business-model

<!-- analog: equity-research-core/business-model -->

Preflight

Run canonical pre-flight per contracts/preflight.md.

Include the X-Agentii-Trace header on every tool call per contracts/x-agentii-trace-header.md — carry the _run_id from your first tool result and name yourself (and your parent, if you were spawned).

Triggers

• analyze the business model of {ticker}
• run business model analysis on {ticker}
• decompose the business model of {ticker}
• what does {ticker} sell and how does it make money
• classify the business model type of {ticker}
• analyze {ticker} product offerings and distribution channels
• assess {ticker} revenue composition and concentration risk
• evaluate {ticker} TAM SAM SOM and market positioning
• analyze {ticker} management team and leadership changes
• review {ticker} go-to-market strategy
• breakdown {ticker} customer segments and distribution model
• structural analysis of {ticker}
• business unit performance analysis for {ticker}
• competitive positioning of {ticker}

Defaults

Parameter	Default	Notes
lookback_quarters	4	Trailing 4 fiscal quarters (latest 10-K + trailing 10-Qs); a single-quarter snapshot is INSUFFICIENT for business-model classification
include_management_changes	true	Whether to surface leadership-change analysis (mode 1_5)
include_market_sizing	true	Whether to surface TAM/SAM/SOM (mode 1_4)
peer_set	none	Business-model analysis is single-issuer by default; peers are added by /agentii:competitive

Production Grounding

Production data-plane grounding (scale, locators) is in references/methodology.md.

Data Source Priority (mandatory order)

1. XBRL FIRST (grounding truth) — search_xbrl_facts with the detailed/segment view for revenue & margins broken down by product line, segment, geography, and distribution channel (concepts Revenues, GrossProfit, OperatingIncomeLoss, SegmentReportingInformation). Retrieve XBRL BEFORE any document discovery.
2. SEC filings — search_documents / search_sec_filings for the 10-K (annual, richest business overview), trailing 10-Q, and 20-F for foreign issuers → read_source_pages enrichment.
3. Web search = LAST RESORT — only when SEC/XBRL coverage is genuinely insufficient (e.g., third-party TAM estimates, very recent unfiled events), and it MUST be flagged in Coverage Gaps. Web search is NOT an MCP tool and is never a substitute for filings.

Methodology

1. Retrieval Scope

This skill performs unstructured document search at scale (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K filings and earnings call transcripts). The three-layer agent-use-ready retrieval protocol applies (Layer 1 → Layer 2 → Layer 3). For foreign issuers, use 20-F (annual) and 6-K (material events) instead of 10-K and 8-K respectively.

2. Retrieval Strategy

See contracts/retrieval.md for the canonical decision tree; skill-specific retrieval detail is in references/methodology.md.

Read before you quote. A page's description is platform-generated — it is never the issuer's words and must never be quoted as the filing's. When a description identifies a relevant page, read_source_pages that page and quote its page_content. The description is a pointer, not a source: a citation written from one is the fabricated quote this skill's output standard exists to prevent (contracts/retrieval.md § Three-Layer Document Protocol).

3. Temporal Scope

Default: 4 fiscal quarters (max 8). A single-quarter snapshot is INSUFFICIENT for business-model classification — use the latest 10-K (annual) plus trailing 10-Qs. Extend the window when explicitly tracking channel-mix evolution (mode 1_2 default 12 quarters) or management changes (mode 1_5 default 4 quarters).

4. Tool Allowlist

See frontmatter allowed_tools.

• search_companies, get_company_profile — issuer resolution and sector classification.
• search_xbrl_facts, list_xbrl_concepts, get_company_financials — segment-level P&L and revenue concentration metrics.
• search_documents, search_sec_filings — Layer 1 document discovery (with secondary_labels filter).
• read_source_outline, read_source_pages, search_keyword_in_source — Layer 2/3 deep read for business-overview pages.
• get_company_fiscal_calendar, get_ticker_coverage — pre-flight (mandatory first step).

5. Protocol

Step-by-step execution detail is in references/methodology.md.

Moat Assessment: When evaluating competitive advantage durability, apply the Sustainable Value Creation framework in references/moat-methodology.md. Quantify the ROIC−WACC spread magnitude, calibrate sustainability using sector-level ROIC autocorrelation data (Consumer Staples r=0.46 → Energy r=0.15), classify industry structure (Fragmented/Oligopoly/Dominant/Network/Commodity), and apply the 67-item Moat Checklist. High current ROIC in a rapid-mean-reversion industry is not a moat.

