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How to Contribute

Help us build the most accurate and transparent investment wiki.

Contribution Guidelines

Guiding Principles

  • Be Objective: Ballast is a wiki, not a blog. Write in a neutral, encyclopedic tone. Avoid "I think" or "We believe".
  • Cite Sources: Whenever possible, link to the source of your information (SEC filings, earnings transcripts, reputable news).
  • Stay Up to Date: Financial data changes quickly. Ensure your contributions reflect the most current information available.

Formatting

We use Markdown for formatting. See the Markdown tab for tips.

Company Story

What to Include

  • Brief History: When was the company founded? How has it evolved?
  • Business Model: How does the company make money? What are its primary products or services?
  • Market Position: Who are its customers? Why do they choose this company?
  • Why it Matters: What makes this company significant or unique in its industry?

Style

  • Keep it concise but comprehensive.
  • Focus on facts, not marketing fluff.

Leadership & Team

What to Include

  • Key Leaders: CEO, CFO, and other critical executives. What is their background?
  • Founder Story: Is the founder still involved? What is their vision?
  • Ownership: Do insiders hold significant equity? Alignment of incentives?
  • Culture: Is there anything notable about the company culture or management style?

Context

  • Highlight relevant experience or track records of key individuals.

Bull Case

Growth Drivers

  • What will drive future revenue and earnings growth?
  • Consider: new products or services, geographic expansion, pricing power, volume growth, M&A.

Competitive Position & Moat

  • Does the company have a durable competitive advantage?
  • Network effects: Does the product become more valuable as more people use it?
  • Switching costs: How painful is it for customers to leave?
  • Cost advantages: Can they produce cheaper than competitors (scale, proprietary processes)?
  • Brand / intangibles: Patents, regulatory licences, trusted consumer brand.
  • Market share: Is the company gaining or defending share in a growing market?
  • Who are the main competitors and why does this company win against them?

Margin & Profitability Outlook

  • Is there a credible path to margin expansion?
  • What is the operating leverage story — how does profitability scale with revenue?

Narrative

  • Be analytical but grounded in evidence. Cite sources where possible.
  • Present the strongest honest argument for why this stock could outperform.

Bear Case

Competitive Risks

  • Who are the main competitors? Are any gaining share?
  • Is the moat being eroded? (Commoditisation, new entrants, platform disintermediation).
  • Could a larger, better-capitalised player move into the space?

Operational Risks

  • Execution risks: Can management deliver on the growth plan?
  • Supply chain, key-person dependency, product failures, customer concentration.

Financial Risks

  • Balance sheet: Is debt manageable if growth slows?
  • Cash burn: Does the company need to raise capital, and at what dilution?
  • Margin compression: What could prevent or reverse profitability improvement?

Regulatory & Macro Risks

  • Antitrust, legal challenges, government regulations specific to this sector.
  • Interest rate sensitivity, economic cycle exposure, currency risk.

Narrative

  • Be honest and thorough — a good bear case is as valuable as a bull case.
  • Consider both near-term headwinds and long-term structural threats.

News, Catalysts & Notes

Catalysts

Upcoming events that could act as inflection points for the stock:

  • Earnings: Key dates, consensus expectations, metrics to watch.
  • Product launches / announcements: New offerings, partnerships, contract wins.
  • Regulatory decisions: Approvals, rulings, policy changes that affect the business.
  • Management changes: New CEO, CFO, or board appointments.

Recent News

  • Summarise any significant recent developments not captured in other sections.
  • Always link to the source. Use block quotes for key excerpts.

KPIs & Channel Checks

  • Key Performance Indicators specific to this company (e.g., ARR, DAUs, backlog, NRR, store count).
  • Anecdotal or alternative data observations (app store ratings, job postings, web traffic trends).

Other Context

  • Anything that doesn't fit neatly elsewhere but is relevant to understanding the investment.

DCF Model & Valuation

Understanding the DCF Model

The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is a method of valuing a company using the concepts of the time value of money.

Key Inputs

  • Revenue Growth: Projected annual growth rate for the next 5 years.
  • EBIT Margin: Expected operating margin (Earnings Before Interest & Taxes).
  • Tax Rate: The effective tax rate the company is expected to pay.
  • WACC (Discount Rate): Weighted Average Cost of Capital. This represents the required rate of return for investors.
  • Terminal Growth Rate: The rate at which the company is expected to grow forever after the projection period (usually 2-3%).

Calculation Logic

  1. Free Cash Flow (FCF): We project FCF for the next 5 years based on your inputs.
  2. Terminal Value: We calculate the value of the company beyond year 5.
  3. Discounting: We discount all future cash flows back to today's present value using the WACC.
  4. Equity Value: We subtract net debt from the Enterprise Value to get the Equity Value.
  5. Fair Value per Share: Equity Value divided by the number of shares outstanding.

Verifying Metadata

Data Accuracy

  • Market Cap: Please ensure this is current. Refer to Google Finance or Yahoo Finance.
  • Sector/Industry: Use the GICS classification standard if possible.
  • P/E Ratio: Use the Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) P/E ratio.

Updating

Changes to metadata are applied immediately but heavily monitored. Vandalism will result in account suspension.

Markdown Tips

Headers

Use # symbols followed by a space to create section headers. More # symbols = smaller heading.

## Section Title
### Sub-section
#### Smaller heading

Avoid # Title (H1) — the page already has one.

Text Formatting

| Syntax | Result | |---|---| | **bold** | bold | | *italic* | italic | | ***bold italic*** | bold italic |

Lists

Bullet list — start each line with - :

- First item
- Second item
  - Indented sub-item

Numbered list — start each line with 1. :

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step

Links

[Link text](https://example.com)

Always link to primary sources: SEC filings, earnings transcripts, investor relations pages.

Block Quotes

Use > to call out a key quote:

> "We expect margins to expand significantly over the next two years." — CEO, Q3 2024

Tables

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| ARR    | $120M |
| Growth | 42%   |

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