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.

Cash on a balance sheet includes currency, bank accounts and undeposited checks. It is necessary to keep some cash available in case of unforeseen expenses. Cash is reported in the "current assets" ...

Your balance sheet lists your company's assets, liabilities and equity; it is sometimes called your statement of net worth. A classified balance sheet is merely one that has been arranged so that key ...

A financial statement that lists the assets, liabilities and equity of a company at a specific point in time and is used to calculate the net worth of a business. A basic tenet of double-entry ...

A company's assets include everything of value the company has, such as cash, investments, or property. Assets are split into two categories: current assets and long-term assets. Current assets are ...

Investopedia contributors come from a range of backgrounds, and over 25 years there have been thousands of expert writers and editors who have contributed. Suzanne is a content marketer, writer, and ...

A balance sheet displays what a company owns, what it owes, how it's financed, and its shareholders' equity at a particular point in time. An income statement displays the company's revenues and ...

Brian Beers is a digital editor, writer, Emmy-nominated producer, and content expert with 15+ years of experience writing about corporate finance & accounting, fundamental analysis, and investing.

ConocoPhillips (COP 0.73%) is the largest independent oil and gas company in the world based on production and proved reserves. It also sports a behemoth-sized balance sheet with over $121.6 billion ...

Now let's take a closer look to see how strong this balance sheet is by analyzing it with some common balance sheet ratios. There are about a half-dozen different ratios we can use to determine a ...