Through capital budgeting, companies evaluate potential projects and investments by assessing cash inflows and outflows to determine if the potential benefits will meet return targets. There are different capital budgeting methods, such as throughput analysis which considers the entire company as a single process and measures materials passing through. Capital budgeting helps companies pursue only projects that maximize shareholder returns and allocate limited capital to divisions providing the greatest benefits. Financial analysis is used by companies to evaluate whether investments are viable and worth the financial commitment. It can be conducted internally or externally and includes fundamental analysis of a security's intrinsic value and specific analysis of changes in value patterns.