Martin S. Fridson

How well does it pay to own the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s best-performing stock of the year? Over the 2012-2021 period, the one-year total return ranged from 80% to 743%. This book identifies the quantitative and qualitative traits of stocks that made it to #1 and tells the stories of how they got there. A key indicator, the Fridson-Lee Statistic, makes its debut in these pages. Aiming for the massive upside of the #1 stocks entails substantial risk. It’s not something to do with more than a small percentage of your portfolio. But attempting to pick the coming year’s top performer can provide an outlet for speculative impulses that might otherwise spoil a prudent, long-term investment plan. And by investigating the statistically determined best candidates for #1, you’ll gain important insights into stock selection. The Little Book of Picking Top Stocks explains why conventional equity research provides only limited help in zeroing in on the index’s future top performer. Spotting the #1 stock isn’t Wall Street analysts’ focus, although the information they furnish about companies’ competitive strategies is quite helpful. Problematically, investment banks’ fundamental stock reports are structured around a valuation metric that was discredited nearly half a century ago—earnings per share. Author Martin Fridson’s previous writings on the stock market include the books It Was a Very Good Year and Investment Illusions, as well as articles such as “Ben Graham’s Value Approach: Can It Still Work?” He has received the CFA Society of New York’s Ben Graham Award and has been named the Financial Management Association International’s Financial Executive of the Year. The Green Magazine called his Financial Statement Analysis (co-authored with Fernando Alvarez) “one of the most useful investment books ever.”

The helpful workbook to help practice assessing financial statements Financial statement analysis is essential as part of any well-organized financial portfolio. As a companion piece, Financial Statement Analysis Workbook: A Practitioner's Guide allows readers the opportunity to test and hone the skills put forward in Martin Fridson and Fernando Alvarez's Financial Statement Analysis, a resource devoted to providing the analytical framework necessary to make sense of the sometimes misleading numbers put forth by companies. Scrutinizing financial statements allows one to, for example, evaluate a company’s stock price or determine merger or acquisition valuations. The Financial Statement Analysis Workbook, then, provides a pathway to become familiar with these methodologies in order to be prepared to use them in real-world scenarios. With the skills provided within, you can begin to undertake goal-oriented preparation for the practical challenges of contemporary business, and feel confident in your financial decision-making. This is aided by: Question-and-answer sections within this Workbook correspond to each chapter of Financial Statement AnalysisFinancial statement and computational exercises designed to require analysis and synthesis of concepts covered in the core textA full list of answers in the second half of the book that help explain pitfalls within the questions An essential tool for professional analysts, investors, and students, Financial Statement Analysis Workbook offers the perfect opportunity to help turn theory into reality.

The updated, real-world guide to interpreting and unpacking GAAP and non-GAAP financial statements In Financial Statement Analysis, 5th Edition, leading investment authority Martin Fridson returns with Fernando Alvarez to provide the analytical framework you need to scrutinize financial statements, whether you're evaluating a company's stock price or determining valuations for a merger or acquisition. Rather than taking financial statements at face value, you'll learn practical and straightforward analytical techniques for uncovering the reality behind the numbers. This fully revised and up-to-date 5th Edition offers fresh information that will help you to evaluate financial statements in today's volatile markets and uncertain economy. The declining connection between GAAP earnings and stock prices has introduced a need to discriminate between instructive and misleading non-GAAP alternatives. This book integrates the alternatives and provides guidance on understanding the extent to which non-GAAP reports, particularly from US companies, may be biased. Understanding financial statements is an essential skill for business professionals and investors. Most books on the subject proceed from the questionable premise that companies' objective is to present a true picture of their financial condition. A safer assumption is that they seek to minimize the cost of raising capital by portraying themselves in the most favorable light possible. Financial Statement Analysis teaches readers the tricks that companies use to mislead, so readers can more clearly interpret statements. Learn how to read and understand financial statements prepared according to GAAP and non-GAAP standardsCompare CFROI, EVA, Valens, and other non-GAAP methodologies to determine how accurate companies' reports areImprove your business decision making, stock valuations, or merger and acquisition strategyDevelop the essential skill of quickly and accurately gathering and assessing information from financial statements of all types Professional analysts, investors, and students will gain valuable knowledge from this updated edition of the popular guide. Filled with real-life examples and expert advice, Financial Statement Analysis, 5th Edition, will help you interpret and unpack financial statements.

In Corporate Finance, the distinguished team of Michelle Clayman, Martin Fridson, and George Troughton--together with a number of experienced contributors--provides you with complete coverage of the most important issues in modern corporate finance. This book contains the foundational knowledge and tools needed for making smart business decisions, formulating strategies to maximize company value, and maintaining lasting growth. It covers everything from managing relationships between stakeholders to evaluating merger and acquisition bids--as well as the companies involved in them.

