Investment research begins with uncertainty: what would need to be true for an asset's price to make sense? For a student, the useful output is a defensible argument with explicit assumptions, rather than a list of stocks to buy.
These investment research topics suit high school students learning to read company reports and work with public data. They can be completed without placing trades. Choose one question, one company or comparison group, and one defined period.
Company valuation questions
1. What growth is already implied by a share price?
Choose a public company with a business model you can explain. Build an illustrative cash-flow forecast and test which revenue growth and profitability assumptions produce values near the observed market price. Fix a valuation date and cite the filings available on that date. This is a reverse-valuation exercise: it explores expectations rather than claiming to know the correct price.
2. How much does the conclusion depend on the discount rate?
Hold operating assumptions constant and vary the discount rate and long-term growth assumption. Present a sensitivity grid. Explain which combinations are internally plausible and why. If most of your estimated value comes from the terminal period, discuss how that limits the confidence of the conclusion.
3. Does a cheaper multiple mean a cheaper business?
Compare a company with a small set of genuine peers. Define the multiple, reconcile the numerator and denominator and use consistent dates. Compare growth, margins, leverage and capital intensity. A lower multiple can reflect a weaker business, different accounting or a different point in the cycle.
Business quality and financial statements
4. Is profit converting into cash?
Compare net income, operating cash flow, working capital and capital expenditure across several years. Investigate unusual gaps using the notes to the accounts. Explain whether the cash-flow measure includes financing or investing items. A single weak year may reflect investment or timing rather than a permanently weak business.
5. What explains a margin difference between competitors?
Study two businesses with similar customers or products. Separate price, product mix, scale and business-model differences where disclosures allow. Report what is observed and which explanations remain hypotheses. Do not turn a ratio comparison into a causal claim without supporting evidence.
6. How vulnerable is the company to refinancing?
Map debt maturities, cash balances and reported interest costs. Test an illustrative refinancing-rate scenario. Read covenant and liquidity disclosures rather than relying only on a debt-to-equity ratio. State that the scenario is your own assumption and distinguish gross debt from net debt.
7. Are share buybacks changing per-share results?
Compare net income, weighted-average diluted shares and earnings per share over a defined period. Examine repurchases alongside stock-based compensation and new issuance. Rising earnings per share can reflect changes in both operating performance and the share count.
Market events and portfolio questions
8. How did the market respond to an earnings release?
Choose an announcement and event window before calculating returns. Compare the stock with a suitable benchmark and record other news. Report both the raw and benchmark-relative change, with the calculation explained. A short event window cannot establish why every investor traded or prove a long-term investment thesis.
9. How concentrated is a hypothetical portfolio?
Construct an educational portfolio and measure exposure by company and sector. Compare equal weights with another clearly defined weighting rule. If using historical returns, account for dividends and state rebalancing assumptions. Backtests are sensitive to the chosen period and the inclusion of only surviving companies.
10. Does currency exposure change the comparison?
Compare an asset's return in its trading currency with its return in the investor's home currency. Explain the conversion convention and date alignment. This can be especially useful for students in India researching overseas companies. Exchange-rate movements are one component of the result, not evidence that one market is always better.
Turning a topic into a thesis
Consider the question: does a company's current valuation require margins it has never sustained? First assemble the historical record. Then write the implied assumptions, the evidence supporting them, the strongest counterargument and the observation that would change your conclusion.
A useful thesis might say that a valuation is sensitive to an aggressive margin assumption and show the resulting range. It should not claim that a share price must fall by a particular date. Label hypothetical numbers and distinguish your forecasts from management guidance.
The evidence pack
Source log: filing title, reporting period, page or section, publication date and access date.
Model: historical data separated from assumptions, with consistent currencies and units.
Comparison: peers or a benchmark chosen for a stated reason.
Challenge: at least one plausible alternative explanation.
Conclusion: a bounded answer with uncertainty, rather than a promotional stock pitch.
Use SEC filings for US public-company evidence and the company's own investor-relations reports. For an Indian company, begin with its published annual reports and official exchange disclosures. Read the original definitions before copying a ratio from a data website.
Developing investment research with GRF
Global Research Fellowship's Research Desk teaches high school students to investigate a company, build a valuation and defend an individually authored report. It runs online for students worldwide and is led by Alex Dryden, a former J.P. Morgan senior economist. The focus is research and reasoning; participation does not involve managing client money or guarantee investment results.
Students seeking a project around a specific question can explore private research mentorship, subject to mentor fit and availability. Compare the two GRF programs to decide which format suits your work.
Once you have chosen a question, use our investment thesis example, stock pitch template and finance report guide to turn it into a structured piece of research.