In this article, we review a popular tool for evaluating competitive advantage, called SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis should be done on every company we’re thinking of making an investment in.

SWOT stands for:

Analyzing these four factors will help you make better investment decisions. It’s a brainstorming exercise, so take your time. A good SWOT analysis takes effort, but the more you put into SWOT analysis the better you will understand the company. Let’s look at each factor in turn.

Strengths

First, we look at the company’s strengths. What does the company do well? What makes it better than others? What does the company have, or do, that sets it apart from its competition?

These are important questions, and should include aspects of the company that made you consider it for investment in the first place. Look at branding, image, pricing power, size, market share, financial position (balance sheet strength), etc.

Here are some strengths to look for:

• The size of the company relative to others in the industry

• Balance Sheet strength

• Cash flows

• Perception of the company’s products

• Perception of the company’s brand(s)

• What advantages the company has over its competitors

• In general, what does
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  iew a popular tool for evaluating competitive advantage, called SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis should be done on every company we’re thinking of making an investment in.

  SWOT stands for:

  Strengths

  
  Weaknesses

  
  Opportunities

  
  Threats

  Analyzing these four factors will help you make better investment decisions. It’s a brainstorming exercise, so take your time. A good SWOT analysis takes effort, but the more you put into SWOT analysis the better you will understand the company. Let’s look at each factor in turn.

  Strengths

  First, we look at the company’s strengths. What does the company do well? What makes it better than others? What does the company have, or do, that sets it apart from its competition?

  These are important questions, and should include aspects of the company that made you consider it for investment in the first place. Look at branding, image, pricing power, size, market share, financial position (balance sheet strength), etc.

  Here are some strengths to look for:

  • The size of the company relative to others in the industry

  • Balance Sheet strength

  • Cash flows

  • Perception of the company’s products

  • Perception of the company’s brand(s)

  • What advantages the company has over its competitors

  • In general, what does
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    ter investment decisions. It’s a brainstorming exercise, so take your time. A good SWOT analysis takes effort, but the more you put into SWOT analysis the better you will understand the company. Let’s look at each factor in turn.

    Strengths

    First, we look at the company’s strengths. What does the company do well? What makes it better than others? What does the company have, or do, that sets it apart from its competition?

    These are important questions, and should include aspects of the company that made you consider it for investment in the first place. Look at branding, image, pricing power, size, market share, financial position (balance sheet strength), etc.

    Here are some strengths to look for:

    • The size of the company relative to others in the industry

    • Balance Sheet strength

    • Cash flows

    • Perception of the company’s products

    • Perception of the company’s brand(s)

    • What advantages the company has over its competitors

    • In general, what does
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      han others? What does the company have, or do, that sets it apart from its competition?

      These are important questions, and should include aspects of the company that made you consider it for investment in the first place. Look at branding, image, pricing power, size, market share, financial position (balance sheet strength), etc.

      Here are some strengths to look for:

      • The size of the company relative to others in the industry

      • Balance Sheet strength

      • Cash flows

      • Perception of the company’s products

      • Perception of the company’s brand(s)

      • What advantages the company has over its competitors

      • In general, what does
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        e some strengths to look for:

        • The size of the company relative to others in the industry

        • Balance Sheet strength

        • Cash flows

        • Perception of the company’s products

        • Perception of the company’s brand(s)

        • What advantages the company has over its competitors

        • In general, what does the company do well?

        Weaknesses

        Now that you’ve determined how wonderful the company is, it’s time to look for the weaknesses. The same questions should be asked when looking for weaknesses. What does the company do poorly, or not so well? What are other companies doing better? What is keeping the company from greater success.

        It’s important that you don’t gloss over this section. SWOT analysis is a brainstorming effort, so don’t discount anything that comes to mind. If you perceive a weakness, list it. The weakness you fail to list today could be why your investment turns out poorly next year.

        Some weaknesses to look for:

        • Deteriorating balance sheet

        • Poor perception of company’s brand(s) and/or products

        • Advantages other company’s have?

        • Lack of management or other employee talent

        • In general, what does the company do poorly?

        Opportunities

        We shift our focus to external factors when we look at opportunities. Here we try to identify areas of business we think the company is looking to enter, or should be looking to enter. We also look for opportunities to gain market share from competitors, or grow the company’s market to new customers.

        But there are more than just external opportunities. There are opportunities within a company that should be considered. Ca