10 free monthly credits · Standard and Strata Expert
Company research
From the business to its value.
GrowthCash flowValuation
Macro research
From the outlook to allocation.
EconomyScenariosExposures
Evidence. Assumptions. Risks.
Start with the question
You may be wondering…
The economic outlook
How do these signals fit together?
Inflation. Jobs. Interest rates. Each release adds a piece. The investment question is what the pieces mean together—and which exposures could benefit or suffer.
A growing business, a rising share price and an attractive valuation are different claims. Examine the financial evidence and the assumptions that connect them.
DCF valuationWhat do the assumptions imply?Growth · reinvestment · discount rate
Market multiplesWhat is the market paying for?Peers · earnings · expectations
The case against
What could make the whole argument fail?
The most useful research examines its own weak points: demand that disappoints, margins that compress, policy that changes course, or expectations that prove too ambitious.
Can Microsoft turn AI and cloud demand into durable growth without losing the economics to reinvestment, margin pressure or execution risk?
Microsoft · Strata Expert · 16 June 2026 · Historical example
About this Microsoft example
Selected content from the Microsoft Expert report of 16 June 2026, condensed and represented for the website. These historical examples explain the research process; they are not current quotes or recommendations. Dates, source notes and recorded assumptions in the full report support later review.
Macro example · United States
Official economic data
Growth, inflation & employment
Policy evidence
Rates, liquidity & transmission
Market proxies
Credit, currencies & sectors
The question in this report
Can growth remain resilient while policy stays restrictive—and does market pricing already assume too much of the favourable outcome?
United States · Strata Expert · 14 August 2026 · Historical example
About this US example
Selected content from the US Expert report of 14 August 2026, condensed and represented for the website. These historical examples explain the research process; they are not current quotes or recommendations. Dates, source notes and recorded assumptions in the full report support later review.
02
Build the investment argument.
See what supports the case—and what still needs proof.
Company example · Microsoft
What supports the case
Cloud and AI demand, enterprise adoption and the scale of the software business.
What still needs proof
How adoption becomes paid usage, and whether growth can preserve margins after reinvestment.
Follow the business model, earnings and capital allocation into the valuation assumptions.
Macro example · United States
Base case · uneven expansion
Growth holds, but economic and market signals remain uneven.
Alternative · growth scare
Weakening employment, activity or credit could force a more defensive view.
See how policy and market expectations shape the alternative paths.
03
Make the implications explicit.
Examine the detailed valuation or allocation playbook in Expert research.
Company example · Microsoft
From operating assumptions to cash-flow value.
Inspect the forecast and compare its valuation with other perspectives.
What does discounted cash flow mean?
Discounted cash flow (DCF) estimates today’s value from the cash a business could generate in the future.
Revenue growth15.1% → 5.6%
Period 1Transition 10
Free cash flow to the firm$116.6bn → $275.8bn
Period 1Transition 10
Modelled cash after operating costs, tax and reinvestment, before payments to lenders and shareholders. The final three periods transition towards a mature growth rate.
Price at report date$392.51
DCF base-case value$473.38
Relative valuation corridor$279.74–568.73
Analyst consensus range$400.00–870.00
$200USD per share$900
A shared value scale makes disagreement visible. Analyst and peer ranges are reference points, not probability intervals.
Explore the assumptions and alternative cases
Selected Microsoft DCF assumptions
Assumption
Report base case
Growth
15.1% → 5.6%
Operating margin
40.2%
Reinvestment
12.3%
Discount rate (WACC)
9.0%
Long-run growth
3.7%
WACC is the blended return required by the business’s lenders and shareholders. A higher discount rate reduces today’s value of future cash flows.
Microsoft scenario values
Case
Modelled value
Weight
Bull
$527.30
15%
Base
$473.38
60%
Bear
$428.06
25%
The full report adds sensitivity analysis, peer multiples and analyst actions. Scenario weights express the model’s assumptions.
