Historical Financial Ratings

Retrieve and analyze historical financial ratings and key metric scores over time for public companies using the Octagon MCP server.

Prerequisites

Ensure Octagon MCP is configured in your AI agent (Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, etc.). See references/mcp-setup.md for installation instructions.

Workflow

1. Identify Analysis Parameters

Determine the following before querying:

• Ticker: Stock symbol (e.g., NVDA, AAPL, MSFT)
• Records: Number of historical data points to retrieve (e.g., 100, 500, 2000)

2. Execute Query via Octagon MCP

Use the octagon-agent tool with a natural language prompt:

Retrieve historical financial ratings and key metric scores over time for <TICKER>, limited to <N> records.

MCP Call Format:

{
  "server": "octagon-mcp",
  "toolName": "octagon-agent",
  "arguments": {
    "prompt": "Retrieve historical financial ratings and key metric scores over time for NVDA, limited to 2000 records."
  }
}

3. Expected Output

The agent returns historical ratings data including:

Data Sources: octagon-financials-agent

4. Interpret Results

See references/interpreting-results.md for guidance on:

• Understanding overall scores and ratings
• Analyzing individual metric scores
• Identifying rating trends and changes
• Spotting financial health improvements or deterioration

Example Queries

Standard Historical Analysis:

Retrieve historical financial ratings and key metric scores over time for NVDA, limited to 2000 records.

Recent Ratings Focus:

Retrieve historical financial ratings and key metric scores over time for AAPL, limited to 100 records.

Extended Historical View:

Retrieve historical financial ratings and key metric scores over time for MSFT, limited to 5000 records.

Key Metrics Explained

Analysis Tips

1. Consistent high scores: Companies maintaining 5-star overall scores and A+ ratings over extended periods demonstrate stable financial excellence.

2. Score improvements: Watch for upward trends in individual metrics (ROA, ROE) as indicators of improving operational efficiency.

3. Debt management: A stable or improving D/E score suggests the company is managing leverage responsibly.

4. Rating downgrades: Sudden drops in overall rating (e.g., A+ to B) warrant deeper investigation into financials.

5. Diverging metrics: If ROE is high but ROA is low, the company may be using significant leverage to boost returns.

Use Cases

• Investment screening: Filter for companies with consistently high ratings
• Risk monitoring: Track rating changes for portfolio holdings
• Due diligence: Review historical financial health before investment decisions
• Peer comparison: Compare rating trajectories across competitors