Few companies thrive and grow without some kind of outside financing. Acquiring assets, launching projects, expanding into new locations or business sectors -- these all take capital, and lots of it.

If you're interested in investing, you've probably read quite a few articles that say "do your homework" before buying a stock. Reading and understanding a balance sheet is part of that homework.

A balance sheet is a financial document that presents the financial status of a business through an accounting of a company’s assets, liabilities, and equity. A balance sheet, when looked at with a ...

A balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a snapshot of a company’s assets, liabilities, and shareholder’s equity. A balance sheet is a type of financial statement. It gives you an ...

Financial statements reveal a lot about a company's financial health. Different types of companies have different types of financial statements. If you are interested in analyzing the balance sheets ...

J.B. Maverick is an active trader, commodity futures broker, and stock market analyst 17+ years of experience, in addition to 10+ years of experience as a finance writer and book editor. Andy Smith is ...

Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society committee, and has a degree in accounting and finance from DePaul University. The balance sheet equation is Assets = Liabilities + ...