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Free reference guide: Bloomberg Terminal Reference
About Bloomberg Terminal Reference
The Bloomberg Terminal Reference is a searchable cheat sheet covering 30+ essential Bloomberg Terminal commands organized into five categories. The Equity Analysis section covers DES (company description with market cap, 52-week range, and governance), GP (interactive price charts with MA, Bollinger Bands, MACD, RSI overlays), FA (financial statements with income, balance sheet, cash flow, and consensus estimates), COMP (peer comparable analysis with valuation multiples), ANR (analyst recommendations and target prices), EQS (equity screening with custom criteria), and DVD (dividend history and projections).
The Fixed Income section includes YAS (yield and spread analysis with G-Spread, Z-Spread, OAS, duration, convexity), FISA (bond detail with covenants and cash flow schedules), GC (government yield curves with 2s10s spreads), SWPM (swap manager for IRS, CCS, swaptions with DV01 calculation), RATD (credit ratings across S&P, Moody's, Fitch), and WB (world bond market monitor with live sovereign yields and central bank rates).
Data and API sections cover BDP (single data point Excel formula), BDH (time series history with periodicity and adjustment options), BDS (bulk data sets like top holders and dividend history), BQNT (Python/BQL analysis environment), DAPI (BLPAPI, B-PIPE, and REST API connectivity), XLTP (pre-built Excel templates), and SRCH (universal security search across all asset classes with ticker conventions).
Key Features
- Equity analysis commands: DES (description), GP (price chart), FA (financials), COMP (peer comparison), ANR (analyst ratings), EQS (screening), DVD (dividends) with full syntax and usage examples
- Fixed income tools: YAS (yield/spread analysis with OAS, Z-Spread, duration), FISA (bond details), GC (yield curves), SWPM (swap pricing with IRS/CCS/swaption support), RATD (credit ratings), WB (world bonds)
- News and research: TOP (headlines by region/topic), N (security-specific news), BI (Bloomberg Intelligence with 120+ industries), BRC (broker research reports), ECO (economic calendar with consensus data)
- Portfolio and risk: PORT (performance attribution with Sharpe ratio), MARS (multi-asset risk with VaR, stress testing, Monte Carlo), CIXB (custom index builder with backtesting), FLDS (data field search for API)
- Excel API formulas: BDP for single values, BDH for time series with DAILY/WEEKLY/MONTHLY periodicity, BDS for bulk data (holders, dividends, index weights) with override parameters
- BQNT Python/BQL environment for programmatic analysis, DAPI connectivity options (BLPAPI, B-PIPE, REST API), and XLTP pre-built Excel templates
- Universal security search (SRCH) with ticker conventions for equities (AAPL US Equity), bonds (T 4.5 11/15/33 Govt), FX (USDKRW Curncy), and commodities (CL1 Comdty)
- Organized by workflow category with searchable command names and keyword filtering
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most essential Bloomberg Terminal commands for equity analysis?
Start with DES <GO> for company overview (market cap, sector, business description), GP <GO> for interactive price charts with technical overlays, FA <GO> for financial statements and ratios (P/E, ROE, EV/EBITDA), COMP <GO> for peer comparison, ANR <GO> for analyst recommendations and target prices, and EQS <GO> for screening stocks by custom criteria like market cap, P/E ratio, and dividend yield.
How do I use Bloomberg Excel formulas BDP, BDH, and BDS?
BDP returns a single data point: =BDP("AAPL US Equity", "PX_LAST") for the current price. BDH returns time series: =BDH("AAPL US Equity", "PX_LAST", "20240101", "20241231") for daily closing prices. BDS returns table data: =BDS("SPX Index", "INDX_MWEIGHT") for S&P 500 constituents and weights. All require the Bloomberg Excel Add-in and an active terminal session.
How do I analyze bond yields and spreads on Bloomberg?
Use YAS <GO> (Yield & Spread Analysis) on any bond for price-yield conversion, G-Spread, Z-Spread, OAS, and ASW calculations, plus duration (modified, effective, Macaulay) and convexity. Use GC <GO> for government yield curves with term spread analysis (2s10s, 5s30s). FISA <GO> provides detailed bond information including covenants and cash flow schedules.
What Bloomberg commands help with portfolio risk management?
PORT <GO> provides portfolio analytics including returns, Sharpe ratio, tracking error, and attribution analysis. MARS <GO> offers multi-asset risk analysis with VaR (1-day/10-day at 95%/99%), CVaR, stress testing (2008 crisis, COVID scenarios), and factor risk decomposition. CIXB <GO> lets you build custom indices with backtesting capabilities.
How do I search for economic data and news on Bloomberg?
ECO <GO> shows the economic calendar with upcoming indicator releases, actual vs consensus vs previous values, and surprise indices. TOP <GO> provides top news headlines (TOP US, TOP EM, TOP TEC for sector-specific). N <GO> after a security shows security-specific news. BI <GO> provides Bloomberg Intelligence research covering 120+ industries.
What is the BQL/BQNT environment and how do I use it?
BQNT <GO> opens Bloomberg Quant, a built-in Jupyter Python environment using Bloomberg Query Language (BQL). You can query data with `import bql; bq = bql.Service(); req = bql.Request("AAPL US Equity", {"price": bq.data.px_last()})`. It supports universe screening (bq.univ.members("SPX Index")), time series retrieval, and custom analytics without leaving the terminal.
How do I look up Bloomberg data field names for Excel formulas?
Use FLDS <GO> to search for field names. Common fields include PX_LAST (last price), MKT_CAP (market cap), PE_RATIO (P/E), PX_TO_BOOK_RATIO (P/B), BEST_EPS (consensus EPS), BEST_TARGET_PRICE (consensus target), EQY_DPS (dividend per share), and TOT_RETURN_INDEX_GROSS_DVDS (total return index). Enter keywords to find related fields with their data types.
Is this Bloomberg Terminal reference free to use?
Yes, this command reference is completely free with no account or download required. It is a browser-based searchable cheat sheet for finance professionals, analysts, and students learning Bloomberg Terminal. Note that actually executing these commands requires an active Bloomberg Terminal subscription. This reference helps you quickly find the right command syntax, parameters, and workflows.