Fundamental Analysis Course: learn to read a business and value its stock
Stop buying on tips. In six weeks of live classes, learn to read annual reports and financial statements, judge business quality and management, value a company with DCF and ratios, and build a long-term portfolio you understand. Real Indian company case studies throughout, in English and Hindi.
- Duration
- 1.5 months
- Training
- Live + recorded
- Approach
- Top-down & bottom-up
- Mode
- Delhi or online
- Language
- English and Hindi
- Fees
- Enquire for fees
What is fundamental analysis?
Fundamental analysis is the method of working out what a company is really worth, its intrinsic value, by studying the business behind the share price: its revenue, profits, cash flows, debt, competitive position, management and the economy it operates in.
Share prices swing every day on news and emotion. A business’s value changes far more slowly. When the market price falls well below a careful estimate of value, a fundamental investor sees an opportunity. When it races far above, they see risk.
This fundamental analysis course for long-term investing teaches you to do that work yourself, from reading a balance sheet to building a full research note on a listed Indian company.
Questions it answers
- Is this a good business?
- Is it growing, and can growth last?
- Can it survive a bad year?
- Is the stock cheap or expensive?
Where the answers come from
- Annual reports and quarterly results
- Financial ratios and trends
- Concalls and investor presentations
- Exchange filings and shareholding data
Who this fundamental analysis course is for
No accounting background needed. We explain every statement and ratio from scratch, with real numbers.
Long-term investors
You want to pick stocks with conviction, hold them through volatility and know when your reason for owning them has changed.
Students and job seekers
Commerce, BBA, MBA, CA, CS and finance students who want practical equity research skills for interviews and careers.
Traders
You already trade on charts and want to know the quality of what you hold, and avoid weak companies before results day.
Professionals and business owners
You read numbers at work and want to apply that skill to your own savings and investments.
Fundamental analysis syllabus: 10 modules
From the economy down to a single number on a balance sheet, then back up to a full investment decision. Each module uses real listed companies as case studies.
Foundations of investing
How value differs from price, and the finance ideas every valuation depends on.
- Intrinsic value vs market price
- Fundamental vs technical analysis
- Top-down and bottom-up approaches
- Time value of money
- Risk-free rate and opportunity cost
- Compounding and long-term returns
Economy and macro analysis
How the big picture moves earnings, interest rates and whole sectors.
- GDP and the business cycle
- CPI and WPI inflation
- RBI monetary policy and repo rate
- Union Budget and fiscal deficit
- Rupee, crude oil and global cues
- IIP, PMI and other high-frequency data
- FII and DII flows
Industry and sector analysis
Judge an industry’s growth, competition and cycle before you judge a company inside it.
- Porter’s five forces
- Cyclical vs defensive sectors
- Industry life cycle
- Regulation and policy risk
- Sector-specific metrics
- Market share and pricing power
Reading financial statements
The three statements line by line, and how they connect.
- Profit and loss statement
- Balance sheet
- Cash flow statement
- Notes to accounts
- Standalone vs consolidated
- Common-size and comparative statements
- Director’s and auditor’s reports
Ratio analysis
Turn statements into comparable numbers that reveal strength and weakness.
- Margins: gross, EBITDA, net
- ROE, ROCE and ROA
- DuPont analysis
- Current and quick ratio
- Debt-to-equity and interest coverage
- Asset turnover, inventory and debtor days
- Cash conversion cycle
Valuation methods
Estimate what a business is worth, and how wrong you could be.
- P/E, PEG, P/B and EV/EBITDA
- Relative valuation and peer comparison
- Discounted cash flow (FCFF and FCFE)
- WACC, CAPM and beta
- Terminal value
- Dividend discount model
- Economic value added (EVA)
- Margin of safety
Business quality and moats
Why some companies keep earning high returns for decades while others fade.
- Types of economic moats
- Brand, network and cost advantages
- Switching costs
- Capital allocation track record
- Growth runway and reinvestment
- Dividend and buyback policy
Management, governance and forensic checks
Spot the warning signs that numbers alone can hide.
- Promoter holding and pledging
- Related party transactions
- Auditor changes and qualifications
- Profit vs operating cash flow gaps
- Contingent liabilities
- Aggressive revenue recognition
- Frequent equity dilution
Results, reports and corporate actions
Follow a company through the year using the documents it publishes.
