BENJAMIN GRAHAM Author of the timeless investment bestseller THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR AND SPENCER B. MEREDITH THE INTERPRETATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The Classic 1937 Edition New Introduction by MICHAEL F. PRICEThe Interpretation of Financial Statements THE CLASSIC 1937 EDITION BY BENJAMIN GRAHAM AND SPENCER B. MEREDITH INTRODUCTION BY MICHAEL F. PRICE dd i HarperBusiness A Division of HarperCollinsPublishersThis book was originally published in 1937 by Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. ‘THE INTERPRETATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Copyright © 1937 by Estelle Graham and Spencer B. Meredith. Copyright renewed 1965 by Estelle Graham and Spencer B. Meredith. Introduction copyright © 1998 by Michael F. Price. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America, No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any man- ner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and review. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, Inc,, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022. HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc,, 1o East s3rd Street, New York, NY 10022. First HARPERBUSINESS edition published 1998. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Graham, Benjamin, 1894 The interpretation of financial statements : the classic 1937 edition / Benjamin Graham and Spencer B. Meredith ; Introduction by Michael F. Price. — rst HarperBusiness ed. pcm. 0-88730-913-5 1. Financial statements. I. Meredith, Spencer B. II. Title H64028.82672 1998 657'.3—pear 98-12275 9899 00 0102 109 8 765 4321