The Primer playbook

Company research

Here are some things to try when researching a company. Choose a question that matters to your work, try the prompt and ask follow-up questions.

Guide 01

Check management credibility

Compare what management said with what the company later delivered. Look for a pattern across several results, rather than judging one forecast miss.

Do this

Start a new session and add the company with @. Choose the period you want to review, such as the past three years.
Ask Primer to list previous guidance and important targets, with the dates they were announced.
Ask it to compare those promises with the later results. Include changes to targets, definitions and explanations.
Read the strongest examples on both sides. Ask whether the differences reflect changing business conditions or a repeated problem with the way management communicates.

Try this

“Review management’s track record at @Company over [period]. Build a dated table of what management guided or promised, what it delivered and how it explained any difference. Include changes to targets, KPI definitions and recurring one-off costs. Link to the original statements and subsequent results. Distinguish reasonable changes in circumstances from repeated overpromising or unclear disclosure. Give a balanced conclusion with specific examples and what I should watch next.”

Guide 02

Assess whether guidance is achievable

Guidance is management’s forecast for the business. Work out what needs to happen for the company to reach it.

Do this

Start a new session, add the company with @ and identify the latest guidance by date. Attach your own forecast if you want to compare it.
Ask Primer to state exactly what management has guided to, including the period, units and definitions.
Ask what the rest of the year needs to deliver. Compare that with recent performance and the company’s usual pattern through the year.
Focus on the biggest assumption. Ask for a simple calculation showing how a change in sales or costs would affect the outcome.

Try this

“Assess whether @Company’s guidance from [date] is achievable. State the guidance exactly, then calculate what the remaining period must deliver where the published figures allow it. Compare that with recent performance, historical seasonality and my attached forecast. Explain the main assumptions about sales, margins, costs and cash. Show the calculations and sources, identify the weakest assumption, and explain what would make the guidance easier or harder to achieve. Flag any missing figures rather than filling them in silently.”

Guide 03

Investigate accounting and cash conversion

Try the Accounting Red Flags skill to investigate reporting quality and cash conversion. Primer already has the company’s financial documents; the skill gives it a process for checking them.

Do this

Start a new session. Type @account in the message box and select Accounting Red Flags from the Skills results.
Type @ again to add the company you want to research. Tell Primer which financial years or reporting period to examine.
Ask it to run the skill and explain the main findings. You can add your own previous accounting work if you want it included.
Follow up on anything that needs a closer look. Ask for the figures, financial statements and footnotes behind the finding.

Typing @account in a new session shows Accounting Red Flags in the Skills menu — Type @account, then select Accounting Red Flags from the menu.

Accounting Red Flags and Unilever selected as @ mentions in the message box with an accounting review request — The selected skill and company appear in your message. Add your question, then send it.

Try this

“Use the Accounting Red Flags skill for @Company over [period]. Explain the main findings on reporting quality and cash conversion, with figures and source references. Show which issues need further investigation and which could reflect normal timing effects. Give me the most useful follow-up questions.”

Guide 04

Write a company initiation

An initiation is your first full research note on a company. Build the evidence and agree the argument before asking Primer to write the whole note.

Do this

Start a new session and add the company with @. Attach your research, model and an example of the structure you want to use.
Explain who the note is for and the investment question it must answer. Ask for an outline first.
Work through the sections: business, market, key debates, forecasts, valuation and risks. Fill gaps in the evidence before drafting.
Ask Primer to write from the agreed outline. Review the figures, sources and assumptions, then revise the sections that do not reflect your view.

Try this

“Help me write an initiation on @Company for [audience]. Use my attached research, model and example structure. My starting view is [view], and the main question is [question]. Propose an outline and identify the missing evidence before drafting. Cover the business, market, key debates, forecasts, valuation and risks. Keep reported facts separate from my assumptions. Do not invent forecasts, valuation inputs or a recommendation where I have not supplied or agreed them. Once we agree the outline, draft one section at a time with source links.”

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