The Interpretation of Financial Statements

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Summary: This is my investing bible
Review: Although corporate 10Q's have become more complex due to a lot of the offbalance sheet investments they do, e.g. Enron. If a company is honest and has value this book will help you find it. So the way I approach my investing I have to assume all companies are honest unless proven otherwise.

So much time is taken to explain diversification by many other books, but none gives you the practical expertise to make an informed decision. This book does. It is a handy reference that sits on my desk. I use it to review annual reports and to interpret online SEC filings just to make sure the companies I have invested in are actually healthy.

This book is small, but what I have found over the years is that smaller books are better. They leave out the fluff and all you get are the meat and potatoes of what you need to know.

If you take your time to understand the information presented and use it, you'll be teaching your broker a thing or two at the end of the day.

Rating:
Summary: Valuable
Review: For the novice or the professional - this short, concise book is worth it's price.

Ben Graham was the author of many books and the voice of sound advice, his principles are not dated even today.

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Summary: How can I find the revised 2nd edition of this book,
Review: I am trying to locate the 2nd edition of the book "The Interpretation of Financial Statements" 1964. I searched for it on the site, but only found the first version.

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Summary: Very Worthwhile
Review: Like gold, this small book provides a very high value. With interest in Graham and value investing growing, this small book provides a compact reference to the various parts of a balance sheet and income statement you will become very familiar with as you read his other books.

Fantastic reference on its own. .

Rating:
Summary: Very Worthwhile
Review: Like gold, this small book provides a very high value. With interest in Graham and value investing growing, this small book provides a compact reference to the various parts of a balance sheet and income statement you will become very familiar with as you read his other books.

Fantastic reference on its own. .

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Summary: A concise, yet quite exhaustive book on financial statements
Review: This booklet is just over a hundred and twenty small pages, yet manages to deliver a brief but comprehensive overview on the various items figuring both on Balance Sheets and on Income Statements.

This book is typically Ben Graham. Short, concise, elegantly written, laid back, it boils down to essential considerations while, of course, nothing is taken for granted. A brief and pleasant overview on useful considerations when one is checking financial statements, except for the fact that there is no treatment of the nowadays standard Cash Flow Statement, which can be seen either as a default or as an advantage, considering that there is some sound treatment of the Balance Sheet cash positions and of the quality of earnings in view of certain depreciation and maintenance charges.

At the end, there is also an over thirty pages lexicon of financial terms and phrases which can be quite useful.

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Summary: Why This Edition Instead of 3rd/4th Edition?
Review: Why they republished this edition when they might have republished the Second or Third Revised Edition (by Graham and Charles McGolrick, published in 1964 and 1975, respectively) beats me. The latter two editions are unquestionably better,as both are more current, and contain more useful tips regarding contextual interpretation.

It's true that the primary value of Graham's text is its framework, which provides concision in summarizing a potentially confusing topic. This framework persists through all four editions. Also, it's true that all four editions are pretty dated (there is no discussion of cash flow statement interpretation in any edition obviously, for example, although Graham alludes to the significance of cashflow interpretation somewhat disparagingly in the latter editions).

But all of Graham's guidelines for balance sheet analysis are still current in the latter two editions, as are his brief guidelines for bond analysis and earnings power. The first edition seems less useful in these respects.

One might assume that there is value in going back to the first edition of this small volume as one might go back to the first edition of Security Analysis. There are indeed nuggets in the first edition of Security Analysis which have been mysteriously removed from later editions. But that isn't true with The Interpretation of Financial Statements. If you can get your hands on a copy of the 1964 or 1975 edition of this book, you will likely find either more useful than this original edition.

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Summary: Why'd Didn't They Republish the 3rd Edition?
Review: Why they republished this edition when they might have republished the Second Revised Edition (by Graham and Charles McGolrick, originally published in 1964) beats me. The latter is unquestionably better,as it is more current, and contains more tips. Yet even the 1964 edition is pretty dated (there is no discussion of cash flow statement interpretation, for example, although Graham alludes to cashflow somewhat disparagingly in this later edition). One might argue that there is value in going back to the 1st edition of this small volume as one might go back to the 1st edition of Security Analysis. There are indeed nuggets in the 1st edition of Security Analysis which have been mysteriously removed from later editions. But that isn't true with The Interpretation of Financial Statements. If you can find a copy of the 1964 edition of this book, you will likely find it more useful than the original.