> For the complete user guide index, see [llms.txt](https://portraitresearch.com/documentation/llms.txt).

# Charts overview

[Canonical page](https://portraitresearch.com/documentation/charts/charts-overview/)

## Applicability

- **Task:** Decide when Charts fits a research task
- **Access:** Portrait account; source connections and entitlements can apply
- **Audience:** Portrait users building or reusing charts
- **Surfaces:** web
- **Availability:** Beta
- **Content type:** explanation
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-09-07

Charts is Portrait's data-visualization builder. You pick a data category, add one or more series, and the editor renders a live line or bar chart. A saved chart is assigned to a Project and appears in the chart editor's **Recent** or **My charts** library, where you can reopen it.

> [!NOTE] Charts is in beta. It is available in the web app; individual series still depend on source connection, coverage, and entitlement.


## The five data categories

Every chart uses one data category. Series in that category can still come from more than one provider:

| Category | Source | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| **Fundamentals** | Visible Alpha | Revenue, EPS, margins |
| **Valuation** | S&P, Visible Alpha | Price, market cap, enterprise value, P/E |
| **Macro** | FRED | CPI, interest rates, GDP |
| **Revisions** | Visible Alpha | How consensus estimates have moved |
| **Company Data** | Visible Alpha | Per-company modeled line items |

Fundamentals, Revisions, and Company Data series are bound to a company. Company Data also uses a company-specific parameter and as-of revision. Valuation can be bound to a company or market index. Macro series stand alone.

## Access requirements

Availability varies by source:

* **Macro (FRED)** requires a user-connected FRED API key under **Settings → Connections**. The editor prompts you to connect one the first time you pick Macro. See [Settings & Your Account](https://portraitresearch.com/documentation/more/settings/).
* **Estimate Revisions** and **Company Data** require the applicable Visible Alpha entitlement.

For accounts without full Visible Alpha access, the editor can display at most **three Visible Alpha series at once**. A derived series that uses Visible Alpha inputs can also count towards that limit. Additional configured series may be hidden with a licensing message; this is not evidence that their underlying company data is missing. See [Chart calculations and data](https://portraitresearch.com/documentation/charts/calculations-and-data/) for the precise scope, units, date ranges, and missing-value rules.

Transforms and derived series change the meaning of plotted values. For example, **Two-year stack %** adds two annual growth rates; it does not calculate compounded two-year growth. Verify those definitions before using a chart in a report.

### Up next

[Build a chart](https://portraitresearch.com/documentation/charts/building-a-chart/)

Walk through choosing a data type, adding series, applying transforms, and saving to a project.