TDR University – Lessons of Trends vs Reality

The TDR Three Key Takeaways:

• Look Beyond Surface Data: It’s important to examine the full context of a company’s financial reports, not just the highlighted trends growth percentages.
• Assess the Significance of Progress: Evaluate whether a company’s financial improvements are substantial and meaningful, considering their starting point of trends.
• Use Comparative Analysis: Compare financial results in absolute terms rather than just percentages, considering the company’s size and industry benchmarks.

Yesterday at TDR University, we talked about the importance of looking beyond a company’s income statement, emphasizing the need to analyze the balance sheet and cash flow statement for a more comprehensive understanding of its financial health. Today, I want to discuss the concept of comparing trends to reality in financial reporting, using a personal anecdote to illustrate this point.

This weekend, I plan to go hiking with my family in the Rocky Mountains. The weather has been perfect lately, and we’re all excited. However, there’s an important consideration I keep in mind. When my kids complain of tiredness and slow down, I encourage them to keep moving. But if they walk at a pace of only 0.5 miles per hour on a 10-mile hike, we won’t finish before it gets dark. This situation highlights a critical point: progress is good, but it must be meaningful and aligned with our goals.

This concept is remarkably similar to how companies report their progress. For example, in analyzing a Cannabis company today, I noted that it had managed to increase its cash flow trends year over year for the last eight quarters. On the surface, this seems to be a positive trends. However, the company started with a significantly negative cash flow. Although the negative amount is decreasing, it’s still substantial. This improvement, while real, doesn’t necessarily indicate a healthy financial situation.

Let’s consider more examples. A tech start-up might announce a 300% growth in its user base. This sounds impressive, but if the original user base was just 100 users, the actual addition is only 300 more users. This growth pales in comparison to a larger competitor who might add 10,000 users to their base, which could be a smaller percentage increase but is more significant in absolute terms.

Another example can be seen in retail. A company might boast a 50% increase in sales during the holiday season. However, if their sales are typically low throughout the year, this spike, though substantial in percentage terms, might not adequately compensate for their annual sales performance.

Lastly, consider a company claiming a 20% reduction in operational costs. A closer look might reveal that this reduction resulted from significant workforce layoffs, which could harm long-term productivity and employee morale.

When analyzing a company’s financial health, it’s crucial to understand the full context behind the numbers. Whether it’s assessing a family hike or evaluating a corporate financial report, the real story often lies beyond the surface-level data. So, the next time you read about a company’s financial achievements, remember to dig deeper and consider the actual implications of the reported figures.

Want to keep up to date with all of TDR’s content, subscribe to our daily Baked In newsletter.