The Plainsheet Blog

Investing, explained
in plain English.

Free guides for everyday investors. Learn to read SEC filings, understand financial metrics, and research any public company — without needing a finance degree.

Latest guides

How to Research a Stock Before You Buy It

A step-by-step beginner's guide to evaluating any public company using SEC filings, financial statements, and public data. The same information professional analysts use — and it's free.

SEC Filings6 min

What Is a 10-K? A Beginner's Guide to Annual Reports

You don't need to read every page. Here's exactly where to focus so you don't waste hours on the parts that don't matter.

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Investing 1018 min

What Is the SEC and Why Does It Matter to Investors?

The agency behind every filing you'll ever read — what it does, and why it quietly protects you as an investor.

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Our Story5 min

Why I Built Plainsheet

The frustration that started it all — and why reading a 10-K shouldn't require a finance degree.

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SEC Filings6 min

What Is a 10-K? A Beginner's Guide to Annual Reports

The closest thing to a company's full report card — and the few sections that actually matter.

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SEC Filings8 min

10-K vs 10-Q: What's the Difference?

Annual vs quarterly filings — when to read which, and what each one is actually for.

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Financial Metrics7 min

What Is Gross Margin — and Why It Matters

How much a company keeps from every dollar of sales — and why it separates great businesses from average ones.

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Financial Metrics7 min

Debt-to-Equity Ratio, in Plain English

How much a company borrows versus what it owns — and when debt is healthy versus a warning sign.

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Company Research10 min

How to Research a Stock Before You Buy It

A repeatable 6-step framework for evaluating any public company — start to finish.

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Investing 1018 min

What Is the SEC and Why It Matters to You

The agency behind every filing you'll read — and how it quietly protects everyday investors.

Read
Our Story5 min

Why I Built Plainsheet

The frustration that started it all — and why reading a 10-K shouldn't take a finance degree.

Read
Financial Metrics6 min

What Is Revenue? The Top Line, Explained

The money a company brings in from sales — and why its growth matters more than the raw number.

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Financial Metrics6 min

What Is Net Income? The Bottom Line

The profit a company actually keeps after every expense and tax — the famous "bottom line."

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Financial Metrics6 min

What Is EPS? Earnings Per Share

How much profit a company makes for each share of stock — the headline of every earnings report.

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Financial Metrics7 min

What Is the P/E Ratio?

How much investors pay for each dollar of profit — the most quoted number in investing.

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Financial Metrics7 min

What Is Free Cash Flow?

The real cash a business has left after running itself — the number investors trust over profit.

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Financial Metrics6 min

What Is Return on Equity (ROE)?

How efficiently a company turns shareholder money into profit — a favorite of long-term investors.

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Financial Metrics6 min

What Is Operating Margin?

How profitable a company's core business is, before interest and taxes cloud the picture.

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Financial Metrics5 min

What Is the Current Ratio?

A fast health check: can a company pay its bills over the next year?

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