The workbook to accompany Corporate Finance: A Practical Approach, Second Edition

The book that fills the practitioner need for a distillation of the most important tools and concepts of corporate finance In today's competitive business environment, companies must find innovative ways to enable rapid and sustainable growth not just to survive, but to thrive. Corporate Finance: A Practical Approach is designed to help financial analysts, executives, and investors achieve this goal with a practice-oriented distillation of the most important tools and concepts of corporate finance. Updated for a post-financial crisis environment, the Second Edition provides coverage of the most important issues surrounding modern corporate finance for the new global economy: Preserves the hallmark conciseness of the first edition while offering expanded coverage of key topics including dividend policy, share repurchases, and capital structureCurrent, real-world examples are integrated throughout the book to provide the reader with a concrete understanding of critical business growth conceptsExplanations and examples are rigorous and global, but make minimal use of mathematicsEach chapter presents learning objectives which highlight key material, helping the reader glean the most effective business advice possibleWritten by the experts at CFA Institute, the world's largest association of professional investment managers Created for current and aspiring financial professionals and investors alike, Corporate Finance focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to succeed in today's global corporate world.

Whether you’re evaluating a company’s stock price, assessing its credit quality, or determining valuations for a merger or acquisition, deciphering the messages embedded within a company’s financial statements is critical–especially after the recent demise of so-called "solid" companies. This workbook will help you do this and much more, by allowing you to hone your skills and test the knowledge you’ve gained from reading Financial Statement Analysis, Third Edition. Question-and-answer sections within this workbook correspond to each chapter of Financial Statement Analysis, Third Edition, so you can use this guide in conjunction with the actual text. Alternatively, you can use the self-administered tests that are also a part of this workbook to independently practice the skill of reading and understanding financial statements. Either way, using the Financial Statement Analysis Workbook will help you expand your skills in reading and analyzing financial statements–so you can successfully put your hard-won knowledge to work in the real world.

Praise for HOW TO BE A BILLIONAIRE "A truly enlightening work filled with fundamental strategies that have worked for others. Martin Fridson documents the essential principles inherent in every billionaire’s success."–Gordon Bethune, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Continental Airlines "Martin Fridson has created the ultimate road map to the American Dream. He comes as close to extracting a formula for the acquisition of wealth as any book I have ever read."–Jeff Sagansky, CEO, Paxson Communications "Martin Fridson’s book has a number of very insightful and thoughtful analyses, something you don’t pick up in many business schools." –Philip F. Anschutz, Chairman and CEO, The Anschutz Corporation How to Be a Billionaire is the first comprehensive picture of the real strategies and tactics that built the great business fortunes of modern times. Packed with engaging accounts of titans like Ross Perot, Richard Branson, and Phil Anschutz, it will show you principles that can increase your wealth and business acumen to the mogul level. Martin Fridson looks at the careers, the methods, and the minds of self-made billionaires to distill the common keys to titanic accumulations of wealth. He identifies the methods, beliefs, and behaviors every businessperson must understand and emulate to reach the pinnacle of riches. How to Be a Billionaire is a manual for success that every aspiring tycoon will benefit from.

What, if anything, do the most spectacular, high-performance periods of the twentieth-century stock market have in common? And most importantly: Can we predict when they will occur again?In this fascinating investigation, acclaimed author and financial authority Martin S. Fridson probes the past, leading an exhilarating tour through each of the twentieth-century stock market’s golden years. Illuminating, entertaining, and rich in historical anecdotes, Fridson’s book treats us to the opinions and investment strategies of some of the most prominent and intriguing figures on the scene."Timely, informative, and highly readable . . . It Was a Very Good Year offers wonderful insights into the years that provided spectacular gains in the past. There are important lessons in this book for all investors."—Henry Kaufman, President, Henry Kaufman & Company, Inc."A useful and extremely entertaining book. It’s loaded with fascinating stock market lore and helpful investment approaches. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed myself along the way."—Byron R. Wien, Managing Director, Investment Strategist for U.S. Equities, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter"Financial history with a purpose–it is a Very Good Book."–James Grant, Editor, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer"With this book, Marty Fridson joins the ranks of the must-read economic and financial historians. He is that rare combination of scholar, wit, raconteur, and man with an eye on the bottom line. Read it for amusement, education, or profit. You can’t lose."—Ben Stein, writer, law professor at Pepperdine University and host of Win Ben Stein’s Money

