How to use AI Prompts for Stock Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide

Speed Up Your Investment Process with AI-powered Stock Research

Last updated: September 2026 · By Subodh Bhide, Investor

As an investor, I’ve been exploring how I can use Generative AI /Large Language Models (LLMs) and Stock analysis prompts to speed up my information gathering and research process. A typical deep dive into one business, including reading the annual reports, plotting historical data, reading disclosures as well as about the industry, its competitors can take a while. Plus I have a comprehensive stock research checklist (download for FREE here) which I fill out and respond to the questions therein, which takes quite some time too.

Hence, I’ve been using Gemini Notebook or Perplexity Spaces to help me speed up the information gathering process. These tools are free, and what they do is that their answers are more specific as they prioritise information directly from the attachments (if it’s available) before digging for it on the internet.

I combined the computing power of these AI tool with the power of my checklist, to create built-in AI prompts for each checkpoint. These AI prompts for Stock Analysis allows me to streamline the information-gathering process.

In this post, I share my experience on how to leverage this powerful tool, especially when combined with a comprehensive stock research checklist. You could also use other, similar Gen AI tools like Chat GPT, Gemini Notebook, and get similar results. For a deeper dive on how to use Gemini Notebook, see our detailed guide.

I also recorded a video on this to walk through the steps:

10 Free AI Prompts for Stock Analysis (Copy and Paste)

Below are 10 free, copy-and-paste AI prompts for stock analysis that I use myself. Start every session with this instruction. It sharply reduces made-up answers:

You are an equity research analyst. Answer using the uploaded documents first and cite the document and page for every fact. If the documents don't contain the answer, say so clearly before using any other source, and label that information. Stick to facts, avoid generic statements, and flag anything you are unsure about.

1. Business model: how does it make money?

Explain how Company makes money. Break down revenue by segment, product and geography for the latest financial year, showing each as a % of total and its growth versus the prior year. Who pays, how often (one-off or recurring), and what drives volume and price?

2. Customers and concentration

Who are Company's main customers? List any customer that makes up more than 10% of revenue, typical contract length, and any retention or churn figures disclosed.

3. Competitive advantage (moat)

List Company's five main competitors, with market share where available. What specifically allows [Company] to earn higher or lower margins than them? Classify any advantage (switching costs, network effects, scale, brand, intellectual property, regulation) and support it with evidence from the filings.

4. Industry dynamics

Describe the industry Company operates in: size, growth rate, cyclicality and the main drivers of demand. What could change the economics of this industry over the next five years?

5. Financial quality

Create a table of Company's revenue, gross margin, operating margin, free cash flow and net debt for the last five years. Compare free cash flow with net profit each year and explain any year where they differ materially.

6. Capital allocation

How has Company's management used cash over the last five years (capex, acquisitions, dividends, buybacks, debt repayment)? Based on disclosures, what returns have past acquisitions delivered?

7. Management and incentives

Summarise how Company's executives are paid (base salary, short-term and long-term incentives, and the metrics used), insider ownership, and any related-party transactions. Do these incentives reward growth in value per share?

8. Kill the idea: the bear case

Act as a sceptical short seller. Give the five strongest reasons not to own Company, with evidence from the documents. What would have to happen for the share price to fall 50%?

9. Latest results in five minutes

Summarise Company's latest results and earnings call: what beat or missed expectations, any changes to guidance, and the topics analysts questioned management on most. Quote management where relevant.

10. What is the market pricing in?

At a share price of [enter price here], what revenue growth and profit margins does the market appear to assume for Company? Show your reasoning and assumptions step by step.

Want all 43 prompts organised into a complete research checklist? Get the AI Stock Research Checklist with Prompts.

My Workflow: How to Use These Prompts

Create one project or notebook per company. Tools like NotebookLM, ChatGPT Projects, Claude Projects or Perplexity let you keep documents and chats together.
Upload only the latest documents. Use the most recent annual report, the latest quarterly or half-year results, and the latest investor presentation. When I uploaded several years of reports, the AI often answered from outdated ones. If you can, add the latest annual report of the biggest competitor, and an industry report if you have access to one.
Paste the analyst instruction first, then work through the prompts in order. Business model and competition first, then financials, management and risks.
Check every answer against the source. Click the citation, read the original page, and copy only verified facts into your checklist.

AI prompts Checklist for Stock Research

My 43-point stock research checklist with AI prompts covers crucial aspects of stock analysis, including:

Business understanding
Market position and competitive advantages,
Growth potential
Industry dynamics
Financial strength
Capital allocation
Management integrity, and a
Conclusion section, including the articulation of key Risks.

