CII Learn
Business school for the real world.
Understand how companies work, how markets move and how business decisions get made. Short lessons, worked numbers, and a case to finish every course.
Courses
Business Fundamentals · Beginner · Free
How Businesses Make Money
Fundamentals of Corporate Revenue & Margin
A growing company can sell more and still earn less. Learn to explain why. This beginner course follows a fictional manufacturer from its first sale through revenue, production costs, operating expenses, pricing decisions and cash collection. You will calculate margins, compare growth strategies and write a short business diagnosis. Finish by advising the company on a proposed discount campaign.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 70 min
Finance for Business · Beginner · Free
From Invoice to Cash
Receivables, Payment Timing & Collection Decisions
Map the collection process, prevent avoidable invoice disputes, interpret aging reports and build a cash forecast. Uses the invoicing category represented by AlliaSheet and an explicitly simulated studio cash-gap case.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 54 min
AI & Technology · Beginner · Free
Business Dashboards & AI
From Reliable Metrics to Accountable Decisions
Build a decision-focused dashboard, define and reconcile metrics, design useful alerts and evaluate AI suggestions with evidence and human ownership. Includes a Fiscov category reference and a fictional inventory decision case.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 54 min
Entrepreneurship · Beginner · Free
From Business Idea to Validated Offer
Customer Research & First Experiments
Turn a broad business idea into a specific customer hypothesis, conduct useful interviews, design an honest pilot and interpret conversion and cost evidence. Includes an AurenScent category reference and a fictional gift-discovery case.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 54 min
Entrepreneurship · Beginner · Free
Marketplace Economics
Airbnb’s Bookings, Fees & Trust Costs
Understand a two-sided marketplace without confusing booking value with company revenue. Use Airbnb’s historical disclosures to analyse service-fee capture, support costs, regional mix and the evidence needed for a growth experiment. Calendar year ended December 31, 2024, with 2023 comparisons; USD millions unless labeled. Revenue and GBV cross-checked against the February 13, 2025 shareholder letter. Calendar-year revenue/GBV is a timing-mismatched aggregate proxy, not the fee on a particular booking. Company-scale ratios do not establish startup economics. No claim that our experiments actually occurred.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 80 min
AI & Technology · Intermediate · Free
Subscription Economics
Salesforce’s Revenue, RPO & Cash Conversion
Learn how to interpret subscription revenue, remaining performance obligations, operating margin, stock compensation and cash flow using Salesforce’s fiscal 2025 filing. Fiscal year ended January 31, 2025, compared with fiscal 2024; USD millions unless stated. Salesforce’s fiscal 2025 Form 10-K, annual report and results release were cross-checked. RPO is contracted future revenue, not current revenue or guaranteed cash; non-GAAP measures retain their reconciliation labels.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Business Fundamentals · Beginner · Free
Airline Unit Economics
Reading Delta’s Capacity, Traffic & Cost Metrics
Learn how airline capacity, traffic, yield, load factor and unit costs fit together, using Delta’s FY2024 disclosures and clearly separated classroom sensitivities. Fiscal year ended December 31, 2024; 2023 comparison; USD millions unless labelled; airline unit metrics in cents. The operating-statistics table, revenue table and GAAP income were checked against the Form 10-K and January 10, 2025 results release. Published unit metrics are rounded; recalculations can differ slightly. The case is historical and omits route-level fares, demand curves and incremental costs.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 80 min
Leadership & Management · Intermediate · Free
Organic Growth & Brand Portfolio
Reading P&G’s Fiscal 2024 Results
Learn how leaders separate reported sales from organic growth, price from volume, and brand investment from short-term margin using P&G’s fiscal 2024 filing. Fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, compared with fiscal 2023; USD millions unless stated. The fiscal 2024 Form 10-K and annual results were cross-checked. Organic sales and adjusted free cash flow are company-defined non-GAAP measures and remain labeled as such.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Entrepreneurship · Intermediate · Free
Franchise Economics
Reading McDonald’s Revenue, Margins & System Sales
Learn how a franchisor’s reported revenue differs from customer spending across the system, and how ownership structure changes margins, capital needs and incentives. Fiscal year ended December 31, 2024; 2023 comparison; USD millions unless labelled. Restaurant counts, revenue, margin and Systemwide-sales figures were checked against the 2024 Form 10-K and company annual report. McDonald’s does not consolidate franchisees’ restaurant-level income; no franchisee profit is inferred. Option economics are classroom proposals.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 80 min
Business Fundamentals · Beginner · Free
Retail Productivity
Home Depot’s Sales, Comparable Stores & Pro Strategy
