Walkthroughs

Read shares outstanding on the cover page of the latest 10-K or 10-Q, then the basic and diluted weighted average shares on the income statement. The statement of stockholders' equity shows what added or removed shares. Line up several years and turn the change into a yearly rate.

Each column is the percentage price change over one window, such as a week, a month, a quarter, a half year, year to date or a full year. Most are price-only, so dividends are left out. Compare each figure with the index over the same window, check relative volume and volatility beside it, then read the chart before acting.

Split your history into windows, tune the strategy's settings on one window, then run those exact settings on the following period without changes. Roll the windows forward and repeat, stitch together only the test periods, and compare that record with the tuned results. Include costs and slippage from the first test.

A share sale spreads the same earnings over more shares, and offerings are usually priced below the last trade to attract buyers. The sale can also suggest that management thinks the stock is fully valued or that it needs cash, and the new supply can weigh on the price for weeks. What the company earns on the proceeds decides whether the dilution lasts.

Pick a set of lookback periods, give the most recent one a bigger weight, and combine each stock's returns into one score. Rank the watchlist by that score, compare it with the index's score over the same periods, and refresh the ranking every week.

Chart a fund for each of the 11 GICS sectors as a ratio against a broad index, so a rising line means the sector is beating the market. Rank the sectors on one-, three- and six-month returns, watch for ratio lines that change direction, and check breadth inside the sector before acting.

A calendar spread uses the same strike in two expirations and suits a stock you expect to stay near that strike. A diagonal uses different strikes as well as different dates, which adds a directional lean and usually a bigger debit. Both are long vega. A calendar suffers on a big move either way before the short option expires; a bullish call diagonal suffers mainly on a big drop.

Pick the direction first, then put the short strike beyond a price level you expect to hold. Choose the width from the dollar loss you can accept, check that the credit is a reasonable share of the risk, and make sure no earnings date falls before expiration. Write the exit plan before you place the order.

The Options Clearing Corporation adjusts listed contracts to match the deal. In an all-cash deal the deliverable becomes cash, so calls below the offer price settle toward their intrinsic value and puts lose most of their worth; in a stock deal the deliverable becomes shares of the acquirer. If the deal breaks, prices can swing hard the other way.

It depends on the firm and the account. Many require every position closed by a set time each day, some allow overnight holds but not weekend holds, and some restrict holding through major scheduled news. Even with permission to hold, an opening gap can breach a daily loss limit that your stop was supposed to keep you inside.

Futures accounts size in contracts with a fixed dollar value per point, trade nearly around the clock on weekdays and short as easily as they buy. Stock accounts size in shares, usually trade around the regular session, and depend on borrow for shorts. Drawdown, fee and payout rules vary by firm and account either way.

Work out the yearly shortfall in dollars, then the capital needed to rebuild it: a $1,200 gap takes $30,000 at a 4% yield or $24,000 at 5%. Spread the replacement over several holdings with covered dividends, use a cash reserve while you rebuild, and look at whether spending needs to change.

The yearly amount is the same; only the timing differs. Monthly payers, often REITs, business development companies and income funds, spread the cash into twelve payments, which helps budgeting and lets reinvested money work slightly sooner. On $12,000 a year that head start is worth roughly $60, and frequency tells you nothing about whether the dividend is safe.

Before closing, the merger agreement usually lets the company keep paying its regular dividend and bars increases or specials. The last payment may be made in full, prorated or dropped, depending on the agreement. After a cash deal the income stops; after a stock deal you collect whatever dividend the buyer pays on your new shares.

Usually they fall, and often by more than the cut itself, because lower expected earnings tend to come with a lower multiple. A cut in forward EPS from $3.00 to $2.70, with the multiple slipping from 20 to 18, takes a $60 stock to $48.60. A cut smaller than the market feared can still lift the shares.

Set the quarter against the same quarter a year earlier, then compare revenue, margins and EPS on both sides. Check the sequential change as a second view, strip out acquisitions, currency and any extra week, and read how management explains the difference.

Put your holdings and watchlist names into the calendar's watchlist or portfolio filter so only those companies show. Then check whether each date is confirmed or estimated, note whether the report comes before the open or after the close, and settle each position's size before the date arrives.

Buybacks are good for the holders who stay when the company pays less than the shares are worth and the share count really falls. They hurt when the company overpays, borrows heavily to fund them, or only soaks up the stock it keeps issuing to employees.

No single percentage fits everyone. Work backwards from the loss you could accept if the stock halved: if a 50% fall should cost no more than 5% of the portfolio, cap the stock at 10%. Count employer stock toward that cap and set a rule for trimming winners that grow past it.

Build a cash cushion first, then put most of each monthly deposit into a broad index fund and a small, capped share into single stocks, using fractional shares if your broker offers them. Automate the deposit, watch the costs, and rebalance once a year.

A correction is a fall of 10% from a recent high and a bear market a fall of 20%; both are market conventions with no official definition. A recession is a broad decline in economic activity, dated in the US by the NBER's Business Cycle Dating Committee, which does not use a two-quarters rule. Each can happen without the others.

Actual is the figure just released, Forecast is the consensus of economists' estimates made beforehand, and Previous is the last reading, often revised. The surprise is Actual minus Forecast plus any change to Previous. Set your time zone, filter to high-importance releases, and plan positions before them.