Lesson 01 — The Three Financial Statements
Week 03 · Lesson 1 of 5 · Week 03 — Financial Statements Intro
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Every listed company publishes three core statements that tell you: 1. How much it earned → Profit & Loss (P&L) / Income Statement 2. What it owns and owes →...
Why financial statements matter
Every listed company publishes three core statements that tell you:
- How much it earned → Profit & Loss (P&L) / Income Statement
- What it owns and owes → Balance Sheet
- Where cash actually went → Cash Flow Statement
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"P&L batata hai kitna kamaya, Balance Sheet batata hai kitna hai, Cash Flow batata hai paisa kidhar gaya."
Quick summary
| Statement | Key question it answers | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Profit & Loss | Is the company making money? | Quarterly + Annual |
| Balance Sheet | What does the company own vs owe? | Quarterly + Annual |
| Cash Flow | Is the profit turning into real cash? | Annual (mostly) |
How they connect
P&LRevenue − Expenses = Profit
Balance sheetAssets = Liabilities + Equity
Cash flowOperating + Investing + Financing
Profit adds to the balance sheet → cash is tracked by the cash flow statement → ending cash appears back on the balance sheet.
Where to find them
On InvestingSamjho:
- Search for any company in the Equity Catalog
- Click on the company entity
- Look at the Financial Statements tab
- Toggle between Standalone and Consolidated
Start with the P&L
The P&L is the easiest to understand. We'll deep-dive into it in Week 04.
Key takeaway
All three statements work together. Don't look at profit without checking if it's backed by cash.