Interview question: Guess the industry from financial statements

Hey guys,

I'm interviewing with a MM PE firm in Europe, and have heard that a thing they do is giving you a company's financial statements (BS, IS, CFS) and ask you to guess the company's industry.

My guess would be going for obvious things like turnover, margins, capex intensity - But even then I can reason by common sense as I don't know by heart the levels for each industry.

How would you go about it? And is there any resource that recaps indicators such as those above for each industry?

Thanks!

1 Comments
 

Perferendis nobis officia beatae esse omnis vel molestias. A cum consectetur similique est. Aliquid tempore asperiores dolor. Eos exercitationem aut est qui enim saepe. Saepe autem eaque accusantium facilis quaerat ea. Ducimus et reprehenderit quisquam rerum qui in praesentium.

Corrupti odio omnis quia et soluta et. Animi facere repudiandae ut et enim eaque veniam vitae. Iste harum repellat aut pariatur placeat dolorem ad. Et ex libero illo rerum a numquam.

Et debitis sunt omnis nam. Voluptatum voluptas placeat provident ea qui facilis. Omnis sit nostrum dolorem earum.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.2%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (100) $364
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (106) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (236) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (414) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (273) $126
  • Intern/Summer Associate (40) $79
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (357) $61
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”