Fundamental Charts: Complete Guide to Stock Financial Analysis with 50+ Metrics

Understanding a company's financial health is impossible without visualizing its fundamentals over time. Is revenue accelerating? Are margins expanding? Is debt growing faster than equity? Fundamental charts answer these questions instantly by transforming financial statements into visual insights.

Stock Alarm Pro's Fundamental Charts feature provides interactive visualizations for 50+ financial metrics—from revenue and earnings to cash flow, margins, ratios, and growth rates. Compare up to 8 stocks simultaneously, toggle between annual and quarterly data, and overlay dual metrics to spot trends that spreadsheets miss.

In this comprehensive guide, you'll learn how to use fundamental charts for stock analysis, which metrics matter most, and how to spot red flags and opportunities in financial data.

What are Fundamental Charts?

Fundamental charts are visual representations of a company's financial data extracted from:

• Income statements (revenue, profits, expenses)
• Balance sheets (assets, liabilities, equity)
• Cash flow statements (operating, investing, financing)
• Key financial ratios (valuation, profitability, leverage)
• Growth metrics (YoY revenue, earnings, cash flow growth)

Unlike price charts that show market sentiment, fundamental charts reveal business performance—the actual financial health and trajectory of a company.

Why fundamental charts matter:

• Spot trends instantly: See if revenue is accelerating or decelerating
• Identify inflection points: Catch margin expansion or contraction early
• Compare companies: Evaluate peers side-by-side on key metrics
• Make informed decisions: Base investments on business fundamentals, not just price action

Access fundamental charts: Any stock page → Click a metric (e.g., Apple Revenue Chart)

50+ Fundamental Metrics You Can Chart

Stock Alarm Pro provides comprehensive charting across 6 major categories:

1. Growth Metrics (6 charts)

Track year-over-year growth rates to identify accelerating or decelerating businesses:

Use cases:

• Growth investing: Find companies with 20%+ revenue growth
• Quality screening: Identify earnings growing faster than revenue (margin expansion)
• Red flags: Spot negative growth or decelerating trends

Example: Apple Revenue Growth Chart

2. Valuation Ratios (4 charts)

Determine if a stock is expensive or cheap relative to fundamentals:

Use cases:

• Value investing: Find low P/E, P/B stocks trading below intrinsic value
• Valuation compression: Spot expanding P/E ratios (market paying more per $ of earnings)
• Peer comparison: Compare valuations across sector (e.g., is Tesla's P/E justified vs. Ford?)

Example: Apple P/E Ratio Chart

3. Profitability Metrics (6 charts)

Measure how efficiently a company converts revenue into profit:

Use cases:

• Quality compounders: Find ROE > 20% and ROIC > 15% (durable moats)
• Capital efficiency: Compare ROIC to cost of capital (WACC)
• Earnings quality: Verify net income is backed by cash (Income Quality > 1.0)

Example: Apple ROE Chart

4. Financial Health Ratios (5 charts)

Assess a company's ability to handle debt and weather downturns:

Use cases:

• Risk assessment: Avoid overleveraged companies (D/E > 2.0)
• Dividend safety: Confirm payout ratio < 60% and interest coverage > 5x
• Turnaround plays: Find improving debt ratios in cyclical recovery

Example: Apple Debt to Equity Chart

5. Income Statement Metrics (7 charts)

Analyze revenue, costs, and profitability from the income statement:

Use cases:

• Margin analysis: Chart Gross Profit ÷ Revenue to see if margins are expanding
• Operating leverage: Spot revenue growing faster than operating expenses
• Profitability inflection: Identify companies turning profitable (Net Income > 0)

Example: Apple Revenue Chart

6. Balance Sheet Metrics (6 charts)

Understand a company's assets, liabilities, and equity:

Use cases:

• Balance sheet strength: Track cash accumulation vs. debt growth
• Acquisitions: Identify companies building cash for buyouts
• Financial distress: Spot shrinking equity or surging liabilities

Example: Apple Total Assets Chart

7. Cash Flow Statement Metrics (6 charts)

Analyze cash generation and capital allocation:

Use cases:

• Cash generation: Prioritize companies with growing Operating Cash Flow
• Capital intensity: Avoid businesses with CapEx > 50% of Operating Cash Flow
• Shareholder returns: Track Free Cash Flow → Dividends + Buybacks

