what is financial performance 
financial performance is a subjective measure of how well a firm can use assets from its primary mode of business and generate revenues the term is also used as a general measure of a firm s overall financial health over a given period analysts and investors use financial performance to compare similar firms across the same industry or to compare industries or sectors in aggregate investopedia madelyn goodnightunderstanding financial performancethere are many stakeholders in a company including trade creditors bondholders investors employees and management each group has an interest in tracking the financial performance of a company the financial performance identifies how well a company generates revenues and manages its assets liabilities and the financial interests of its stakeholders and stockholders there are many ways to measure financial performance but all measures should be taken in aggregate line items such as revenue from operations operating income or cash flow from operations can be used as well as total unit sales furthermore the analyst or investor may wish to look deeper into financial statements and seek out margin growth rates or any declining debt six sigma methods focus on this aspect recording financial performancea key document in reporting corporate financial performance one heavily relied on by research analysts is form 10 k the securities and exchange commission sec requires all public companies to file and publish this annual document 1 its purpose is to provide stakeholders with accurate and reliable data and information that provide an overview of the company s financial health independent accountants audit the information in a 10 k and company management signs it and other disclosure documents as a result the 10k represents the most comprehensive source of information on financial performance made available to investors annually a company s form 10 k has to be accessible to the public anyone who wishes to examine one can go to the sec s electronic data gathering analysis and retrieval edgar database you can search by company name ticker symbol or sec central index key cik 2 many companies also post their 10 ks on their websites in an investor relations section although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably a company s form 10 k is not the same as its annual report both include information about the company and its financial performance over the last year but the annual report is more of a polished publication lavishly illustrated and describing various projects and initiatives the company undertakes the 10 k lacks such photos and graphics but generally goes into more financial details and calculations 