When analyzing businesses or entities, comparing their performance to peers is one of the best ways to uncover meaningful insights. Peer comparison is a cornerstone for financial professionals looking to evaluate credit quality, spot trends, or benchmark performance metrics across industries. It provides critical context that goes beyond individual analysis, helping you make smarter decisions grounded in a broader market perspective.
In this post, we’ll share prompts that streamline peer comparison, helping you generate actionable insights with ease. Whether you're evaluating thresholds, presenting metrics, or identifying strengths and weaknesses, these prompts are crafted to support efficient analysis.
Prompts that produce the outcomes you want
Explore these tested and validated prompts — designed to deliver clarity, context, and confidence in just a few clicks.
Analyze Performance Against Peer Rating Thresholds
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Prompt: Compare Rivian Automotive, Inc.'s most recent financial performance to their closest rated peers upgrade & downgrade thresholds. Include rating and outlook where avail. Reply in a table.
Sources: Moody's Data
Why it works: Moody’s doesn’t provide ratings for every entity on the market. Therefore, if an entity or company is not rated, there won’t be specific thresholds that could trigger an upgrade or downgrade.
However, we can look at the thresholds used for similar companies or peers to get a sense of what levels of improvement or deterioration might signal a meaningful change in credit quality.
Chart Performance Metrics Against Peer Benchmarks
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Prompt: Chart [ORG] and peers adjusted debt/Ebitda, Ebita Margin %, Revenue, and Total Debt over the last 3 years.
Sources: Moody's Data
Why it works: In our exploration of effective prompts, we initially introduced the, "Evaluate Risks and Generate Credit Insights" prompt, which is instrumental in assessing a company’s financial stability and creditworthiness. Expanding on that foundation, this "Chart Performance Metrics Against Peer Benchmarks" prompt allows you to visualize [ORG]'s adjusted Debt/Ebitda, EBITDA Margin %, Revenue, and Total Debt over the past three years alongside its peers. This visual analysis not only highlights performance trends and outliers but also enhances your reports with clear, exportable visuals that facilitate better decision-making.
Benchmark SWOT Metrics Against Industry Peers
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Prompt: Perform a SWOT analysis of @[ORG] and their peers. Include rating and outlook.
Sources: Moody's Data
Why it works: By analyzing the key factors impacting your organization and its competitors, you can create strategies that amplify strengths and alleviate weaknesses. These insights lay the groundwork for smarter decision making — supporting data-driven plans that are aligned with the current market landscape.
Top Tips for Handling Ambiguity in AI Prompts with Moody’s Research Assistant
When using AI-powered tools like Moody’s Research Assistant, ambiguous prompts can lead to vague or overly broad responses. By crafting precise and focused queries, you can be sure you’re getting targeted, actionable insights. Here are some quick tips to handle ambiguity and get the most out of your prompts:
- Be Specific: Clearly define what you’re asking for, whether it’s a specific metric, timeframe, or industry.
Example: "What were the key drivers of Company X’s revenue growth in 2022?"
- Add Relevant Context: Include key background information, such as geographic scope, sector focus, or comparison points.
Example: "Analyze the financial health of European energy companies post-2020."
- Avoid Vague Terms: Replace general words like “good” or “performing well” with measurable criteria, such as “15% revenue growth” or “above-average credit ratings.”
- Break Down Complex Questions: Split multifaceted queries into smaller, sequential prompts.
Example: Instead of asking, "What are the risks and opportunities of this trend?" try separating it into "What are the risks?" and "What are the opportunities?"
- Clarify the Desired Output: Specify the format or depth of the response.
Example: "Provide a brief summary of key findings," or "List three key risks with supporting data."
- Follow-up with Details: If the initial response is unclear, refine your question by adding details or narrowing the focus.
Example: "Can you elaborate on the regulatory risks mentioned?"
By applying these tips, you can guide your AI assistant to deliver sharper, more relevant insights tailored to your needs. Remember, a clear question leads to a clear answer — which in turn, makes your analysis faster and more effective.
About the author:
Caroline Hedgcock is an Assistant Director of Customer Success at Moody’s, where she specializes in helping clients optimize their use of Moody’s Research Assistant. A leader in AI prompting strategies, Caroline works closely with financial institutions to streamline workflows, accelerate analysis, and unlock deeper insights leveraging Moody’s GenAI-powered Research Assistant.
With extensive expertise in applying advanced prompting techniques, Caroline ensures that clients harness the full capabilities of the Research Assistant to enhance decision-making and operational efficiency. Her approach bridges technical innovation with practical application, helping organizations unlock the benefits of embedding GenAI into their daily workflows.