Most investors focus on stocks in their home country. That’s where the media coverage is, and the companies feel more familiar.
Yet many of the most compelling investment opportunities are found overseas, especially in regions with faster growth and companies that often fly under the radar for U.S. investors.
This raises an important question: How do you research a stock if its financials, filings, and earnings calls aren’t even in English?
In the past, that was a major hurdle. Today, platforms like TIKR make it easy to analyze stocks even if you don’t speak the language.
In this guide, we’ll show you how you can analyze foreign stocks confidently, overcome language limitations, and use TIKR’s global research tools to make smarter investment decisions.
Let’s dive in!
Why Global Stock Investing Matters
If you’re only investing in your home market, you may be missing out on a massive portion of the investing world and limiting your universe of investing opportunities.
There are over 100,000 publicly traded companies worldwide. Some of the most innovative, fastest-growing, and undervalued businesses are located outside the U.S. or Western Europe, especially in emerging markets or regions overlooked by Wall Street.
By expanding your research beyond borders, you gain:
- Diversification from local economic and political cycles
- Exposure to higher-growth markets, like India or Southeast Asia
- Access to lesser-known businesses that may trade at more attractive valuations
The Challenges of Researching Global Stocks
International investing sounds exciting, but once you try to dig into the details, things can get complicated.
Here are the biggest hurdles investors face when researching smaller foreign companies:
- Language barriers: Investor presentations, filings, and earnings transcripts are often in the local language. Even basic financial summaries may not be available in English. Most global companies do report in English, but some don’t.
- Different accounting standards: Many companies outside the U.S. report using international accounting standards (IFRS) instead of the GAAP accounting standards the US uses. This makes financials harder to interpret if you’re not familiar with the format.
- Scattered data sources: You may need to piece together numbers from foreign exchanges, obscure PDFs, and regional news sites.
- Inconsistent metrics: Comparing a Japanese company to a U.S. company often feels like apples to oranges because margins, valuation multiples, and even revenue recognition policies might not line up.
These issues can create blind spots and uncertainty. But if you’re using the right research tools like TIKR, you can eliminate most of the friction.
How to Research Global Stocks Without Knowing the Language
The key to researching global stocks confidently is using a platform that removes the language and data barriers for you. Here’s how investors can do that:
1. Use a Platform That Translates Key Info Automatically
TIKR provides translated versions of financial statements, earnings call transcripts, and regulatory filings for companies in more than 130 countries. This allows you to read essential updates such as quarterly results, guidance changes, and strategic decisions in English.
Additionally, TIKR allows you to convert all foreign currencies into US dollars. This makes it much easier to scan a stock’s financials because you don’t have to convert any figures manually.
It removes the guesswork and makes the process feel similar to researching a U.S.-listed stock.
Analyze global stocks quicker with TIKR (It’s free!) >>>
2. Standardized Financial Metrics Across Countries
With TIKR, international companies are presented using the same financial metrics and structure you’d expect from any U.S. company. That includes revenue growth, margins, valuation ratios, free cash flow, and return on capital.
You can line up a Brazilian consumer company next to a European one and instantly see which has higher returns, better margins, and stronger growth—all without doing the mental gymnastics of converting currencies or accounting formats.
As an example, you can see analyst estimates for Louis Vuitton’s revenue and operating margins vs analysts’ estimates for Tapestry (TPR). It’s simple to compare these businesses in a common currency using the same metrics you’d use to compare any other business.
3. Access Analyst Estimates for Global Companies
One of the hardest things about researching foreign stocks is figuring out what the future might hold. Most investor materials only show past results, and even those can be hard to interpret.
That’s why analyst estimates are so valuable. On TIKR, you can see forward-looking data like:
- Estimated revenue and EPS for the next 2–3 years
- Forward P/E ratios
- EBITDA and cash flow forecasts
And it’s not just for U.S. stocks. TIKR includes analyst estimates for thousands of companies across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and more.
This makes it easy to gauge what local experts expect, and how the market is pricing in that growth.
Access detailed analyst estimates on 100,000+ global stocks with TIKR (It’s free!) >>>
4. Research Insider Ownership and Major Shareholders
Another way to gain confidence in a global stock is by seeing who owns it.
On TIKR, you can view insider ownership data and top institutional holders for companies based in countries like South Korea, France, or Brazil.
