Financial statement analysis involves forms of comparison including:

1. Cross-sectional comparison: This compares financial statement information from different periods, typically across multiple companies of the same type. This is helpful in providing a better understanding of the performance of a particular company relative to its competitors. 2. Inter-firm comparison: This compares financial statement information between different companies of the same type and can be useful in identifying areas of strength and weakness between them. 3. Industry benchmarking: This type of comparison takes financial information of one company and compares it to industry averages to determine how the company is performing relative to its peers. 4. Regression and trend analysis: This type of analysis compares a company's financial performance to the performance of its peers over time. This is helpful in identifying trends and predicting future performance. 5. Ratio analysis: This type of analysis is used to determine the financial health of a particular company by comparing different ratios such as the current ratio and the debt to equity ratio.