Learn how to read retail growth, comparable sales, margins, inventory and acquisition effects using Home Depot’s fiscal 2024 results. Fiscal year ended February 2, 2025 (53 weeks), compared with fiscal 2023 ended January 28, 2024 (52 weeks); USD millions unless stated. The fiscal 2024 Form 10-K and results release were cross-checked. Fiscal 2024 contained 53 weeks and included SRS after its June 2024 acquisition; comparisons must preserve both effects.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Entrepreneurship · Intermediate · Free
Building a Small-Business Platform
Intuit’s FY2024 Growth & Ecosystem Economics
Use Intuit’s FY2024 results to study subscription ecosystems, segment growth, seasonal demand, acquisition integration and responsible platform metrics. Fiscal year ended July 31, 2024; USD millions unless stated. The FY2024 Form 10-K and results release were cross-checked. Segment names reflect the August 1, 2024 rename of Small Business & Self-Employed to Global Business Solutions. No private retention or unit-economics data are invented.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Finance for Business · Beginner · Free
Inventory Decisions
Nike’s Purchasing, Stock & Markdown Risks
Learn to read inventory as capital at risk, calculate a cautious turnover proxy, separate physical stock from accounting valuation, and design purchasing controls. Nike’s historical disclosures provide the evidence; separate hypothetical exercises test operational choices. FY2024 ended May 31, 2024; FY2023 comparison ended May 31, 2023; USD millions unless labeled. Inventory and annual cost-of-sales values cross-checked between the Form 10-K and the June 27 earnings release. Two-point average inventory is a coarse proxy, not reported inventory days. SKU availability, inventory age and markdown elasticity are not disclosed in the inputs; no claim about these is inferred.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 80 min
Corporate Strategy · Intermediate · Free
Scaling Innovation
Eli Lilly’s 2024 Demand, R&D & Manufacturing Capacity
Analyze how a pharmaceutical company balances rapid product growth, research spending, manufacturing capacity and portfolio risk using Lilly’s 2024 filing. Year ended December 31, 2024; USD millions unless stated. The 2024 Form 10-K and results release were cross-checked. Product revenue and expenses are historical; probability-adjusted pipeline exercises are explicitly hypothetical and are not forecasts.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Careers · Beginner · Free
The Analyst’s Brief
Communicating Netflix Results Without Overclaiming
Practise the work of a business analyst: create an evidence ledger, choose comparable metrics, attribute explanations, handle missing data and deliver a concise briefing. Netflix’s historical annual results provide a concrete communication assignment. Calendar years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023; USD millions after conversion from filing USD thousands; memberships in millions. Annual totals verified against the filing and January 21, 2025 shareholder letter’s rounded annual highlights. Exact filing data used for calculations. No EPS comparison because later stock-split restatements can confuse a historical briefing. No inference of advertising profit or title-level incremental return.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 80 min
Business Fundamentals · Beginner · Free
Brand, Bottlers & Price/Mix
Reading Coca-Cola’s 2024 System Economics
Learn how Coca-Cola’s concentrate-led system turns consumer demand, price/mix and bottler relationships into reported revenue, profit and cash flow. Fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023; USD millions unless stated. The 2024 Form 10-K and full-year release were cross-checked. Organic revenue and comparable measures are company-defined non-GAAP measures; all classroom sensitivities are explicitly hypothetical.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Corporate Strategy · Intermediate · Free
Automotive Portfolio Strategy
GM’s 2024 Profit, EV & Capital Tradeoffs
Analyze GM’s automotive, financing and technology portfolio using 2024 reported results, non-GAAP reconciliations and disciplined capital-allocation scenarios. Fiscal year ended December 31, 2024; USD millions unless stated. GM’s 2024 Form 10-K and results release were cross-checked. EBIT-adjusted and adjusted automotive free cash flow are company-defined non-GAAP measures. EV and Cruise exercises do not invent disclosed project returns.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Careers · Intermediate · Free
Bank Analyst Starter
JPMorgan’s Income, Credit & Capital
Practice the core workflow of a bank analyst using JPMorgan Chase’s FY2024 filing: revenue, net interest income, credit costs, capital and one-time items. Fiscal year ended December 31, 2024; USD millions unless stated; ratios at period end or full year as labeled. The Form 10-K and annual report were cross-checked. JPMorgan uses reported and managed bases; learners must retain the label. Credit and capital ratios have specific denominators. No valuation or investment recommendation is included.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Finance for Business · Intermediate · Free
Managing a Capital-Goods Cycle
Deere’s Sales, Dealer Inventory & Finance
Use Deere’s 2024 filing to understand cyclical revenue, production discipline, dealer inventory, captive finance and cash flow. Fiscal year ended October 27, 2024, compared with fiscal 2023; USD millions unless stated. Deere’s 2024 Form 10-K and annual results release were cross-checked. Wholesale and retail indicators use company definitions; classroom sensitivities are not forecasts.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Business Fundamentals · Beginner · Free
