Regulatory Reader
Is the company exposed to material regulatory risk?
Additional derived signals may emerge during analysis based on company-specific findings.
The Regulatory Reader identifies companies with material exposure to regulatory, legal, or policy changes that could significantly impact the business model.
This lens asks: "What regulatory changes are pending or plausible that could materially affect this business?" The goal is to read the regulatory landscape and surface events that could trigger significant business impact.
Signals Produced
What This Lens Catches
Pending adverse legislation
Example: Bill in committee targeting business model
Look for: Congress.gov, industry news
Active enforcement action
Example: FTC investigation, SEC subpoena
Look for: 8-K filings, news reports
Regulatory arbitrage
Example: Business exploiting gaps between regimes
Look for: Business model description, risk factors
Licensing dependency
Example: Operating under license that could be revoked
Look for: License disclosures, renewal requirements
Reimbursement risk
Example: Healthcare company with CMS billing code under review
Look for: CMS announcements, billing code exposure
Standard compliance
Example: Normal industry regulation, no special exposure
Look for: Compliance costs in financials
Analysis Stages
Regulatory Landscape Mapping
What regulatory frameworks apply to this business?
Company-Specific Exposure
How exposed is this company vs. peers?
Pending/Proposed Rules
What changes are in the pipeline?
Enforcement Pattern Analysis
What is the regulatory enforcement history?
When This Lens Applies
Apply When
- Operates in regulated industry (healthcare, financial services, energy, telecom)
- Revenue dependent on specific regulatory treatment
- Material regulatory risk mentioned in 10-K Risk Factors
- Active regulatory scrutiny or enforcement
- Business model involves regulatory arbitrage
Skip When
- Operates in unregulated industry with standard compliance only
- No material regulatory dependencies identified
- Generic regulatory risk only (no specific concerns)
- Assess accounting quality (that's Fugazi Filter)
- Predict regulatory outcomes
- Provide legal advice
- Make buy/sell recommendations
- Assess non-regulatory business risks