Microsoft · Strata Expert · 16 June 2026 · Historical example
Macro example · United States
From economic scenarios to allocation choices.
Connect each allocation stance with its reasoning, a hedge and evidence that could change the view.
Selected US Expert allocation playbook, paraphrased from the report
Asset group
Report stance
What to watch
Rates
Cautious on long-duration exposure
Real yields and policy expectations
Credit
Constructive on higher-beta credit
Whether spreads remain contained
Currencies
Neutral stance
Renewed dollar pressure
Commodities
Less need for inflation hedges
Oil and inflation tail risks
Equities
Constructive, with selective leadership
Growth breadth and balance-sheet resilience
If growth holds
Selective risk exposure with a quality bias.
If growth deteriorates
More defensives and resilient balance sheets; less cyclical and lower-quality credit exposure.
Explore allocation, hedges and the portfolio response
Asset allocation means how investments are spread across different asset groups.
The historical report’s growth-scare scenario favours defensive exposure and resilient balance sheets. Its reacceleration scenario allows more cyclical and credit risk. A hedge is an exposure intended to offset a particular risk.
Country comparisons and sector positioning add another layer: where the theme may be better expressed, and which sectors could benefit or remain vulnerable.
United States · Strata Expert · 14 August 2026 · Historical example
04
Ask what would change the view.
Know which evidence to look for next.
Company example · Microsoft
AI adoptionPaid usageMargins & cash flow
Strong demand is only part of the case.
The Microsoft report asks whether monetisation keeps pace with spending, and whether execution, cybersecurity or regulatory problems change the economics.
A useful next question: what evidence in the next results would strengthen or weaken the cash-flow assumptions?
Macro example · United States
EmploymentCredit conditionsPortfolio stance
Know what would challenge the base case.
The US report watches labour deterioration, widening credit spreads and renewed inflation pressure. These observations connect back to the scenario and allocation response.
A useful next question: when would selective risk exposure need to become a more defensive stance?
The discipline behind the answer
A clear argument is a start. You also need to trust what supports it.
An invented fact can distort the argument. A weak assumption can change the conclusion. Strata puts checks between evidence, reasoning and the final report.
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1 of 4
01 · Retrieve
Go back to the source.
Gather company documents, economic releases and relevant external evidence.
Company filingsThe business. The economics.Operations · investment · cash flow
Economic releasesThe cycle. The conditions.Activity · employment · prices
Source contextThe date. The perspective.Origin · relevance · limitations
02 · Check
Decide what the evidence supports.
Assess relevance and strength, separating supported claims from questions that still need proof.
Supported
Observed adoption
Reported activity
What the evidence establishes
Still unresolved
Durable monetisation
The next policy response
What remains an assumption
03 · Test
Challenge the assumptions.
Examine how assumptions and calculations shape the result—and how alternative scenarios could change it.
Keep the conclusion connected to its evidence, assumptions, references and unresolved questions.
A traceable research argument
Growth supports the case.01
01 Evidence and source context
Its durability depends on the assumptions.02
02 Conditions behind the view
New evidence can change the conclusion.03
03 Questions to revisit
Evidence from the Microsoft example
Adoption is visible. Monetisation still needs proof.
The report recognises AI adoption while keeping paid-seat conversion and pricing power as unresolved questions. A promising story does not automatically become a proven assumption.
How the safeguards address AI hallucinations
AI hallucinations are plausible-sounding invented information. In Expert equity research, valuation calculations follow model rules rather than being freely recalculated by the final writing stage. Rule-based checks control whether retrieved evidence can influence valuation. Weak or unverified external material can remain a qualified watch item, but cannot be promoted into valuation-moving evidence. Source references and recorded assumptions support later scrutiny; these safeguards reduce risk without making every output infallible.
The pieces become a research argument
Not another AI chat. A complete investment case.
Your evidence, valuation, scenarios and risks belong together. With Strata, you can examine the complete argument, discuss it and return to it without piecing together scattered conversations.