Railroad Economics
Reading Union Pacific’s Operating Ratio
Learn how freight mix, price, network productivity and capital intensity connect in a railroad income statement using Union Pacific’s FY2024 disclosures. Fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023; USD millions unless stated; carloads in thousands. The company release was cross-checked to its Form 10-K. Rounded ratios can differ from division of displayed millions. Management explanations are attributed; classroom sensitivities are not forecasts.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
AI & Technology · Intermediate · Free
AI Capital & Advertising Economics
Reading Meta’s 2024 Filing
Use Meta’s FY2024 filing to connect ad revenue, engagement, operating segments, AI infrastructure investment and disciplined scenario analysis. Fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023; USD millions unless stated. Reported amounts come from Meta’s 2024 Form 10-K and results release. Management explanations of AI benefits are attributed. No incremental return on AI capex is presented as reported because the filing does not isolate it.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Markets & Investing · Intermediate · Free
Payment Network Economics
Visa’s Volume, Transactions & Incentives
Learn how a payment network converts credentials, payment volume and processed transactions into net revenue while accounting for client incentives and cross-border mix. Fiscal years ended September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023; USD millions unless stated; volumes in USD trillions and transactions in billions. Visa’s annual report and FY2024 results release were cross-checked. Volume and transaction figures use company definitions and different scopes. Yield exercises are analyst averages, not pricing disclosures.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Corporate Strategy · Intermediate · Free
Portfolio Strategy
Disney’s Entertainment, Sports & Experiences
Use Disney’s FY2024 reporting to learn segment analysis, portfolio roles, streaming economics and reconciliation discipline. Fiscal year ended September 28, 2024 and September 30, 2023; USD millions unless stated. Figures follow Disney’s FY2024 10-K and earnings release. Segment measures reflect management’s definitions; eliminations and corporate items prevent simple aggregation to net income. Subscriber exercises are labeled hypothetical.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Leadership & Management · Intermediate · Free
Leading a Network Transformation
FedEx’s Cost, Service & Capital Tradeoffs
Learn how leaders evaluate a large operating transformation using FedEx’s FY2025 revenue, cost reductions, segment results, service commitments and capital spending. Fiscal years ended May 31, 2025 and May 31, 2024; USD millions unless stated. The FY2025 results release and SEC filing were cross-checked. DRIVE savings are company-described structural reductions relative to a stated baseline, not a GAAP line. Adjusted measures retain their reconciliation labels.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
AI & Technology · Intermediate · Free
AI Platform Economics
NVIDIA’s Fiscal 2025 Growth, Margin & Supply Commitments
Analyze NVIDIA’s rapid AI-platform growth, segment mix, gross margin, supply commitments and architecture-transition risk using its fiscal 2025 filing. Fiscal year ended January 26, 2025, compared with fiscal 2024; USD millions unless stated. NVIDIA’s fiscal 2025 Form 10-K and annual report were cross-checked. Reported supply commitments are contractual exposures; hypothetical yield and demand exercises are clearly separated.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Markets & Investing · Intermediate · Free
Reading a Cyclical Business
ExxonMobil’s Segments, Cash Flow & Capital
Learn to analyse a cyclical integrated company without turning commodity prices, segment earnings or cash flow into a stock recommendation. Fiscal year ended December 31, 2024; 2023 comparison; USD millions unless labelled. GAAP earnings, cash flow and cash-capex reconciliation were checked against ExxonMobil’s Form 10-K and January 31, 2025 release. Segment earnings use the company’s attribution convention. Sensitivities are classroom scenarios and do not predict commodity prices or security returns.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 80 min
Markets & Investing · Intermediate · Free
Recurring, Transaction & Index Economics
S&P Global FY2024
Use S&P Global's calendar-year 2024 disclosures to classify recurring, transaction, and asset-linked revenue; reconcile growth; and interpret operating leverage. USD millions unless stated. This is business-model education, not investment advice.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
Finance for Business · Intermediate · Free
Retail Working Capital
Target’s Inventory, Margin & Cash
Use Target’s fiscal 2024 filing to connect comparable sales, gross margin, inventory, operating cash flow and retail accounting judgments. Fiscal year ended February 1, 2025, compared with fiscal 2023; USD millions unless stated. Target’s 2024 annual report and MD&A were checked. Fiscal 2023 contained 53 weeks versus 52 in fiscal 2024; company explanations are attributed and all scenario inputs are labeled hypothetical.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Leadership & Management · Intermediate · Free