Example: Apple Free Cash Flow Chart

Key Features of Stock Alarm Pro's Fundamental Charts

1. Interactive Time Series Charts

Every metric is visualized as a time series line chart showing trends over:

• Annual data: Up to 15 years of fiscal year data
• Quarterly data: Up to 10 years of quarterly filings (40 quarters)

Toggle between annual and quarterly:

• Annual = Long-term trends, smoothed seasonality
• Quarterly = Recent momentum, detect inflection points

2. Multi-Symbol Comparison (Up to 8 Stocks)

Compare fundamentals across competitors, peers, or portfolio holdings:

Single metric mode: Compare up to 8 stocks on one metric

• Example: Compare revenue of AAPL, MSFT, GOOGL, AMZN, META, TSLA, NVDA, NFLX

Dual metric mode: Compare up to 2 stocks on two metrics

• Example: Compare AAPL vs. MSFT with Revenue (Metric 1) and Net Income (Metric 2) overlaid

Each symbol gets a unique color for easy differentiation:

• Blue (primary), Amber, Green, Purple, Red, Cyan, Orange, Pink

3. Dual Metric Overlay

Overlay two metrics on the same chart to identify correlations or divergences:

Powerful combinations:

• Revenue vs. Net Income: Spot margin expansion/contraction
• Operating Cash Flow vs. Net Income: Verify earnings quality
• Total Assets vs. Total Debt: Track leverage over time
• Revenue Growth vs. EPS Growth: Identify operating leverage
• Gross Profit vs. Operating Expenses: Analyze margin structure

Use cases:

• Margin analysis: If Revenue grows but Net Income shrinks → margin compression
• Earnings quality: If Net Income > Operating Cash Flow → low-quality earnings
• Capital efficiency: If Assets grow faster than Revenue → declining asset turnover

4. Automatic Scaling & Formatting

Charts automatically format values for readability:

• Currency: $383.93B (billions), $1.2M (millions)
• Percentages: 15.3% (growth, margins, ratios)
• Ratios: 2.45x (debt ratios, coverage ratios)
• Decimals: 1.23 (quality metrics)

5. Detailed Metric Descriptions

Every chart includes:

• Metric name (e.g., "Return on Equity")
• Description (what it measures and why it matters)
• Good when higher? indicator (helps interpret trends)

How to Use Fundamental Charts: Step-by-Step Workflows

Workflow 1: Analyzing a Single Stock (Deep Dive)

Goal: Understand Apple's financial health and trajectory.

Step 1: Start with Revenue

• Go to Apple's quote page
• Click "Revenue" metric
• Toggle between Annual and Quarterly views
• What to look for: Is revenue growing? Accelerating? Decelerating?

Step 2: Check Profitability

• Click "Net Income" metric
• Compare Net Income growth to Revenue growth
• Red flag: If Revenue grows but Net Income shrinks → margin compression
• Good sign: Net Income growing faster than Revenue → margin expansion

Step 3: Analyze Margins

• Overlay "Revenue" (Metric 1) with "Net Income" (Metric 2)
• Calculate Net Margin = Net Income ÷ Revenue
• What to look for: Expanding margins = improving efficiency

Step 4: Verify Earnings Quality

• Chart "Operating Cash Flow"
• Compare to "Net Income"
• Red flag: If OCF < Net Income → earnings may be inflated by accounting
• Good sign: OCF > Net Income → high-quality, cash-backed earnings

Step 5: Assess Financial Health

• Check "Debt to Equity" ratio
• Chart "Net Debt" trend
• Red flag: Rising debt without corresponding revenue growth
• Good sign: Declining debt or stable leverage with growing earnings

Step 6: Calculate Shareholder Returns

• Chart "Free Cash Flow"
• Compare to "Dividends Paid" + "Share Buybacks"
• What to look for: FCF > Dividends + Buybacks = sustainable returns

Workflow 2: Comparing Competitors (Peer Analysis)

Goal: Compare Apple vs. Microsoft vs. Google on key metrics.