Keep the original view, generate a later report and compare how the reasoning changes.
Strata Expert · Equity
Microsoft
AI and cloud demand support the case. Monetisation, reinvestment and execution shape the conviction.
01
Investment viewWhat is the argument?
02
Evidence & assumptionsWhat supports it?
03
ValuationWhat does it imply?
04
Scenarios & risksWhat could change it?
Historical example · Condensed report content
Research you can bring to the table
Bring your research into the discussion.
Circulate the analysis before an investment-club meeting, examine assumptions together, or bring selected pages into a presentation.
Scroll across to explore the three pages.
STRATA EQUITY Microsoft
Investment view
The business case. The questions that matter.
AI and cloud demand support the argument. Monetisation, reinvestment and execution shape how much conviction it deserves.
Core questionCan growth become durable cash generation?
Discussion agenda
Growth and paid adoption
Margins after reinvestment
Evidence that would change the case
Report excerpt · 16 June 2026
STRATA EQUITY Valuation
Competing reference points
See the range. Examine the assumptions.
Price at report date$392.51
DCF base-case value$473.38
Relative valuation corridor$279.74–568.73
Analyst consensus range$400.00–870.00
$200USD per share$900
A shared value scale makes disagreement visible. Analyst and peer ranges are reference points, not probability intervals.
Selected valuation anchors · USD per share
STRATA EQUITY Cash-flow model
The path behind the value
Follow the cash flow.
Revenue growth15.1% → 5.6%
Period 1Transition 10
Free cash flow to the firm$116.6bn → $275.8bn
Period 1Transition 10
Modelled cash after operating costs, tax and reinvestment, before payments to lenders and shareholders. The final three periods transition towards a mature growth rate.
Forecasts from the same historical report
Website-native reconstructions inspired by the app’s PDF layouts, using the same Microsoft report selected above. Text is condensed for display; the exported report contains the fuller analysis and source notes.
A shared documentDecision summaries, analytical charts and tables.
A traceable argumentDates, source context and assumptions for review.
A consistent formatNative PDF export carries the structured report beyond the app.
Your first research question
Start with a company or market you already follow.
Choose your subject
Select a company or one of the supported macro regions.
Choose your depth
Use Standard for a shorter report or Expert for deeper analysis.
Examine the argument
Read the evidence, inspect the assumptions and identify what matters next.
Standard
A focused first view.
A shorter report covering the central view, evidence and risks.
1 credit per report
Strata Expert
Follow the analysis further.
In-depth company analysis and detailed valuation, or macro scenarios with an allocation playbook.
2 credits for macro · 3 for equity
Free accounts receive 10 credits each month. You can try Expert with free credits. Pro and optional credit packs support more frequent research.
Detailed valuation depends on the company model; macro depth depends on available evidence. Monthly free credits expire at the start of the next UTC calendar month.
Learn the method
Understand the finance behind the report.
Strata’s finance education centre explains the concepts through worked examples and questions that test your understanding.
Macro research covers the US, eurozone, UK, Japan, China and Canada. Company research starts with a ticker or company search; available data and valuation depth vary by company.
Do I need a subscription to try Expert?
No. Free accounts receive 10 monthly credits, and Expert is available when you have enough credits. Standard uses 1 credit, Expert macro 2 and Expert equity 3.
Do I need to create an account?
Yes. Sign-in connects your research reports, history and credits to your workspace.
Are reports generated instantly?
Report generation collects evidence and assembles the analysis, so it takes time. The app shows progress while the report is being prepared.
Can I share a report?
Yes. Export a PDF or Markdown report for your own review and discussion. PDF export includes the report’s analytical content and source context.
Does Strata make decisions for me?
Strata supports investment research and education. It helps you examine an investment argument; it does not provide personalised investment advice.
Strata Research
Bring a question. Build an informed view.
Start with a company or market you already follow.