- Quarterly results analysis
- Annual report deep dive
- Earnings calls and investor presentations
- Shareholding pattern
- Dividends, buybacks, splits and bonus issues
- Rights issues and mergers
- Reading an IPO DRHP
Portfolio building and risk
Turn individual stock research into a portfolio you can stick with.
- Diversification and position sizing
- Asset allocation
- Risk-adjusted returns and Sharpe ratio
- When to sell
- Reviewing a thesis after results
- Using stock screeners and exchange filings
Capstone: your own research report
Pick a listed Indian company and build a complete research note: industry view, financial analysis, red-flag check, valuation and a written investment thesis. Your mentor reviews it with you before the course ends.
Five ideas at the heart of fundamental analysis
A preview of how we teach: every concept is drawn out, then applied to a real company’s numbers in class.
Top-down analysis: from economy to stock
Start broad and narrow down. A strong company in a struggling sector, during a slowing economy, often disappoints. Top-down checks the environment first. Bottom-up starts from a company you already like and works outward. We teach both.
How the three financial statements connect
Net profit from the P&L adds to retained earnings on the balance sheet and is the starting line of the cash flow statement. Closing cash flows back to the balance sheet. Once you see the links, you can spot numbers that do not add up.
DuPont analysis: what drives ROE
Two companies can both earn an 18% ROE in very different ways: one through high margins, another through heavy borrowing. DuPont splits ROE into margin, efficiency and leverage so you see which.
Discounted cash flow, the idea in one picture
Money in the future is worth less than money today. DCF valuation adds up a company's expected cash flows after discounting each one back to today's value.
Margin of safety
Every valuation is an estimate. Buying meaningfully below your estimate of intrinsic value leaves room for mistakes, a lesson popularised by Benjamin Graham.
Key financial ratios every investor should know
The formulas we use most. What counts as “good” depends on the industry, so in class we always compare a company with its peers and its own history.
Profitability
- Net profit margin
- Net profit ÷ Revenue
- EBITDA margin
- EBITDA ÷ Revenue
- ROE
- Net profit ÷ Shareholders’ equity
- ROCE
- EBIT ÷ Capital employed
Safety and leverage
- Debt-to-equity
- Total debt ÷ Equity
- Interest coverage
- EBIT ÷ Interest expense
- Current ratio
- Current assets ÷ Current liabilities
- Quick ratio
- (Current assets − Inventory) ÷ Current liabilities
Efficiency
- Asset turnover
- Revenue ÷ Total assets
- Inventory days
- Inventory ÷ COGS × 365
- Debtor days
- Receivables ÷ Revenue × 365
- Cash conversion cycle
- Inventory days + Debtor days − Payable days
Valuation
- P/E ratio
- Share price ÷ EPS
- PEG ratio
- P/E ÷ EPS growth rate
- P/B ratio
- Share price ÷ Book value per share
- EV/EBITDA
- (Market cap + Debt − Cash) ÷ EBITDA
A simple DCF intrinsic value calculator
This is the simplest version of the discounted cash flow model taught in module six. Change the inputs and watch how sensitive the value is to growth and discount rate. That sensitivity is exactly why investors insist on a margin of safety.
- Free cash flowCash from operations minus capital expenditure, for the latest year, per share.
- Discount rateThe return you require, often built from the risk-free rate plus an equity risk premium.
- Terminal growthThe slow growth assumed forever after year five. Keep it modest.
Sector-specific metrics you will learn to track
A P/E ratio means different things in a bank and a cement company. Each sector has its own numbers that tell you how the business is really doing.
