Business and company finance
Follow a fictional British manufacturer through retained profits, debt and equity, earnings and cash, dividends, P/E valuation, IPOs and corporate bonds. Dated UK lending data explains how interest rates reach investment and profits. All company figures are labelled illustrations.
Educational documentary. Not financial or investment advice.
In these topics
Tags
Chapters
- One business, three ways to find money
- Why ownership became tradable
- Funding growth and creating value
- Revenue is not earnings
- Profit is not cash
- Can the dividend last?
- What price for those profits?
- What happens in an IPO?
- When investors lend
- Higher rates change the calculation
- The five questions to take away
Sources and credits
Primary sources
- S1 | SEC, Beginners’ Guide to Financial Statements; last updated 6 Feb 2017; checked 5 Oct 2026. https://www.sec.gov/about/reports-publications/beginners-guide-financial-statements.
- S2 | FINRA, Financial Performance Metrics Every Investor Should Know; 17 Dec 2024; checked 5 Oct 2026. https://www.finra.org/investors/insights/financial-performance-metrics-every-investor-should-know.
- S3 | SEC Investor.gov, Updated Investor Bulletin: Investing in an IPO; 14 Oct 2022. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletins-17.
- S4 | SEC Investor.gov, What Are Corporate Bonds?; 4 Jun 2013. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletins/what-are.
- S5 | FINRA, Spread the Word: What You Need to Know About Bond Spreads; 8 May 2024. https://www.finra.org/investors/insights/spread-word-what-you-need-know-about-bond-spreads.
- S6 | Euronext, 415th anniversary; 20 Mar 2017. https://www.euronext.com/en/about/media/bell-ceremony-archive/415th-anniversary.
- S7 | Bank of England, Financial Policy Committee Record – September 2026; meeting 25 Sep 2026, published 30 Sep 2026. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-policy-committee-record/2026/september-2026.
- S9 | FINRA, Stocks; undated, checked 5 Oct 2026. https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investment-products/stocks.
Not regulated financial advice.