# LedgerLeaf Complete Agent Instructions

Updated: 2026-07-17
Instruction-Version: 4
Canonical-Origin: https://app.783e0811.prd.gh0stcloud.de

Use this endpoint as LedgerLeaf's full public report-authoring contract. When a user asks you to create a stock analysis report for LedgerLeaf, produce one complete Markdown file that can be uploaded at https://app.783e0811.prd.gh0stcloud.de/reports/upload.

The output should be useful to an investor, but it must not claim to be personalized investment advice. Make uncertainty visible. Cite public sources. Separate facts, estimates, assumptions, and opinions.

## Supported Upload Format

LedgerLeaf accepts `.md` and `.markdown` files up to 5 MB. Reports may include YAML front matter. Front matter is parsed into report metadata before the user saves the report.

Supported `reportType` values: `Stock Analysis`, `Company Evaluation`, `Earnings Review`, `Investment Thesis`, `Risk Analysis`, `Other`.

Required front matter fields:

- `title`: 3 to 180 characters.
- `ticker`: 1 to 12 letters, numbers, dots, or hyphens. Use the primary listed ticker when known.
- `company`: 2 to 140 characters.
- `reportType`: One of the supported values.
- `summary`: 10 to 500 characters.
- `tags`: Up to 12 concise tags.

Optional front matter fields:

- `rating`: Examples: `Buy`, `Hold`, `Sell`, `Watch`, `Not Rated`.
- `currentPrice`: Include currency and data date when known.
- `targetPrice`: Include currency and horizon when applicable.
- `currency`: ISO-style currency code such as `USD`, `EUR`, `CHF`.
- `riskLevel`: Examples: `Low`, `Medium`, `High`, `Elevated`, `Speculative`.

## YAML Template

```yaml
---
title: "Company Name - Investment Thesis"
ticker: "TICK"
company: "Company Name"
reportType: "Investment Thesis"
summary: "One or two sentences describing the investment question, stance, and key driver."
tags:
  - "Sector"
  - "Stage"
  - "Region"
rating: "Not Rated"
currentPrice: "Unavailable"
targetPrice: "Unavailable"
currency: "USD"
riskLevel: "Medium"
---
```

Quote YAML strings that contain colons, brackets, percent signs, or unusual punctuation. Keep metadata concise; put the analysis in the Markdown body.

## Required Markdown Structure

Use this order unless the user asks for a different report type:

```markdown
# Company Name - Report Type

> Prepared date: YYYY-MM-DD. Data as of: YYYY-MM-DD or "source dates vary". This report is informational and not personalized investment advice.

## Executive Summary

## Key Metrics

| Metric | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Rating | Not Rated |
| Current Price | Unavailable |
| Target Price | Unavailable |
| Potential Upside/Downside | Unavailable |
| Exchange | Unavailable |
| Report Date | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Author | Unavailable |
| Company Stage | Mature compounder |
| Risk Level | Medium |

## Stage Classification

## Business & Industry

## Financial Quality

## Valuation

## Scenario Analysis

## Catalysts & Monitoring Plan

## Risks

## Sources & Method

## Disclosures & Limitations
```

LedgerLeaf promotes the `## Key Metrics` table into prominent report callouts, so keep that table simple with exactly two columns: `Metric` and `Value`.

## Research Quality Rules

- Start from public primary sources when available: annual reports, quarterly filings, shareholder letters, earnings releases, investor presentations, exchange filings, regulator filings, and official company pages.
- Use reputable market and industry sources for prices, estimates, peer data, and macro context. Cite links inline in Markdown.
- State the publication date or data date for material financial figures.
- Explain the basis for every rating or price target. Include the valuation method and the time horizon.
- Give a fair presentation of risks that could stop the thesis, rating, or price target from working.
- Separate base case, upside case, and downside case assumptions.
- Do not invent exact numbers, recent prices, analyst estimates, or filings. If browsing or data access is unavailable, write `Unavailable` or `Not verified` and explain the gap.
- If the analyst, sponsor, or user has a position or conflict, disclose it in `## Disclosures & Limitations`.
- Avoid promotional language. Prefer direct, auditable claims.

## Stage-Aware Analysis Framework

Classify the company stage before choosing metrics and valuation methods. A report may combine stages when a company has multiple segments.

