"Canonical" financial model examples to build mental models

I want to get better at recognizing and modelling issues in different kinds of businesses, and while some are reasonably straightforward (e.g., businesses driven off reasonably clear P x Q like industrials, software, or retail/restaurants), there are some that get trickier, like ones that are based on float or where there's something on the balance sheet that is really driving a lot of the value or operating risk.

A friend recently broke down WeWork in pretty impressive terms, so I was curious if there were other examples of business models or industries that come to mind where I can start to get better at pattern-recognizing issues by modelling them?

What are some good kinds of companies to practice modelling where I can begin to explore some of these different kinds of business models and start to build up my store of mental models for different kinds of companies? Banks, factoring businesses, others that look like different kinds of businesses but in fact share more in common with banks or others?

Is there a way to broadly taxonomize business models and then begin mapping them back to specific examples?

2 Comments
 

computercomputercomputer, sorry there are no responses yet. Maybe one of these topics can point you in the right direction:

Hope that helps.

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

Repellat dolores sunt qui eum error recusandae enim. Et voluptatem quis deserunt suscipit ipsum hic. Deserunt quo totam qui voluptas. Quia eius et voluptatibus. Quo et at omnis ut nemo odio. Aliquid nulla ab harum ex ipsa perferendis iure.

Officiis ipsam fugiat vitae consectetur quo est. Necessitatibus rem fugit ut et accusamus aut sed. Aspernatur qui laboriosam qui et qui sequi.

Vitae pariatur facere placeat ab cupiditate sed. Ut sint rerum quibusdam fugiat.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”