FinMod | Exporting data from Bloomberg to Excel

Summary

In this video, James demonstrates how to export financial data from Bloomberg using the web version of the Bloomberg Terminal. He walks viewers through the process of selecting financial data for a company (e.g., Apple), focusing on the income statement, and exporting it to Excel. He highlights the issue of Bloomberg’s Excel add-in causing errors when opening the file on a personal computer and explains how to resolve it by pasting the data as values. Finally, he shows how to download the file from the virtual environment to a personal computer for analysis.

Takeaways

• 😀 This video demonstrates how to export financial data from the Bloomberg terminal for analysis.
• 😀 The process uses the web version of the Bloomberg terminal, which provides access to financial data.
• 😀 The script focuses on exporting an income statement from Bloomberg using the 'FA' command to view financial analysis.
• 😀 Users can modify financial data in the Bloomberg terminal, including changing periods and currency, but for this video, the defaults are kept.
• 😀 Exporting the data directly to Excel from the terminal may lead to errors due to the Bloomberg Excel add-in only being available on Bloomberg terminals.
• 😀 To avoid errors when exporting, the video shows how to copy and paste the data into a new sheet and use the 'Paste Special' function to remove formulas.
• 😀 After pasting the data as values, the financial data can be saved within the virtual environment as a file, such as 'apple'.
• 😀 The video explains the process of downloading files from the Bloomberg virtual environment to a personal computer.
• 😀 Once the file is downloaded, the data can be opened in Excel without errors, making it ready for analysis.
• 😀 The script highlights the importance of exporting financial data cleanly, without formula errors, to ensure the data can be used effectively for further analysis.
• 😀 This tutorial is aimed at helping users prepare for upcoming financial analysis sessions using Bloomberg data.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of the video?

The video aims to show how to export financial data from the Bloomberg Terminal, specifically focusing on the process of extracting and cleaning income statement data for analysis.

Which version of Bloomberg is being used in the video?

The web version of the Bloomberg Terminal is being used in the video.

What is the first step in exporting financial data from Bloomberg?

The first step is to search for the company you want financial data for, like 'Apple', and then select the company from the search results.

How does one access the financial analysis section for a company in Bloomberg?

After selecting the company, you can access the financial analysis section by typing the command 'FA' in the Bloomberg Terminal.

Which specific financial statement is the focus in this video?

The video focuses on the Income Statement, which is selected from the financial analysis options.

What customization options are available when exporting the financial data?

You can customize the data by changing the periods and the currency, although for the purpose of this video, everything is left as default.

What issue does the user face when exporting the data directly to Excel?

The issue is that the exported Excel file contains Bloomberg-specific formulas that rely on the Bloomberg Excel add-in, which causes errors when the file is opened outside the Bloomberg environment.

How does the user solve the problem with the formulas in the Excel export?

The user copies the data to a new sheet, then uses 'Paste Special' to paste only the values and formatting, removing the Bloomberg-specific formulas.

What is the next step after cleaning the data in Excel?

After cleaning the data, the user saves the file in the virtual environment and then uses the download option to export the file to their personal computer.

What happens when the user opens the downloaded file on their own computer?

When the user opens the downloaded file, the values are correctly displayed without errors, and the data is ready for analysis.