Research and Development is vital in many sectors, particularly technology. Not investing in this important expense is an indication the company is struggling with cash flow, or perhaps its directors are not prudent enough to make the company a longer term success.

Consistent margins provide a crystal-ball look into the potential future of a company's share price. If margins are falling, this is a sign the firm is not keeping up with marketing trends, or other factors are playing a role in dwindling profits as a percentage of sales.

If a company doesn't have a positive cash flow, this is an indication the company will fail. If the company passed checks on revenue and profit, it's an indication of too many other liabilities.

This little known trick of understanding the percentage of insider holdings that are vital in helping to select a winning stock might seem too easy to be true. But this one number is nearly as good as talking to the company executives themselves.

This is one of the first things to look for when choosing a small-cap stock. If the sales and income aren't increasing by around 25% over the past 5 years, the stock isn't likely to increase much in the future.

In this episode, I discuss the importance of checking a company's relative strength before making a purchase.

After popular demand, Stock Investing Secrets is back and ready to tackle many of the pressing issues impacting stock investors.