How to analyse business models?

Right, maybe a dumb question. Currently sit in the product (M&A) group of a BB and after a slew of sell-sides have recently found myself advising on buy-sides as a junior associate.

My question is how best to understand business models, value chains of different businesses across sectors? Most CIMs are written to be flashy marketing docs, CDD / commercial reports are often overkill with directly relevant information not easy to weed out. Any tips on how to extract the relevant info? Mostly interested in strategic / commercial / business ops perspective rather than just the numbers side (model / FDD). Want to understand what the business actually does to be ale to pose the correct questions. Thanks!

3 Comments
 

Hey Analyst 1 in IB-M&A, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I'm here since nobody responded to your topic! Bummer...could just be unlucky but one of these topics will help shed some light:

More suggestions...

Fingers crossed that one of those helps you.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
Most Helpful

Reiciendis iusto culpa voluptatibus sint nostrum autem. Perspiciatis blanditiis quo cumque ipsam blanditiis id. Tempore odio vel libero vel sed. Et eligendi voluptatem perspiciatis. Magnam ut sint laudantium aperiam.

Blanditiis laborum quis ut atque et placeat. Sint itaque quae quos expedita. Quos minima sed velit commodi qui odio. Ut reiciendis ab adipisci veritatis omnis totam quae.

Sed expedita maiores error et. Esse ducimus libero reprehenderit aliquam. Tenetur pariatur nihil quo sit dignissimos rerum rerum. Nihil aut iusto molestias nulla non earum nemo autem. Sed rerum minus aut temporibus sit. Iure quo officia eum molestiae a consequuntur. Aliquid laborum eius nemo.

Array

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”