Modes (5 — structural equity analysis)

This skill delivers analyst-grade output via 5 addressable mode(s); invoke with --mode=<slug> / --modes=<slug1>,<slug2> / --mode=all (see Mode syntax. The default invocation (no flag) runs the essentials_modes subset declared in this skill's frontmatter.

Analyst Modes

This skill exposes addressable analysis modes (--mode=<slug> / --modes=<s1>,<s2> / --mode=all; see Mode syntax). The full mode definitions and their output templates live in references/modes.md. The default invocation runs the essentials subset.

Tool Fallbacks

Per-tool failure modes and fallback actions are tabulated in references/tool-fallbacks.md.

Output File

Write the final deliverable to {ticker}/{YYYY-MM-DD_HHMM}_business-model_{affix}.md.

Output Directory Rule: write to {ticker}/ (e.g. NVDA/) — NEVER {ticker}-recent-quarter/ or any dimension-suffixed variant. The directory is the bare uppercase ticker; the skill name appears only in the filename, never the directory.

Output Structure

The deliverable is a structured markdown report written to the path in ## Output File. Full section-by-section template (headings, tables, and field definitions) lives in references/output-structure.md. Required elements:

1. Executive Summary — headline conclusions (≤200 words).
2. Core analysis sections — per this skill's methodology and analyst modes.
3. Data classification — tag findings [FACT] / [DEDUCTED] / [VIEW] per contracts/snapshot-synthesis.md.
4. Coverage Gaps & Citations — coverage gaps are required; inline /v/ citations are the citation surface (immediately after each fact). A bottom roll-up index is optional, and where kept it must not repeat a link the prose already carries.
5. Output frontmatter — emit the FR-090 structured block per contracts/output-frontmatter-schema.md.

Citations & memory: follow contracts/citation-and-memory.md — ≥1 citation per 200 words; every material fact, table row, and metric is immediately followed by its inline clickable https://agentii.ai/v/{ticker}/{citation_id}/{N} link; citations belong inline, a bottom roll-up index is optional and never a repeat of a link already given; the closing TUI reply includes a compact Key Citations list (headline 5–10 facts) of clickable /v/ URLs; and append the run to agentii.md per contracts/agentii-md-schema.md.

Memory & Snapshot

• Memory load (pre-flight): load prior workspace context for the ticker before retrieval — see contracts/memory-load.md.
• Structured output frontmatter: emit the FR-090 block (key_metrics, conclusions, facts_count, deducted_count, views_count, citation_count) per contracts/output-frontmatter-schema.md.
• Snapshot synthesis: after writing the deliverable, update the two-tier snapshot and classify findings as [FACT]/[DEDUCTED]/[VIEW] — see contracts/snapshot-synthesis.md.
• Session archival: record the run under sessions/{YYYY-MM-DD}/ and update sessions/INDEX.md per contracts/session-format.md.

Final Summary (TUI)

End the closing chat reply with the summary shape in contracts/citation-and-memory.md — Citation Placement Policy item 3: title · key conclusions · key metrics · Executive Summary · Key Citations (the headline 5–10 facts, each a clickable https://agentii.ai/v/{ticker}/{citation_id}/{N} link), so the user can cmd+click straight to the exact SEC page without opening the file.

Error Handling

Failure Mode	Detection	Action	User-Facing Message
Missing data	Data API returns empty result set	Widen date range and retry once	"No data available for {ticker} in requested window."
Partial data	Data API returns <80% expected records	Proceed with coverage gaps section	"Analysis based on partial data; see Coverage Gaps section."
Foreign issuer	form_type=["10-K"] empty	Retry with form_type=["20-F"] for annual + form_type=["6-K"] for material events	"Foreign issuer; using 20-F + 6-K instead of 10-K + 8-K."
Insufficient history	Ticker <3 years on public markets	Downgrade to limited-history profile (skip channel-mix evolution)	"Limited historical data; mode 1_2 channel-mix trend skipped."
MCP unreachable	Preflight probe fails	Halt with actionable error	"agentii data plane unreachable; check connection."