| Sector | Metrics to track | Why they matter |
|---|---|---|
| Banks and NBFCs | NIM, GNPA and NNPA, CASA ratio, credit cost, capital adequacy | Lending profit, asset quality and how cheaply a bank raises money |
| IT services | Constant-currency growth, deal wins, EBIT margin, attrition, utilisation | Demand from global clients and how efficiently people are deployed |
| FMCG | Volume growth, gross margin, distribution reach, ad spend | Whether growth comes from selling more or only from price hikes |
| Automobiles | Monthly sales volumes, market share, realisation per vehicle, EV mix | Demand trends and pricing power in a cyclical industry |
| Cement | Capacity utilisation, EBITDA per tonne, power and fuel cost | Profitability in a commodity business with regional pricing |
| Pharma | US generics pricing, USFDA observations, R&D spend, domestic formulations growth | Regulatory risk and the pipeline of future products |
| Metals | Realisation per tonne, cost per tonne, global prices, net debt | Highly cyclical earnings driven by global commodity prices |
| Telecom | ARPU, subscriber additions, churn, data usage, capex | Revenue per user and the cost of keeping networks current |
| Real estate | Pre-sales, collections, launches, net debt | Booking momentum and cash collection in a capital-heavy business |
| Oil, gas and power | Refining margins, plant load factor, regulated returns, fuel costs | Margins set by commodity prices and regulation |
Governance red flags: try the checklist
Think of a company you own or follow. Tick each warning sign you can find in its reports. In module eight you learn where to look for each one.
Real companies, real reports, a mentor beside you
Case studies throughout
Every module is applied to the actual reports of listed Indian companies.
Live and recorded
Attend live and rewatch recordings when you want to revisit a valuation or a statement.
Delhi or online
Join our Delhi classroom or the same live classes online from anywhere in India.
Free demo first
Attend a demo class, meet the mentor and see the teaching style before you enrol.
Combine fundamentals with the right next course
Technical Analysis Course
Fundamentals tell you what to buy. Charts help you decide when. One month of live chart practice.
See the Technical course → Complete programmeAlpha Course
Three months for beginners covering basics, technical and fundamental analysis, F&O and live practice.
See the Alpha course → Go further9AM Beta Course
Six months, including a deeper fundamental analysis module, derivatives and option chain analysis.
See the Beta course →Fundamental analysis course: common questions
What is fundamental analysis?
Fundamental analysis is the study of a company's business, industry, management and financial statements to estimate what its shares are really worth. You then compare that intrinsic value with the market price to decide whether the stock is worth owning.
How long is the fundamental analysis course?
The course runs for about one and a half months, with live classes and recorded sessions for revision. It has ten modules and ends with a capstone research report on a listed company.
Can a beginner join this course?
Yes. The course is beginner friendly and starts from what a share is worth and why. You do not need a commerce or finance background, only basic comfort with numbers and a spreadsheet.
What topics does the course cover?
Economy and macro analysis, industry analysis, reading the profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, ratio analysis, valuation methods such as P/E, EV/EBITDA and discounted cash flow, economic moats, management and governance checks, quarterly results, annual reports and portfolio building.
Will I learn discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation?
Yes. You will learn free cash flow, the discount rate, WACC and CAPM, terminal value and sensitivity analysis, and you will build a DCF model in a spreadsheet during the course.
Which financial ratios are most important?
No single ratio is enough. The course groups ratios into profitability (margins, ROE, ROCE), efficiency (asset turnover, debtor and inventory days), solvency (debt-to-equity, interest coverage, current ratio) and valuation (P/E, P/B, EV/EBITDA, dividend yield), and shows which matter most in each sector.
What is the difference between fundamental and technical analysis?
Fundamental analysis asks what to buy and what it is worth by studying the business. Technical analysis asks when to buy or sell by studying price and volume charts. Many investors use fundamentals to choose stocks and technicals to time entries.
Is fundamental analysis useful for long-term investing?
Yes. It is the main tool long-term investors use to find good businesses at reasonable prices, avoid companies with weak governance, and decide when a thesis has changed and it is time to sell.
Can I attend online?
Yes. You can join our Delhi classroom or the same live classes online from anywhere in India, in English or Hindi, and recorded sessions help you revise.
What are the fees for the fundamental analysis course?
Please send us an enquiry through the contact page for current fees and batch dates, or ask during your free demo class.
Do you recommend stocks or give tips?
No. 9AM Traders Academy is an education provider. We teach you how to research and value companies so you can make your own decisions. We do not give stock tips, recommendations or promised returns.
Invest in businesses you understand
Book a free demo class in Delhi or online, in English or Hindi. Ask us for fees and the next batch, and see how we take apart a real annual report.