Beginner5 min read
What Does a Company Actually Do?
Before any number makes sense, you need a simple picture of how a company makes money. Here's how to get one in a few minutes.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Sixth Element Journal
Make finance easier to understand.
Simple explanations for understanding companies, stocks, and the ideas behind investing.
All articles
Beginner5 min read
What Does a Company Actually Do?
Before any number makes sense, you need a simple picture of how a company makes money. Here's how to get one in a few minutes.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Beginner6 min read
How Do You Know If a Company Is Growing?
Growth isn't one number. Sales, profit and cash can each tell a different story — here's how to read them together.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Beginner6 min read
What Does “Profitable” Really Mean?
Lots of companies sell a lot. Fewer keep much of it. A simple way to think about profit and margins — out of every $100 of sales.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Companies6 min read
What Makes a Company Financially Healthy?
Cash, debt and the bills that come due. What a strong foundation looks like — and why it matters most when times get hard.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Investing7 min read
Why Can a Great Company Be a Bad Investment?
Why the price you pay matters as much as the quality of the business you buy into.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Beginner5 min read
What Is Free Cash Flow?
Profit is an accounting idea. Cash is what actually lands in the bank. Free cash flow, explained in plain English.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Sixth Element Method6 min read
How to Analyze a Stock as a Beginner
Six plain questions, answered in order, instead of a wall of ratios. A simple method you can use on any company.
Updated Oct 15, 2026
Investing6 min read
How Do You Know If a Stock Is Overvalued?
Compare what you pay with what the business earns — and with the company's own history. What price measures can and can't tell you.
Updated Oct 15, 2026
Sixth Element Method5 min read
What Am I Missing? The Sixth Question Most Investors Forget
Growth, profit, debt and price can all look fine. What the numbers depend on — suppliers, big customers, one product — often doesn't show up in them.
Updated Oct 15, 2026
Companies6 min read
Why Can a Growing Company Still Lose Money?
Sales can climb while losses grow. Where the money goes, and how to tell an investment phase from a warning sign.
Updated Oct 15, 2026
Beginner7 min read
How to Read an Income Statement
Revenue at the top, net income at the bottom, and three profit lines in between. What each line tells you — and the common traps.
Updated Oct 15, 2026
Sixth Element Method4 min read
Why We Built Sixth Element
What you see is only part of the story. Why we think understanding a company should come before investing in it — and why that should be simple.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Sixth Element Journal articles are general education, not investment advice. Worked examples use invented businesses and round, illustrative numbers.