| Company Stage | Markers | Analysis Focus | Valuation Emphasis |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pre-revenue or product validation | Little or no recurring revenue, limited operating history, high cash burn, product-market fit still unproven. | Addressable market, product evidence, founder quality, runway, funding access, regulatory path, and survival probability. | Scenario analysis, milestone valuation, comparable transactions, user or pipeline metrics when justified. Avoid false precision in DCF. |
| Early growth | Fast revenue growth from a small base, negative or volatile margins, heavy reinvestment, customer concentration risk. | Revenue quality, retention, CAC/LTV, gross margin path, unit economics, sales efficiency, dilution, and path to break-even. | Forward revenue or gross-profit multiples, probability-weighted DCF, and explicit downside funding scenarios. |
| High growth and scaling | Large market opportunity, accelerating or durable growth, improving margins, operating leverage beginning to appear. | Competitive moat, reinvestment runway, margin expansion, cohort quality, international or product expansion, execution capacity. | DCF with staged margin assumptions, EV/sales, EV/gross profit, EV/EBITDA if earnings are meaningful, and sensitivity tables. |
| Mature compounder | Growth near or above GDP, established margins, recurring free cash flow, stable balance sheet, active capital allocation. | ROIC, cash conversion, pricing power, competitive durability, dividends, buybacks, debt capacity, and management allocation discipline. | DCF, dividend discount model when applicable, P/E, EV/EBITDA, EV/FCF, and peer premium or discount analysis. |
| Cyclical, turnaround, or transition | Earnings heavily tied to cycles, restructuring, portfolio shift, commodity exposure, or uncertain strategic reset. | Mid-cycle margins, normalized earnings, cost actions, debt maturities, working capital, cycle indicators, and execution milestones. | Mid-cycle earnings, sum-of-the-parts, NAV where relevant, trough/base/upside cases, and balance-sheet stress tests. |
| Decline or distress | Shrinking market, negative free cash flow, covenant pressure, refinancing risk, asset sales, or going-concern questions. | Liquidity runway, debt stack, covenants, asset value, liquidation priority, restructuring options, and terminal decline rate. | Liquidation value, recovery analysis, asset value, book multiples, and explicit probability of impairment or bankruptcy. |

## Report Type Guidance

- `Stock Analysis`: Balanced overview with thesis, business quality, valuation, risks, and monitoring plan.
- `Company Evaluation`: Focus on business model, competitive position, governance, financial quality, and durability. A rating is optional.
- `Earnings Review`: Anchor on the latest reported period, revisions to guidance, estimate changes, margin drivers, balance sheet changes, and next-quarter watch items.
- `Investment Thesis`: Make the case for or against ownership over a stated horizon. Include variant perception, catalysts, valuation, and kill criteria.
- `Risk Analysis`: Lead with downside, balance sheet, operational, regulatory, market, and thesis risks. Include probability and impact where justified.
- `Other`: Use only when the user asks for a format outside the standard categories.

## Valuation Discipline

Every valuation section should include:

- Valuation date and currency.
- Methods used and why they fit the company stage.
- Peer set or comparable basis when using multiples.
- Key assumptions, including growth, margin, discount rate, terminal value, or normalized cycle level as applicable.
- Sensitivity table or scenario table.
- Clear reason the market may be mispricing the company, if the report makes an investment call.

Example scenario table:

| Case | Core Assumptions | Implied Value | Probability | Thesis Meaning |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | --- |
| Downside | Lower growth, margin pressure, multiple compression | Unavailable | 25% | Defines loss case |
| Base | Current strategy executes with normal risk | Unavailable | 50% | Central estimate |
| Upside | Faster adoption, stronger margins, rerating | Unavailable | 25% | Bull case |

## Source And Disclosure Section

End with:

- `## Sources & Method`: Bullet list of public sources and a short method note.
- `## Disclosures & Limitations`: State that the report is informational, not personalized investment advice, and identify any known conflicts or missing data.

## Research Standards Reflected

- [CFA Institute Standard I(B) Independence and Objectivity](https://www.cfainstitute.org/standards/professionals/code-ethics-standards/standards-of-practice-i-b): Use reasonable care and judgment, state independent recommendations clearly, and keep research free from bias.
- [CFA Institute Standard VI(A) Avoid or Disclose Conflicts](https://www.cfainstitute.org/standards/professionals/code-ethics-standards/standards-of-practice-vi-a): Prominently disclose conflicts that could impair independence or objectivity.
- [FINRA Rule 2241 Research Analysts and Research Reports](https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/rulebooks/finra-rules/2241): Base purported facts on reliable information, explain valuation method, and present risks to the rating or price target.
- [SEC Regulation Analyst Certification](https://www.sec.gov/divisions/marketreg/mregacfaq0803.htm): Research reports should reflect the analyst's genuine views and disclose compensation links where applicable.
- [Aswath Damodaran, Corporate Life Cycle](https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/adamodar/New_Home_Page/CLC/CLCPreface.html): Adapt valuation and analysis focus to whether a company is young, scaling, mature, declining, or distressed.

## Related Resources

- Short discovery file: https://app.783e0811.prd.gh0stcloud.de/llms.txt
- JSON Schema: https://app.783e0811.prd.gh0stcloud.de/schemas/report.schema.json
- Schema documentation: https://app.783e0811.prd.gh0stcloud.de/docs/report-schema.md
- Validation endpoint: https://app.783e0811.prd.gh0stcloud.de/api/reports/validate
- API specification: https://app.783e0811.prd.gh0stcloud.de/openapi.json