Attractive Short Candidates

This question practices how to think like a short seller, looking for businesses that may be vulnerable to competitive disruption, fading consumer demand, structural decline, or accounting concerns. In an investment banking interview, candidates are often expected to show that they can identify downside risk by evaluating a company’s durability, management response to change, and the quality of its reported numbers. The goal is to test judgment about when a company may be priced for a future that is too optimistic, and why those warning signs matter for equity investors and capital markets analysis.