"A truly enlightening work filled with fundamental strategies that have worked for others.Martin Fridson documents the essential principles inherent in every billionaire's success." -Gordon Bethune Chairman of the Board and CEO Continental Airlines Self-made billionaires all have one thing in common: they excel at making money. But hard work, thrift, and focus are only part of the story-you hold the rest of it in your hands. How to Be a Billionaire is the first comprehensive picture of the real strategies and tactics that built the great business fortunes of modern times. Packed with engaging accounts of titans like Ross Perot, Richard Branson, Phil Anschutz, John D. Rockefeller, Wayne Huizenga, Bill Gates, J. Paul Getty, and Kirk Kerkorian, How to Be a Billionaire will show you principles that can increase your wealth and business acumen to the mogul level. How to Be a Billionaire looks at the careers, the methods, and the minds of self-made billionaires to distill the common keys to titanic accumulations of wealth. Each chapter explores a specific strategy and brings it to life through extended profiles of past and present masters of the art of making money. Do you think innovation is the best way to prosper in business? Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart retail chain, would tell you otherwise. The key to Walton's success was supreme devotion to copying the methods of other successful discounters. What could be less complicated than buying low and selling high? But the ascent of Warren Buffett, John Kluge, and Laurence Tisch to billionaire status depended on much more than an eye for good bargains. And if you're looking to thrive by outmanaging the competition, look no further than Richard Branson. When the founder of Virgin Atlantic needed to reduce his staff by 400 people, 600 volunteered to take off a few months on sabbatical. How to Be a Billionaire identifies the methods, beliefs, and behaviors every businessperson must understand and emulate to reach the pinnacle of riches. A manual for success that can benefit every aspiring tycoon, it is a fascinating read for anyone intrigued by wealth and how it's gotten. Praise for HOW TO BE A BILLIONAIRE "How to Be a Billionaire offers fascinating insight into the subject of building wealth. As a result of his exhaustive research, Martin Fridson is able to explain the wealth-creation process from a unique perspective. As the reader will discover, there is no single formula for success, but there are certain categories into which these concepts can be placed. My personal advice is to remember the words of Winston Churchill who said, 'Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.'" -Ross Perot "Martin Fridson has created the ultimate roadmap to the American Dream. He comes as close to extracting a formula for the acquisition of wealth as any book I have ever read." -Jeff Sagansky CEO, Paxson Communications "Martin Fridson's book has a number of very insightful and thoughtful analyses, something you don't pick up in many business schools." -Philip F. Anschutz Chairman and CEO, The Anschutz Corporation "How to Be a Billionaire is a powerful arsenal of dead-on strategies for increasing your personal wealth and business acumen. Marty Fridson details the tactics of self-made billionaires with great intelligence and insight. I wish this book had been available when I was starting my career." -Spencer Hays Founder, Tom James Company Executive Chairman, Southwestern/Great American, Inc. Chairman, Athlon Publications

Who knows when lightning will strike? It did in 1908, and then again in 1915, 1927, and a handful of other years when the stock market soared beyond everyone's expectations, producing returns on investment that exceeded 35 and even 50 percent. Why do such spectacular periods occur? What, if anything, do they have in common? And most importantly: Can we predict when they will occur again? In It Was a Very Good Year, leading investment authority Martin S. Fridson probes the reasons behind the stock market's spectacular performance during each of the twentieth century's ten best years. It's a fast-paced, eye-opening investigation of the past that teaches some surprising lessons for spotting golden opportunities in the future. A member of Institutional Investor's All-America Research Team, Fridson draws on firsthand observations to discover what was actually happening during these Very Good Years. In his quest for clues, the author scoured back issues of the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Fortune, and Forbes, as well as obscure periodicals such as Munsey's Magazine and the Magazine of Wall Street. We are rewarded by being privy to the contemporary reactions of investors, economists, bankers, politicians, and other prominent people on the scene. It Was a Very Good Year is rich in historical anecdotes and colorful personalities. Beyond the strategies of investment legends such as J. P. Morgan and Bernard Baruch, we are treated to the investment thinking of such diverse figures as Ty Cobb, Walter Winchell, and Charlie Chaplin, among others. With a novelist's eye for detail, Fridson captures the essence of each distinct period, skillfully tracking the mounting excitement of each boom year as the pieces fall into place to create a great bull market. Wars, depressions, interest rate fluctuations, rising markets in gold, oil, real estate, and bonds are all seen in their respective roles. At the same time, Fridson highlights cyclical events and recurring themes that may provide keys to identifying exceptional investment opportunities in the future. In a powerful epilogue, "What Causes the Very Good Years?," the author surveys the high points of the past century and distills the lessons that offer the brightest hope for getting the jump on the next great windfall. Illuminating, timely, and remarkably astute, It Was a Very Good Year is financial history at its most fascinating and entertaining. Acclaimed author and financial authority Martin S. Fridson leads an exhilarating tour of the twentieth century's peak golden years. "This is a very timely, informative, and highly readable book. Because we are in the midst of a great bull market, It Was a Very Good Year offers wonderful insights into the years that provided spectacular gains in the past. There are important lessons in this book for all investors." —Henry Kaufman, President Henry Kaufman & Company, Inc. "Martin Fridson has written a useful and extremely entertaining book. It's loaded with fascinating stock market lore and helpful investment approaches. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed myself along the way." —Byron R. Wien Managing Director, Investment Strategist for U.S. Equities Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. "Financial history with a purpose — it is a Very Good Book." —James Grant Editor, Grant's Interest Rate Observer "With this book, Marty Fridson joins the ranks of the must-read economic and financial historians. He is that rare combination of scholar, wit, raconteur, and man with an eye on the bottom line. Read it for amusement, education, or profit. You can't lose." —Ben Stein Writer, law professor at Pepperdine University, host of Win Ben Stein's Money.