Stock Research Challenge
One company, one thesis, one report. The most-read format in the network.
Pick one publicly listed company. Work out what it is worth. Write the report you
would want to be handed if the decision were yours.
That is the whole brief, and it is harder than it sounds. Most entries fail in
the same place: they describe a company at length, then attach a price target
that has no visible relationship to anything said above it. The work being judged
here is the join between the two.
Why this one runs first
It opened on 22 September, first of the programme, because it is the format the
rest of the path is built around. A model, a memo and a defensible view of one
business are what an analyst is actually paid for. Everything else — the Blueprints, the
simulated fund, the sector rooms — is preparation for producing exactly this
document, and the fastest way to get better at it is to have it read by someone
whose job is to find the hole in it.
What to submit
A written report, in plain text, of between 400 and 3,000 words. Alongside it we
ask for four things the form insists on: your call, a target price, the horizon
you are giving it, and — written before you know whether you are right — the
observation that would tell you the thesis has broken.
Any company on any public exchange is eligible. Small is fine. Unfashionable is
better than fashionable; an entry on a business nobody is arguing about has more
room to say something than the fortieth report on the same megacap.
What gets rewarded
Judgement, not outcome. A well-argued case that the market has not yet agreed
with scores above a lucky one, because the competition closes long before the
market settles the question, and because a process that produces good reasoning
is the only thing that survives being repeated.
The entry that wins will usually be the one that was hardest on itself.
The rules
How it is judged
Does the price target follow from the argument, or is it attached to it? This is where most entries are decided.
Whether you understand what the company earns, why, and whether that is durable.
Argued as hard as the bull case, by you, before anyone else makes you.
Specific, observable, dated. A condition that cannot be checked is not a condition.
What you do not know, said plainly, counts in your favour rather than against it.
An investment committee reads it once. It has to land the first time.
What the winner gets
Entry is open to members from Analyst upwards. If you already have an account, sign in; if not, joining is free and you can upgrade when you are ready to submit.
Competition entries are educational work. Nothing submitted or published here is investment advice, an offer, or a solicitation, and no entry is tailored to the circumstances of any individual.