched from market APIs.
No. This is an educational research workflow. It teaches you how to analyze a stock — not which stocks to buy. Always do your own research and consider speaking with a licensed financial advisor for personalized recommendations.
Built on primary-source SEC filings, wired into the platform, and never behind a paywall.
Every filing reference points to the original 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, or Form 4 on SEC EDGAR. No scraped numbers, no second-hand summaries.
Each of the nine workflow steps links directly into the OmniFolio tool that runs it on real data — Company Research, Earnings Surprises, Insider Intelligence, Congress Tracker, World Monitor.
This is a research workflow, not an investment recommendation. You’re learning to do the analysis yourself — not following calls.
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Stock Analysis Guide Hub
All twelve company-research guides in one place — 10-K reading, earnings, insiders, peer comps, valuation, and thesis-building.
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Insider Intelligence Guides
Deeper guides on Form 4 transactions, cluster buys, 10b5-1 filtering, and insider sentiment as a signal.
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Political Intelligence Guides
Congressional trades, Senate lobbying, federal contracting — alternative signals for regulated sectors.
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Market Intelligence Guides
Macro overlay, World Monitor walk-throughs, economic calendar workflows, and reading the yield curve.
Free to read. From snapshot to sized thesis — the full nine-step research workflow runs end-to-end on real OmniFolio tools.