Markets 101

A complete, free course on how markets really work: reading financial statements, valuing a company, options from calls to iron condors, and the macro forces behind the cycle. Season 1 of The MadBrooks Professor, in order.

55 lessons in 5 modules · 50 of 55 published · free

Start with Lesson 1 →

Module 1: Start here

• Welcome to The MadBrooks ProfessorLesson 1 of 55

Module 2: Reading the numbers

• Financial Statements Part 1: The Income StatementLesson 2 of 55
• Financial Statements Part 2: The Balance SheetLesson 3 of 55
• Financial Statements Part 3: Cash Flow StatementLesson 4 of 55
• Valuation Ratios Part 1: PE, PS, and Price to Free Cash FlowLesson 9 of 55
• Return on Invested Capital (ROIC): The Gold Standard of ProfitabilityLesson 14 of 55
• Buybacks vs Dividends: Two Ways Companies Return CashLesson 15 of 55
• The Earnings Quality Checklist: What Actually Drives Sustainable ProfitLesson 16 of 55
• Working Capital and the Cash Conversion Cycle: Operational Efficiency MetricsLesson 24 of 55
• Free Cash Flow vs Net Income: Why Profits and Cash Aren't the SameLesson 26 of 55
• Operating Leverage: How Fixed Costs Amplify Returns (And Losses)Lesson 29 of 55
• Goodwill and Intangible Assets: The Balance Sheet Items That Demand SkepticismLesson 34 of 55
• Share Dilution: How Employee Comp Affects Your ReturnsLesson 37 of 55
• Revenue Quality: Separating Sustainable Growth from Accounting NoiseLesson 39 of 55
• Normalized Earnings and Cyclical Adjustments: Valuing Through-The-Cycle PerformanceLesson 43 of 55
• Debt Covenants and Credit Metrics: What Bond Markets Tell Equity InvestorsLesson 46 of 55
• Economic Profit vs Accounting Profit: Why ROIC Must Exceed Cost of CapitalLesson 48 of 55

Module 3: Valuing a company

• What Makes a Moat: Durable vs Temporary Competitive AdvantageLesson 5 of 55
• Growth vs Value Investing: Two Philosophies, One MarketLesson 7 of 55
• Valuation Ratios Part 2: Margins, Returns, and Quality MetricsLesson 10 of 55
• Interest Rates and Equity Valuation: The Discount Rate DilemmaLesson 13 of 55
• Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Part 1: Building the ModelLesson 19 of 55
• Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Part 2: Terminal Value and Sensitivity AnalysisLesson 21 of 55
• Compounder vs Deep Value: Allocation Frameworks for Different Market EnvironmentsLesson 25 of 55
• Enterprise Value and Capital Structure: Why Market Cap Isn't EnoughLesson 32 of 55
• The Altman Z-Score: Quantifying Financial Distress RiskLesson 36 of 55
• Tangible Book Value and Asset-Based Valuation: When Earnings Don't Tell the StoryLesson 41 of 55
• The Equity Risk Premium: Expected Returns vs Risk-Free RateLesson 44 of 55
• Sum-of-the-Parts Valuation: When the Whole Trades Below Its ComponentsLesson 49 of 55
• Intrinsic Value vs Market Price: The Margin of Safety FrameworkLesson 51 of 55 · coming soon
• Regression to the Mean: Why Extreme Margins and Multiples Rarely PersistLesson 53 of 55 · coming soon

Module 4: Macro and the market cycle

• Sentiment vs Fundamentals: Reading the Market Without Losing Your MindLesson 6 of 55
• Dollar Cost Averaging vs Lump Sum: The Data Might Surprise YouLesson 8 of 55
• Inflation, Deflation, and Your Portfolio: Macro Regimes ExplainedLesson 17 of 55
• Cyclical vs Defensive Sectors: Positioning for Economic CyclesLesson 20 of 55
• The Yield Curve: What Inversions Really Tell Us About Future ReturnsLesson 22 of 55
• Volatility vs Risk: What Standard Deviation Actually MeasuresLesson 27 of 55
• The Credit Cycle: Leading Indicators for Equity InvestorsLesson 30 of 55
• The Fed Put and Market Psychology: Central Bank Influence on Risk AssetsLesson 33 of 55
• The VIX and Volatility Term Structure: Reading Market Fear CorrectlyLesson 40 of 55
• Sector Rotation and Leading Indicators: Positioning Ahead of Macro TurnsLesson 50 of 55
• Currency Exposure and International Equities: FX Risk in Your PortfolioLesson 54 of 55 · coming soon
• The Earnings Call Debrief: What Management Guidance Actually RevealsLesson 55 of 55 · coming soon

Module 5: Options

• Options Basics Part 1: Calls, Puts, and What You're Actually BuyingLesson 11 of 55
• Options Basics Part 2: The Greeks and Why They MatterLesson 12 of 55
• Covered Calls and Cash-Secured Puts: Income Strategies That Actually WorkLesson 18 of 55
• Vertical Spreads and Defined Risk: Bull Puts, Bear Calls, and Capital EfficiencyLesson 23 of 55
• Iron Condors and Range-Bound Markets: Profiting from Low VolatilityLesson 28 of 55
• Implied Volatility and Option Pricing: What the Market ExpectsLesson 31 of 55
• Calendar Spreads and Theta Decay: Profiting from Time DifferentialLesson 35 of 55
• Ratio Spreads and Asymmetric Payoffs: Advanced Directional StrategiesLesson 38 of 55
• The Put-Call Parity Relationship: Arbitrage-Free Options PricingLesson 42 of 55
• Diagonal Spreads and Rolling Strategies: Combining Time and Price MovementLesson 45 of 55
• The Butterfly Spread: Precision Betting on Specific Price TargetsLesson 47 of 55
• The Option Delta Hedge: Managing Directional Exposure DynamicallyLesson 52 of 55 · coming soon