This is especially helpful when:
- A founder or family owns a large stake (showing alignment with shareholders)
- Major global funds (like BlackRock or Capital Group) have built a position
- Insider buying shows confidence in future performance
As an example, you can see Louis Vuitton’s Top Shareholders and Insider Transactions:
5. Track News and Filings in English
Even if you find a great international stock, staying informed can feel like a full-time job, especially when updates are in another language.
TIKR solves this by aggregating news, press releases, and regulatory filings for thousands of global companies, with everything translated or summarized in English.
Whether it’s a new product launch, earnings release, or change in executive leadership, you’ll see it directly in the company’s profile. No more digging through local-language PDFs or foreign news sites.
This lets you track key developments just like you would for any domestic stock.
Pro Tip: Use TIKR’s Global Screener to Find Overlooked International Stocks
Most stock screeners only cover U.S. companies or offer limited access to global markets. That creates a blind spot, since many high-quality opportunities exist outside the U.S.
TIKR’s Global Screener solves this by giving you access to over 100,000 stocks across more than 130 countries. You can filter by:
- Financial metrics: revenue growth, return on invested capital (ROIC), operating margin
- Valuation metrics: forward P/E, EV/EBITDA, price-to-sales
- Analyst estimates: projected EPS, revenue forecasts, price targets
- Capital return metrics: dividend yield, share repurchase activity
- Balance sheet strength: debt-to-equity, net debt, interest coverage
- Ownership data: insider ownership, top institutional holders
- And much more!
You can also create custom screens that combine these filters. For example, you could look for low-debt, high-yield companies trading under 15 times forward earnings across Asia or Europe.
TIKR helps you go beyond your home market and uncover strong, underfollowed businesses that most investors never see. With the right filters, it becomes a powerful way to find global stocks with real potential.
Start your global stock research with TIKR today (It’s free) >>>
How TIKR Makes Global Stock Research Easy
TIKR was built to level the playing field for individual investors, and that includes making global stock research feel effortless. Here’s what you get:
- Coverage of over 100,000 stocks across 130+ countries
- Translated financials, transcripts, and filings for non-English-speaking markets
- 10+ years of clean, standardized historical data for international companies
- Forward-looking analyst estimates so you can value and analyze global businesses with confidence
- Holdings data to see a company’s top shareholders and insider transactions
- Custom screeners, watchlists, and peer comparisons to find new stock ideas
Whether you’re looking at a consumer company in the Philippines or a tech firm in Sweden, TIKR gives you the same clean interface, trusted data, and actionable insights you’d expect from U.S. stock research.
Analyze global stocks quicker with TIKR (It’s free) >>>
TIKR Takeaway
Investing globally once required navigating unfamiliar markets, different accounting standards, and language or currency barriers. For many investors, that made international research feel out of reach.
Today, platforms like TIKR make it much more accessible. You can research and track companies worldwide with translated financials, standardized data, analyst estimates, and peer comparisons that put global stocks on equal footing with domestic ones.
Language is no longer an obstacle. In fact, it can be a competitive advantage, since many investors continue to focus only on their local markets.
The TIKR Terminal offers industry-leading financial data on over 100,000 stocks, so if you’re looking to find the best stocks to buy for your portfolio, you’ll want to use TIKR!
TIKR offers institutional-quality research for investors who think of buying stocks as buying a piece of a business.
FAQ Section
What is the best way to research global stocks?
The best way to research global stocks is to use a platform like TIKR that offers standardized financial data, translated documents, and access to forward estimates across countries.
Which international markets offer the best stock opportunities right now?
Some of the most compelling opportunities are emerging from overlooked markets like Southeast Asia, Latin America, and parts of Europe. With TIKR, you can screen across 130+ countries to uncover high-growth companies that trade at lower valuations than their U.S. peers.
Why is it hard to research international stocks?
Researching international stocks can be challenging due to language barriers, inconsistent financial reporting, and a lack of access to reliable local data. TIKR solves these problems by translating and standardizing global financials. TIKR also lets people use its Global Stock Screener to find global stock ideas.
Does TIKR include analyst estimates for global stocks?
Yes, TIKR includes forward-looking analyst estimates for thousands of international companies, which helps investors make valuation decisions more clearly.
How can I find investment opportunities outside the U.S.?
TIKR’s custom screeners, peer comparison tools, and international market filters can help you discover overlooked global stocks and find investment opportunities outside the U.S.
Looking for New Opportunities?
- See what stocks billionaire investors are buying so you can follow the smart money.
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- The more rocks you overturn… the more opportunities you’ll uncover. Search 100K+ global stocks, global top investor holdings, and more with TIKR.
Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
