Want to be a better investor?

Today’s alert will help, regardless of your skill level.

I’m showing you how to pick stocks using only the free version of Yahoo! Finance.

I’ll use Meta Platforms (META) as my example, but you can use this method with any stock.

Step #1: Type in the company name or ticker into the “Quote Lookup” search bar on the right side of the Yahoo! Finance homepage.

The “Summary” tab will appear.

Here’s a screenshot of META’s “Summary” tab at the time I’m writing this:

On this page I’m looking at three things:

• The stock chart over various time horizons. I prefer high-quality stocks that consistently move up and to the right.

• The Market Cap. This tells you the size of the company. As you can see, Meta is a $1.65 trillion company.

• The last thing I’m looking at is the P/E ratio. You can think of this like cost-per-ounce labels on packaged goods at grocery stores. The higher the ratio, the more expensive the stock.

Step #2: Click on the “Financials” tab on the left side of the page.

The income statement will populate first.

I’m looking for consistent revenue and earnings growth here.

As you can see below, Meta has grown revenue consistently from $118 billion in 2021 to $189 billion in the trailing twelve months (TTM).

Earnings have also grown from $39 billion in 2021 to $58 billion in the trailing twelve months (TTM).

Revenue has grown 60% over this time period while earnings have grown 48%.

Earnings not keeping track with revenue is likely due to Meta’s massive spending initiatives – primarily AI and the metaverse.

Step #3: Click on the “Analysis” tab on the left side of the page.

This tab provides a simplified view of Wall Street's predictions and expectations about the company's future performance.

Here’s a few screenshots of Meta’s “Analysis” tab at the time I’m writing this:

This Revenue Estimate section shows Wall Street’s estimates of revenue over various time horizons.

I prefer the “Avg. Estimate” line, which is $235 billion next year compared to $199 billion this year – forecasting growth will continue.

This Earnings Estimate section shows Wall Street’s estimates of earnings over various time horizons.

Again, I prefer the “Avg. Estimate” line, which is $29.67 per share next year compared to $23.16 this year – forecasting growth as well.

What’s interesting is that revenue is expected to grow 18% while earnings are projected at 28%.

The reason?

A few factors:

1. Taxes – Meta reported a steep one-time tax charge recently that will depress this year’s earnings while making next year’s look better.

2. AI – Meta says its AI systems are already boosting engagement and ad efficiency.

3. Spending cuts – After years of investor pushback, Meta just announced plans to stop spending billions on Metaverse.

These three factors are the “story” behind the numbers.

Knowing the story is just as important as knowing the numbers themselves.

Without both, you’re investing blindly.

Step #4: Combine the information to make a logical assessment.

Meta’s current price is $657 and the stock trades at a 29x P/E ratio.

If the stock price doesn’t move and the company achieves the average earnings estimates for next year – which is $29.67 according to the “Analysis” tab – the stock will trade at a 22x P/E ratio in one year.

That’s cheap for a company with this amount of growth, this amount of AI potential ahead of it, and 3.5 billion people using one of its apps every day.

To put how cheap a 22x P/E ratio is into perspective, here’s a list of a few companies currently trading at 22x and their growth rates:

In short, these companies aren’t even in the same league as Meta.

That’s why I expect META stock to continue rising in the near future.

Based on its projected growth and current forward valuation, it is still surprisingly undervalued.

Best of all, you can use this same framework to evaluate other stocks too.

Every step I took here was done using the free version of Yahoo! Finance – no fancy tools or deep financial expertise required.

Send me an email with any questions at AskDavis@paradigmpressgroup.com, and stay tuned to The Million Mission as we make 2026 your best investing year yet.