Act as a skeptical public-equities analyst. Prepare a research memo on [COMPANY AND TICKER] for an investor with a [TIME HORIZON] horizon and [INVESTMENT STYLE] mandate. Use only the materials and links in [SOURCE MATERIAL], plus clearly identified public sources you can access. Do not treat this as personalized investment advice. Build the memo in this order: 1. Snapshot: business, market capitalization if verified, primary revenue drivers, and one-sentence tentative thesis. 2. Business and industry: explain the revenue model, customer concentration or channel dependence, competitive position, unit economics, and industry structure. Separate facts from interpretation. 3. Financial quality: summarize the last [FINANCIAL PERIODS] of revenue growth, gross margin, operating margin, free cash flow, debt, dilution, and working-capital trends. Calculate figures only when the inputs and formula are shown. 4. Thesis: give 3 to 5 dated, falsifiable reasons the stock may outperform or underperform, with the evidence required to prove each one wrong. 5. Valuation: show relevant multiples or a simple scenario framework, name the peer set or assumptions, and state what the market appears to be pricing in. Do not fabricate consensus estimates. 6. Catalysts, risks, and monitoring: list upcoming events, downside cases, key KPIs, and specific signals to watch. Cite every material factual claim with a URL or source name and publication date. Mark unavailable, stale, contradictory, or unverified information as such. Before answering, check that no price target, financial figure, management quote, or peer comparison lacks support, and flag any conclusion that depends on an assumption rather than evidence. Output 900 to 1,300 words plus a compact source table. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [COMPANY AND TICKER] | Enter the public company name and stock ticker you want to research. | Adobe Inc. (ADBE) |
| [TIME HORIZON] | Enter the investment holding period or analytical horizon, such as 12 to 24 months. | 12 to 18 months |
| [INVESTMENT STYLE] | Enter the mandate, such as long-only growth, value, or market-neutral. | long-only quality growth |
| [SOURCE MATERIAL] | Paste links, filings, earnings transcripts, notes, or other sources you want used. | Adobe FY2025 10-K, Q1 FY2026 earnings release, latest investor presentation, and my notes: watch Firefly monetization and Digital Media net new ARR. |
| [FINANCIAL PERIODS] | Enter the periods to compare, such as FY2023 through FY2025 and the latest quarter. | FY2023, FY2024, FY2025, and Q1 FY2026 |
How to use
- Paste the prompt into Claude, then replace every bracketed field with the company, mandate, and source pack.
- Add the latest annual filing and earnings transcript before asking for valuation work.
- Check every financial claim against the linked filing and distinguish reported results from the model's interpretation.
- Follow up with: "Turn the monitoring section into a quarterly earnings checklist with the exact KPI, prior value, expected direction, and thesis implication."
Variations
Earnings preview
Use this before an upcoming earnings release.
Prepare an earnings-preview memo for [COMPANY AND TICKER] ahead of its [EARNINGS DATE] report. Use [RECENT FILINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS] and identify the 5 operating metrics most likely to move the stock. For each, show the latest reported level, the relevant prior-period trend, what management has guided, and the bullish and bearish read-through. List consensus figures only if sourced. End with a one-page scorecard for judging results after the call. Flag every unsourced estimate and do not give trading advice.
Comparable companies
Use this to build a defensible peer valuation set.
Build a comparable-company analysis for [TARGET COMPANY] using these candidate peers: [PEER LIST]. First test whether each peer is genuinely comparable by revenue model, geography, growth, margin profile, and capital intensity; exclude weak matches and explain why. Using [SOURCE MATERIAL], create a table of sourced valuation multiples, growth, margins, and net debt. State the measurement date and fiscal-period alignment. Then explain what valuation range is informative and what it cannot establish. Do not invent market data, forecasts, or consensus estimates.
Thesis challenge
Use this when you already have an investment view.
Red-team this investment thesis on [COMPANY AND TICKER]: [MY THESIS]. Review [EVIDENCE AND SOURCES] as a skeptical analyst. Identify the three strongest counterarguments, the hidden assumptions behind the thesis, disconfirming evidence, and plausible bear-case paths. For each issue, name a measurable indicator or event that would resolve it. Separate documented facts from inference, cite material claims, and do not replace missing evidence with speculation. End with a concise list of questions I should answer before taking an investment action.
Tips
- Use primary sources first: annual reports, quarterly filings, earnings calls, investor presentations, and regulator databases usually outrank news summaries.
- Keep the valuation date and fiscal-period definitions visible; trailing, forward, calendar-year, and fiscal-year multiples are easy to mix up.
- A useful thesis names observable disconfirming signals, not just upside drivers; write those signals down before reading a quarter.
- Treat an AI-produced peer set as a hypothesis and test business-model comparability before relying on its multiples.
FAQ
Can Claude research a stock from the web?
It can help assemble research, but availability and freshness vary by tool and source. Provide filings and links for any facts that materially affect your decision.
Will this give me a price target?
It can outline a sourced scenario framework, but a price target rests on assumptions. Check inputs, valuation dates, and sensitivity cases before using one.
How current should the sources be?
Use the latest filing, earnings release, and transcript, then add dated market or industry sources only where they address the thesis.