Equity Research
Prepalyst has 19 sell-side research interview questions with model answers, covering driver-based models, differentiated estimates and defending a rating. Every question is graded on technical accuracy, completeness and interview communication. Practice is free.
A basic modelling screen for research associates who will update consensus-facing earnings models.
A company earns $240 million of net income and has 120 million diluted shares. What is EPS? If a $60 million after-tax charge is excluded from adjusted earnings, what is adjusted EPS, and what must you check before…
A common interview question for candidates expected to explain ratings and valuation to clients.
A stock trades at $40. Your forecast is $3.00 of next-year EPS and you believe 18x is the appropriate forward P/E multiple. Set a price target and explain what else belongs in the recommendation.
A first-round question that tests whether candidates understand the job beyond building a model.
Walk me through the job of a sell-side equity research analyst. Who are the clients, what are the core outputs, and what makes the role useful?
The most common analyst deliverable. And a routine modelling test in research interviews.
Build a trading comparables analysis for four peers and apply it to a target. For each peer: calculate equity value from shares and price, bridge to enterprise value with net debt, and compute EV/EBITDA. Take the median…
Core question for sell-side and buy-side research associate roles.
You're initiating coverage on a specialty retailer. How do you build the revenue model, and what drives your estimates versus consensus?
A recurring earnings-quality question in research and long/short interviews.
Two identical software companies: one capitalises development costs, the other expenses them. How do their financials differ, and which reports better numbers?
The daily judgement call in a research analyst's modelling work.
A company guides to 8–10% revenue growth. Where do you put your estimate, and why?
The deliverable a new research associate works toward.
You're initiating coverage on a sector with eight companies. Walk me through the process and what the initiation note contains.
Tests whether an associate can turn a live model into a useful pre-results client note.
Your covered company reports in two weeks. How would you prepare an earnings preview that clients can use, rather than a generic summary of the last quarter?
A sell-side research output simulation prioritising what clients need immediately after earnings.
A covered software company reports a revenue beat, an EPS beat and lower full-year margin guidance. Produce the first client flash after validating the moving pieces.
A reasoning question with no single right answer. The interviewer wants your framework.
Two companies in the same industry have identical revenue, EBITDA and growth. One trades at 12x EV/EBITDA, the other at 7x. Give me the possible explanations.
Tests practical judgement on management access, material non-public information and research independence.
You arrange a management meeting for clients. During preparation, an executive starts to indicate that the upcoming quarter will miss guidance. What do you do, and how do you preserve the value of corporate access…
Research teams assess whether associates can produce an accurate, useful first take immediately after results.
A company reports revenue and EPS above consensus, but lowers full-year operating-margin guidance. You have twenty minutes to prepare the first client flash. What do you say and what do you verify before publishing?
A client-facing research exercise that tests whether a candidate can turn an event list into a falsifiable expectation and tradeable risk-reward framework.
A stock is down 18% year-to-date. Over the next four months it has an investor day, a product launch, quarterly earnings, and a regulatory decision. Consensus expects 5% revenue growth, while your driver model implies 9%…
A senior-style judgement test for associates who must defend a published view through volatile results and client challenge.
Your sector team is considering upgrading a stock after a 25% decline. Consensus has already fallen, management credibility is weak, and the valuation looks cheap on your model. How would you decide whether to upgrade…
Research interviews probe intellectual honesty, because the job is being wrong in public.
You have a Buy rating and the stock is down 30% since initiation. A client calls. What do you say?
Common in equity research, credit and restructuring interviews.
You're handed three years of financials for a company you don't know. Name the specific red flags you'd screen for and explain what each one might indicate.
A sell-side research associate review between an earnings call and a client-facing results flash.
Your analyst asks you to review the model and draft flash on a software company that has just reported. Identify the hidden errors that could mislead clients, prioritise the repairs, and write the review handoff.
A post-results modelling case testing whether an associate can separate a superficially in-line quarter from a changed earnings algorithm.
Your covered company reports EPS exactly in line with consensus. Segment A revenue grows 12% versus your 8% forecast, but Segment B revenue falls 6% versus your expected flat result. Consolidated EBIT is in line because…
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Firm names indicate where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with the firms named.