Step 1: Choose a Key Metric

• Start with "Revenue" or "Net Income"
• Add compare symbols: MSFT, GOOGL

Step 2: Compare Growth Rates

• Switch to "Revenue Growth" metric
• Question: Who's growing faster? Is anyone decelerating?

Step 3: Compare Profitability

• Chart "ROE" for all three
• Winner: Highest and most consistent ROE

Step 4: Compare Valuation

• Chart "P/E Ratio" for all three
• Question: Who's cheapest relative to earnings?

Step 5: Compare Financial Health

• Chart "Debt to Equity" for all three
• Question: Who has the cleanest balance sheet?

Key takeaway: Use multi-symbol comparison to identify the best-in-class within a sector.

Workflow 3: Finding Value Stocks (Contrarian Investing)

Goal: Find undervalued stocks with improving fundamentals.

Step 1: Screen for Low Valuations

• Use the S&P 500 Screener
• Filter: pe < 15 AND priceToBook < 2

Step 2: Chart Revenue Growth

• For each candidate, chart "Revenue Growth"
• Requirement: Recent quarters showing positive growth (turnaround signal)

Step 3: Check Margins

• Chart "Net Margin" or overlay "Net Income" with "Revenue"
• Requirement: Margins stable or expanding (not deteriorating)

Step 4: Verify Balance Sheet

• Chart "Current Ratio" (liquidity)
• Chart "Debt to Equity" (leverage)
• Requirement: Current Ratio > 1.5, D/E < 1.0

Step 5: Confirm Earnings Quality

• Chart "Income Quality" ratio
• Requirement: > 1.0 (cash-backed earnings)

Result: Undervalued stocks with improving fundamentals = value opportunities.

Workflow 4: Identifying Growth Stocks (Momentum Investing)

Goal: Find high-growth companies with sustainable profitability.

Step 1: Screen for High Growth

• Use the S&P 500 Screener
• Filter: revenueGrowth > 20 AND netIncomeGrowth > 15

Step 2: Chart Revenue Trajectory

• Chart "Revenue" (annual)
• Question: Is growth accelerating (hockey stick) or linear?

Step 3: Check Profitability

• Chart "Net Margin"
• Requirement: Positive and expanding margins

Step 4: Assess Scalability

• Overlay "Revenue" with "Operating Expenses"
• Good sign: Revenue growing faster than OpEx = operating leverage

Step 5: Verify Cash Generation

• Chart "Free Cash Flow"
• Requirement: Positive FCF or improving FCF margin

Result: High-growth stocks with strong unit economics = growth opportunities.

Workflow 5: Detecting Red Flags (Risk Analysis)

Goal: Identify warning signs before a stock crashes.

Red Flag 1: Revenue Growth Decelerating

• Chart "Revenue Growth" (quarterly)
• Warning: 3+ consecutive quarters of declining growth

Red Flag 2: Margins Compressing

• Overlay "Revenue" with "Net Income"
• Warning: Revenue grows but Net Income flat/declining

Red Flag 3: Deteriorating Earnings Quality

• Chart "Income Quality" ratio
• Warning: Falling below 1.0 (earnings not backed by cash)

Red Flag 4: Rising Leverage

• Chart "Debt to Equity"
• Warning: Rapidly increasing debt without corresponding revenue growth

Red Flag 5: Unsustainable Dividends

• Chart "Payout Ratio"
• Warning: > 80% (little room for dividend cuts if earnings decline)

Red Flag 6: Negative Free Cash Flow

• Chart "Free Cash Flow"
• Warning: Multiple quarters of negative FCF (cash burn)

Action: If you spot 2+ red flags, reduce position or exit.

Common Questions About Fundamental Charts

What's the difference between fundamental charts and price charts?

Bottom line: Price charts tell you what investors think a stock is worth. Fundamental charts tell you what the business is actually worth.

How often are fundamental charts updated?

Fundamental data updates when companies file quarterly or annual reports:

• Quarterly reports (10-Q): Filed 45 days after quarter ends
• Annual reports (10-K): Filed 90 days after fiscal year ends

Stock Alarm Pro updates fundamental data daily, pulling the latest filings from SEC EDGAR.

Can I export fundamental chart data?

Yes, Pro users can export any chart data to CSV for analysis in Excel, Python, or other tools.

Why are some metrics missing for certain stocks?