Backlog, Contract Risk & Program Leadership
Lockheed Martin FY2024
Use Lockheed Martin's FY2024 filing to connect backlog, contract type, program concentration, percentage-of-completion estimates, profit-booking adjustments and cash conversion. USD millions unless stated.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
Markets & Investing · Intermediate · Free
Asset-Management Economics
BlackRock’s AUM, Flows & Fee Engine
Use BlackRock’s FY2024 disclosures to separate end-period AUM, average AUM, market movements, net flows, fee rates and operating leverage. FY ended December 31, 2024; USD millions unless stated. Reported facts and company-defined adjusted measures are separated from independent calculations and hypothetical sensitivities.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
Entrepreneurship · Intermediate · Free
Unit Growth & Restaurant Economics
Chipotle FY2024
Use Chipotle's FY2024 disclosures to connect comparable sales, transactions, average restaurant sales, openings, digital mix, and restaurant-level margin. USD thousands in the audited income statement unless stated.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
AI & Technology · Intermediate · Free
Portfolio Transformation
IBM’s Software Mix, Pension Charge & Cash
Analyze IBM’s software-led portfolio, constant-currency framing, pension settlement charge and free-cash-flow reconciliation using 2024 results. Year ended December 31, 2024, compared with 2023; USD billions unless stated. IBM’s 2024 results and annual filing were cross-checked. Rounded release figures are used where exact filing tables were not required; company-defined operating measures and free cash flow remain labeled non-GAAP.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Finance for Business · Intermediate · Free
Customer, Capital & Cash Economics
Verizon FY2024
Use Verizon's FY2024 filing to separate service and equipment revenue, reconcile segments, evaluate customer economics, measure capital intensity and distinguish reported cash from company-defined free cash flow. USD millions unless stated.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
Entrepreneurship · Intermediate · Free
Marketplace Scale to Cash
Reading Uber’s 2024 Economics
Learn how marketplace leaders distinguish Gross Bookings, revenue, operating income, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow using Uber’s 2024 disclosures. Year ended December 31, 2024, compared with 2023; USD millions unless stated. Uber’s full-year results and Form 10-K were cross-checked. Gross Bookings, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow use company definitions; take-rate calculations are independent proxies and not fee schedules.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 88 min
Careers · Intermediate · Free
Talent, Capacity & Bookings Economics
Accenture FY2024
Use Accenture's fiscal 2024 disclosures to connect bookings, revenue, consulting versus managed services, utilization, training investment, workforce scale, margins, and cash generation. Fiscal year ended August 31, 2024; USD millions unless stated.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
Business Fundamentals · Intermediate · Free
Price, Volume & Portfolio Economics
PepsiCo FY2024
Use PepsiCo's fiscal 2024 disclosures to separate reported and organic growth, effective net pricing, volume, foreign exchange, divisions, recall effects, operating profit and cash flow. USD millions unless stated.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
Leadership & Management · Intermediate · Free
Health-Insurance Economics
CVS Health’s MBR and Segment Reconciliation
Use CVS Health FY2024 to learn medical benefit ratio, claims development, segment versus consolidated reporting and leadership controls under utilization pressure. USD millions; company-defined adjusted measures remain labeled.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
Corporate Strategy · Intermediate · Free
Corporate Separations
Reading 3M and Solventum After the Spin
Use the April 1, 2024 Solventum separation to learn discontinued operations, carve-out comparability, retained ownership and transitional relationships. The course treats 3M and Solventum filings as historical evidence and avoids combining incompatible perimeters.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 94 min
Corporate Strategy · Intermediate · Premium All-Access
Costco’s Membership Model
Reading Revenue, Margins & Cash Flow
A premium historical filing lab using Costco’s real FY2024–FY2025 financial disclosures. Reconcile revenue, build the margin bridge, analyze fee recognition and cash investment, then evaluate the 2024 membership fee decision. Six 10-minute lessons plus a 20-minute case, including exercises and quizzes. This is financial education, not a stock recommendation.
6 lessons · 1 business case · 80 min
Coming soon
More courses are in production
Markets & Investing and Entrepreneurship courses are being written by the CII newsroom.
Learning paths
Business Fundamentals
How companies earn, spend and keep money.
1 course available
Markets & Investing
What moves prices and how investors think.
Coming soon
Entrepreneurship
Starting, pricing and funding a business.
Coming soon
CII Business Cases
Every course ends with a decision: read the numbers, choose a path, explain your reasoning — then see how the scenario resolved.
From the news to the lesson
When a CII story mentions margins, guidance or cash flow, the lessons here explain what those numbers mean. Read the latest stories.