CONDENSED FINANCIALS

A summary form of a company's earnings statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement condensed to one page each. This is done for reprinting and simplified viewing purposes. This view of company financials is helpful for providing an overview of the business structure and income performance, but it lacks any line-item breakdowns or descriptive notes that can be found in a full filing.

For example, the condensed financial statement will only show one line for "total revenue", while the full earnings report will show revenue by operating division, products, services, interest and any other source of revenue.

When examining a condensed set of financials, you should be extra critical when looking at each line item. The lack of detail may make the analysis simpler, but that same lack of detail can mask large fundamental problems within the firm.