Not all companies report every metric:

• Startups/unprofitable: May not have positive Net Income or dividends
• Non-financial companies: May not report certain banking-specific ratios
• Different accounting: Some metrics use GAAP vs. non-GAAP calculations

If a metric is unavailable, it won't appear in the chart list.

What's better: Annual or Quarterly data?

Pro tip: Start with Annual for the big picture, then zoom into Quarterly for recent trends.

How do I compare stocks across different industries?

Some metrics are universal (ROE, Revenue Growth), but others vary by industry:

• Capital intensity: Utilities have high CapEx, software has low CapEx
• Margins: Software (70%+ gross margin) vs. retail (20% gross margin)
• Leverage: REITs have high D/E (normal), tech has low D/E

Best practice: Use percentile rankings within sector, not absolute values.

Fundamental Charts vs. Competitors

How Stock Alarm Pro compares to YCharts, TradingView, Stock Rover, and Zacks:

Unique advantages of Stock Alarm Pro:

• Integrated ecosystem: Screener → Charts → Alerts in one platform
• Mobile-first design: Full functionality on phones and tablets
• Faster performance: Client-side rendering, instant interactions
• Alert integration: Set price/fundamental alerts directly from charts

Advanced Tips for Power Users

Tip 1: Combine Fundamental + Technical Analysis

Use fundamental charts to find quality stocks, then use price charts to time entry:

Example workflow:

1. Use fundamental charts to find ROE > 20%, Revenue Growth > 15%
2. Switch to price chart and wait for RSI < 40 (oversold)
3. Enter when fundamentals are strong but price is temporarily weak

Tip 2: Track Margin Trends for Early Signals

Overlay "Revenue" with "Operating Income" to track operating margin:

• Expanding margin: Operating Income growing faster than Revenue (good)
• Compressing margin: Operating Income growing slower than Revenue (bad)

Early warning: Margin compression often precedes earnings misses.

Tip 3: Use Quarterly Data to Spot Inflection Points

Annual data smooths out volatility, but quarterly data catches momentum shifts:

• Example: Revenue growth accelerating from 5% → 10% → 15% over 3 quarters = inflection
• Trade: Buy before the market fully prices in the acceleration

Tip 4: Compare Capital Efficiency (ROIC vs. Revenue Growth)

Chart "ROIC" for multiple stocks and sort by highest:

• High ROIC + High Growth: Best investments (compounding machines)
• High ROIC + Low Growth: Mature, cash cows (dividend payers)
• Low ROIC + High Growth: Capital-intensive growth (risky)
• Low ROIC + Low Growth: Avoid (no competitive advantage)

Tip 5: Build Custom Scoring Models

Export fundamental chart data and build custom scores:

• Quality Score: (ROE × 0.3) + (ROIC × 0.3) + (Debt/Equity × -0.2) + (FCF Yield × 0.2)
• Growth Score: (Revenue Growth × 0.4) + (EPS Growth × 0.4) + (Net Margin × 0.2)
• Value Score: (1/PE × 0.4) + (1/PS × 0.3) + (Dividend Yield × 0.3)

Combine scores to create a holistic ranking system.

Conclusion: Start Charting Fundamentals Today

Fundamental charts transform raw financial statements into visual insights that reveal: ✅ Revenue and earnings growth trajectories ✅ Profitability trends and margin expansion ✅ Financial health and leverage risks ✅ Cash generation and capital allocation ✅ Valuation compression or expansion

Stock Alarm Pro's Fundamental Charts give you:

• 50+ metrics across growth, profitability, valuation, and financial health
• Multi-symbol comparison (up to 8 stocks on one metric)
• Dual metric overlay to spot correlations and divergences
• Annual + Quarterly toggle for long-term trends and recent momentum
• Interactive, mobile-friendly charts with automatic formatting

Get started now: Pick any stock → View fundamental charts

New to Stock Alarm Pro? Start your free 7-day trial to unlock all 50+ fundamental charts, multi-stock comparison, and export capabilities.

Related Articles

• S&P 500 Stock Screener: Complete Guide (available now)
• How to Read Financial Statements (coming soon)
• Valuation Analysis: P/E vs. P/S vs. P/B (coming soon)
• Cash Flow Analysis for Investors (coming soon)

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