Treemap of Keywords for each S&P 500 Company

Themes and underlying sub-topics

Furthermore, a treemap adds hierarchy and structure that simple word-frequency visuals (like word clouds) often lack. In many financial statements, words and phrases have natural categories (for example: “expenses,” “revenues,” “assets,” “liabilities,” “provisions,” “department names,” etc.). Tableau documents a hierarchical treemap that lets one nest sub‐themes under broader categories (such as specific expense types under “operating expenses”), which helps analysts see not only what the big themes are, but also how sub‐topics relate in scope. This can reveal, for instance, that although the word “expenses” appears frequently, a large proportion of that is driven by “marketing expense” or “depreciation,” not something else. Hierarchical data visualization is especially useful when comparing parts of a whole and identifying imbalance.

Uncover risks, bias and obfuscation in the Narrative

Finally, treemaps can assist in detecting issues of risk, bias, or even obfuscation in the narrative part of financial reports. If certain terms related to risk—“uncertainty,” “contingency,” “impairment”—are small or rare, while more positive or generic terms like “growth,” “opportunity,” or “continuity” dominate, that might suggest a softer or more optimistic tone, potentially hiding downside risks. Moreover, sudden changes over time in word treemaps (comparing one year’s statement versus another) can highlight shifts in strategy, emerging issues, or changes in emphasis (for example, more discussion of “covid,” “supply chain,” or “interest rates”). By making these patterns visible in an at‐a‐glance format, treemaps enable quicker insight for analysts, investors, auditors and other stakeholders. While treemaps are not perfect (they don’t always allow precise comparisons of subtle differences), they provide a powerful exploratory tool.

Below you can access a treemap of keywords for each of the component securities listed in the S&P 500 index.