Financial ratios are used to analyze a company's performance and position from different perspectives, including liquidity, solvency, efficiency, profitability, and valuation. The analyst interprets the growth rate of a company, which is divided into hyper-growth, maturity phase, and decline phase. Financial ratios help investors measure the company's share value, forecast future returns, and decide whether to purchase, hold or sell shares. The limitations of financial ratios include the need for reliable primary data, differences in accounting policies and periods, seasonal factors, inflation distortion, and interrelatedness between ratios.