analyst

noun

an·a·lyst | \ˈa-nə-ləst

Definition of analyst

1 : a person who analyzes or who is skilled in analysis

2 : psychoanalyst

Examples of analyst in a Sentence

My analyst felt that I was making good progress.

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, even as liberal analysts and activists lament some of Tuesday’s outcomes, not only the President, but groups like Susan B. Anthony List, which promotes antiabortion women candidates for public office, are claiming victory. — Celeste Katz, Glamour, "This Is How Women Voted in the Midterms—and What It Means for Election 2020," 12 Nov. 2018 As soon as a Wall Street Journal story from earlier today suggested Amazon was thinking of splitting HQ2, some analysts speculated the company would choose New York City and D.C. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Amazon HQ2 winner appears to be both New York and Crystal City, Virginia," 6 Nov. 2018 Kingston then transitioned to finance, working as an equity analyst for Schroders, a global asset management firm, and then as managing director of Voltan Capital Management until April 2017. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "Who Is Thomas Kingston, Lady Gabriella Windsor's Fiancé," 19 Sep. 2018 Amazon's value has fallen slightly below that threshold since, but its continued growth is likely, according to most analysts. — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, "Amazon achieved a market value of $1,000,000,000,000," 5 Sep. 2018 According to the analysts, there are more older viewers signing up than ever before — only 21 percent of households using these services have a head that’s under 35. — Shoshana Wodinsky, The Verge, "Streaming TV services are now used by 5 percent of US households with Wi-Fi," 17 Aug. 2018 Many investors and analysts were skeptical about its business model and valuation expectations. — Mike Bird, WSJ, "Xiaomi Defies Skeptics to Rally in Opening Week," 13 July 2018 The airline has already offset two-thirds of the nearly $600 million in higher fuel cost during the second quarter, CEO Ed Bastian told investment analysts during an earnings call. — Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, "Delta: $2B higher fuel cost this year forces more expensive fares, less service," 12 July 2018 Habash, a senior policy analyst at the Century Foundation, was ultimately able to work his situation out with lenders, and get a mortgage that was reasonable. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, "Yet Another Way Student Debt Keeps People from Buying Homes," 11 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'analyst.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

18 Nov 2018

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More Definitions for analyst

analyst

noun

Financial Definition of analyst

What It Is

An analyst gathers and interprets data about securities, companies, corporate strategies, economies or financial markets. Analysts are sometimes called financial analysts, securities analysts, equity analysts or investment analysts (although there is a distinction among these titles).

How It Works

Much of an analyst's job involves gathering data from publications, researchers and other sources; creating financial models; and writing reports or making presentations. Analysts are heavily involved with mergers and acquisitions, consulting, corporate strategy, bankruptcy, and myriad other financially important processes. Thus, their projects can be wide-ranging, and can include creating a company's budget for the coming years; deciding what sort of buy-or-sell advice to give clients; evaluating the prospects for a particular security; or deciding how much to pay to acquire a certain company. Securities analysts in particular usually write research reports for clients and offer buy and sell recommendations.

Analysts work for public and private companies, nonprofit organizations, investment banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, government entities and nearly any other organization that is concerned about making sound financial decisions. They must be able to work well with clients, peers and their bosses; explain their ideas quickly and precisely; have presentation skills; and be extremely confident with spreadsheets and numbers. Some travel a lot. Analysts typically work considerably long work weeks, particularly early in their careers.

Analysts often have undergraduate or graduate business degrees, but many investment firms train entry-level analysts, which means an undergraduate degree in business is not always necessary if a candidate shows aptitude. Some analysts also enter the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program to further their credentials. Many analysts go on to become senior analysts, investment bankers, consultants, advisors and chief financial officers.

Why It Matters

An analyst helps people make decisions. Analysts gather and interpret data to do this, and quite often they have to project future events. To do this well, an analyst has to stay on top of industry and company trends, market trends, economic trends, new regulations, changes in accounting rules, and a host of other information.

For this reason, analysts carry a great degree of responsibility. The results of their analyses frequently determine the course of major decisions, and a mistake in a spreadsheet or an overlooked piece of information could mean inadvertently making the wrong decisions, which could have far-reaching effects on client portfolios, stock prices, corporate strategies or even a company's solvency.

Source: Investing Answers

analyst

noun