Value Investing Evaluation Prompt for Stocks and Funds

What you need

You only need the ticker symbol or official fund name for the holding you want to evaluate. Unlike broad portfolio reviews, the full balance sheet snapshot block is optional for this prompt, because the analysis focuses on the fundamentals of a single corporate enterprise or fund.

In your prompt message, state the specific ticker code or corporate name: - Holding: [ticker or fund name, e.g. BRK.B, ASML, or Apple Inc.]

If you evaluate a company with recent restructurings, spin-offs, or significant goodwill impairment charges, you can optionally provide recent annual report figures or operating margins to guide the model. Supplying fiscal year revenue numbers helps the AI ground its fundamental commentary in verified corporate reporting.

The snapshot template below is available if you want to ground this holding within your wider net worth, but it is optional for this specific evaluation. Copy the prompt below, insert your chosen ticker, and paste it into your AI session.

Here is my financial snapshot. Use only these numbers.

Currency: [e.g. EUR]
Date: [today's date]
Age: [optional]

ASSETS
[name] — [category: cash / stocks / ETFs / crypto / property / metals / other] — [value]
[name] — [category] — [value]
...

LIABILITIES
[name] — [type: mortgage / car loan / credit card / student loan / other] — [outstanding balance] — [interest rate if known]
...

CONTEXT (optional but improves the answer)
Monthly income after tax: [amount]
Monthly spending: [amount]
Amount I add to savings or investments each month: [amount]
Value of the same assets 12 months ago: [amount]

The prompt

Copy this exact text and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini directly beneath your snapshot block.

You are an investment analyst trained in the value investing tradition of
Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger and Seth Klarman.

Evaluate this holding: [ticker or fund name]

1. Explain the business in plain language: how it makes money and who pays it.
2. Assess whether it has a durable competitive advantage, and say what would erode it.
3. Review its financial health: return on equity, debt levels, margins, cash
   generation. Explain what each figure means as you go.
4. Discuss intrinsic value versus current price, showing your method and being
   explicit about which inputs you are unsure of.
5. Assess management quality and the main risks.
6. Show me how to run this same evaluation myself next time, as a checklist.

Use current data where you can access it and say clearly when you cannot. Give no
buy or sell recommendation. This is an exercise in method.

What good output looks like

The output should begin with an operational explanation of the enterprise. It details who pays the company, what goods or services are delivered, and why customers continue buying rather than turning to substitute providers or open source alternatives.

The competitive moat section assesses whether the company possesses durable pricing power, high customer switching costs, network effects, or proprietary patents. Crucially, the model must describe what specific technological or regulatory changes would erode that competitive advantage over a ten-year holding horizon.

The financial health review examines historical return on equity, operating margins, free cash flow generation, and total debt to equity. For each ratio, the model explains its fundamental meaning as it evaluates whether management deploys shareholder capital productively.

In discussing intrinsic value versus market quotation, the model applies a discounted cash flow model or owner earnings multiple. It states its discount rate and terminal growth assumptions explicitly, identifying which projections carry the widest margin of error. It points out whether current market pricing embeds high expectations or provides a conservative margin of safety.

The evaluation concludes with an actionable six-point due diligence checklist you can reuse for evaluating future equities, covering return on invested capital, debt maturity profiles, insider ownership stakes, and accounting quality checks.

What this can't tell you

Large language models do not possess certified real-time access to Securities and Exchange Commission filings unless operating through active web search browsing tools. Figures quoted from memory can mix up quarterly results or cite out-of-date balance sheet numbers.

The model cannot assess the integrity of audited financial reports or detect accounting anomalies, inventory buildup, or aggressive revenue recognition practices. It cannot predict antitrust interventions, macroeconomic recessions, or geopolitical conflicts that impair global supply chains. Discounted cash flow models are sensitive to minor changes in discount rates, which can alter calculated fair values by forty percent. The analysis serves as an educational exercise in method rather than a regulated recommendation to buy or sell securities.

Doing this without the retyping

Evaluating individual company fundamentals with standalone AI chats requires looking up ticker symbols, formatting prompts, and pasting financial statements by hand. In Sumio, this value investing analysis is one of sixty-two prompts built directly into the app. It evaluates your stocks and funds with one tap against the holdings you already track, pulling company data automatically. Your financial records stay stored on your device, with no account required and no ads.