Free Stock Analysis Checklist for Investment Research
I’m a great believer in solving hard problems by using a checklist. You need to get all the likely and unlikely answers before you; otherwise it’s easy to miss something important. – Charlie Munger
In investing, a reliable checklist is like having a compass—it keeps you grounded and focused. I’m thrilled to share with you a FREE stock investing checklist that I’ve curated based on Phil Fisher’s legendary book Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, my own personal investing experiences, and insights from some smart investors I’ve learned from over the years.
This checklist is designed to help you make informed, confident decisions about your investments. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just starting your journey, this tool will help you evaluate opportunities with clarity and discipline.
Why You Need an Investing Checklist
Investing can feel overwhelming at times. With so much information to consider—financial statements, market trends, competitive dynamics—it’s easy to get lost in the noise. That’s where a checklist comes in.
A good investing checklist:
- Minimizes mistakes: By focusing on key criteria, you reduce the chances of overlooking critical details.
- Enhances consistency: It ensures you stick to a disciplined process, regardless of market conditions.
- Builds confidence: You’ll know you’ve considered the important factors before making a decision.
What Inspired This Checklist?
Phil Fisher’s checklist for evaluating companies is a great starting point. It focuses on fundamental analysis to understand the business, its management, its competitive position, and its growth potential. His questions are designed to uncover exceptional businesses that could grow steadily over the long term.
To this, I also added certain open ended questions that I use while evaluating potential stock ideas, to answer questions such as Warren Buffett’s focus on economic moats to Peter Lynch’s emphasis on understanding what you own. I have learnt over the years that the best investors spend most of their time thinking about the qualitative aspects of the business, and only a short amount of time on things like valuation. Hence, the questions from this checklist help me think about the business characteristics, its positioning, how it makes money (and keeps it), how its expanding its moat, etc.
What’s in the Checklist?
This 42 point comprehensive investing checklist includes questions across critical areas:
- Understanding the Business
- Do I understand how the company makes money?
- Is the company’s product or service essential to its customers?
- Does the business have a durable competitive advantage?
- Evaluating Financial Health
- Are revenue and earnings growing consistently?
- Does the company have manageable debt levels?
- Is the business generating strong free cash flow?
- Assessing Management
- Is management honest and transparent?
- Are they allocating capital effectively?
- Do they have a track record of delivering results?
- Growth Potential
- What is the total addressable market (TAM), and how fast is it growing?
- Does the company have room to expand its market share?
- Are there catalysts for future growth?
- Valuation
- Is the stock fairly priced based on its earnings and growth potential?
- How does the valuation compare to peers and historical averages?
- Risk Assessment
- What are the key risks, and are they manageable?
- How does this investment fit into my overall portfolio?
- What is my plan if the thesis doesn’t play out?
How to Use This Checklist
The checklist has 8 sections that cover the aspects an investment analyst should consider while evaluating a stock. These sections are as follows:
- Understanding the Business
- Market Position and Competitive Advantages
- Growth Potential
- Industry Dynamics
- Financial Strength and Balance Sheet Position
- Capital Allocation
- Management Integrity and Strength
- Conclusion
Each section has three columns, the first column is the check, the second column has questions, considerations or examples which helps to think deeply about the business. The last column is to capture your answers.
This checklist isn’t about finding perfect investments—those rarely exist. Instead, it’s about filtering out investments that don’t meet your standards and focusing on those with the best potential. Before you buy a stock, run through this checklist. It will help you:
- Avoid impulsive decisions.
- Focus on long-term fundamentals.
- Stay within your circle of competence.
Download Your Free Investing Checklist
Ready to start making smarter investment decisions? I’ve compiled this checklist into a printable PDF as well as in Excel (xlsx) and Google Sheets format, so that you can starting use it straight away to analyzing a potential investment.
Stock Analysis Checklist Google Sheets (click here to download)
This checklist has been helpful for me, and I’m confident it can help you too. By taking a systematic approach to investing, you’ll not only improve your results but also find greater clarity in your decision-making process.
Happy investing!