Here’s how I use it in combination with your AI tool of choice:

1. Copy and paste prompts: I take the AI prompts from my checklist and paste the prompt into your AI tool. This generates responses based on both the uploaded documents and web search results.

Once I have a response, I read through it, see if it makes sense and if it accurate. I will copy and paste relevant portions of the response back into my checklist under the ‘responses’ column.

2. Systematic analysis: The checklist ensures I cover all critical aspects of the company, reducing the risk of overlooking important factors.

3. Time-efficient research: By using built-in prompts, I significantly reduce the time spent on information gathering and initial investigations.

Snapshot of the *Stock Research Checklist with AI Prompts*

As standard instruction I specifically ask it to not generalise the answers, to stick to facts, and to double check its own research. This helps in reducing the mistakes and generalisations that all LLMs are prone to. An important caveat is that the responses can still be incomplete or incorrect. So we, as analysts, still need to fact-check everything. But being a checker is faster than being a doer.

Benefits of Using This Approach

1. Reduced information gathering time: The combination of the AI tool and my checklist prompts automates quite a few elements. This allows me to gather a wealth of information in a fraction of the time it would take through traditional methods.

2. Streamlined investigations: With the 43-point checklist, I ensure a comprehensive analysis of each stock. The AI-generated responses provide a solid foundation for deeper investigation, allowing me to focus my time on critical thinking and decision-making rather than basic data collection.

3. Consistency: Using a standardized checklist ensures that I apply the same rigorous analysis to each stock, reducing the risk of oversight or bias.

4. Holistic view: The checklist covers various aspects of a company, from financial metrics to qualitative factors like management integrity. This comprehensive approach helps me form a well-rounded opinion on each investment opportunity.

5. Collaboration potential: AI Tools like Gemini Notebook or Perplexity Spaces allows for team collaboration, making it an excellent tool for investment firms or groups of analysts working together on research projects.

The combination of Perplexity Spaces and my stock research checklist has improved my investment research process. It allows me to conduct efficient, and consistent analyses of stocks and businesses.

AI-driven Research, Human-Driven Thinking

While Perplexity Spaces and AI-driven research tools have improved my approach to stock analysis, it’s key to acknowledge its limitations and the critical role of human judgment:

AI as a research assistant: AI doesn’t make investment decisions for me, but, it reduces the time required for collecting information. You can ask it to find the answer to a question you’re curious about.
Critical thinking remains essential: The real work is to evaluate the information provided by AI and consider factors that might not be apparent in the raw information.
Contextual understanding: AI may struggle with the latest market sentiments, geopolitical nuances, or emerging trends that haven’t yet been widely documented. I view the AI-generated information within the context of the broader market environment.
Emotional intelligence: Investing often involves understanding human behavior and market psychology. AI can’t fully grasp the emotional factors that often drive market movements.
Decision making: AI is a powerful tool but the decision always rests with me.

By leveraging AI for research and information, I’m able to focus on critical thinking and decision-making processes that are truly the fun part of investing.

This combination of AI capabilities and human thinking is, in my opinion, the future of investment research.

If you are keen to give this a try, you can either:

Get the FREE stock investment checklist here and generate your own prompts OR
Buy the Checklist with AI Prompts for Stock Analysis below (for just A$15) and radically boost the stock research process.

AI stock research checklist with prompts, a spreadsheet template for fundamental stock analysis

AI Stock Research Checklist – 43 Questions with Ready-Made AI Prompts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best AI tool for stock analysis?
Any AI tool that can read documents you upload and cite its sources. I use Gemini Notebook for annual reports and filings because it answers mainly from your documents. Notebook also has a web-search feature which allows you to bring in additional information not covered in the filings.

Can AI pick stocks for me?
No. AI is excellent at gathering and summarising information, but it can be wrong or out of date, and it cannot judge management, incentives or valuation the way a thoughtful investor can. Use it as a research assistant, not a decision-maker.

How do I stop AI from making things up?
Upload the latest primary documents, ask it to cite a page for every fact, tell it to say “not in the documents” when it doesn’t know, and check important numbers yourself.

Are these prompts free?
Yes. The 10 prompts above are free to use. The full 43-prompt version is available as part of the AI Stock Research Checklist.

Hope you found this useful. Happy Investing!

About the author
Subodh Bhide is an investor focused on small-cap and special-situation stocks. He built Tiny Taikun to share the research tools and investing ideas he uses every day.