1. The Setup
The Challenge
I needed to quickly analyze the capital structure and debt maturity schedule of Tullow Oil. This meant extracting specific data from their 200-page annual report and 17-slide investor presentation:
Consolidated debt maturity schedule (outstanding amounts by instrument and maturity year)
Capital structure breakdown (gross debt, net debt, equity, hybrids)
Short-term vs. long-term debt distinction
Key credit metrics and leverage ratios
Typically, this kind of debt analysis would take 30 minutes for basic extraction, and 1-2 hours if you want the depth and context that Claude and Perplexity ultimately provided.
Why AI?
AI can rapidly scan through lengthy PDFs, identify specific debt schedules across multiple footnotes, and synthesize the information with relevant context. For credit and equity analysis, speed matters-especially when you're covering multiple companies or working on time-sensitive deals.
My Background
I have about a decade of experience in investment research and have been integrating AI into my workflow since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. I'm comfortable with these tools but always verify outputs before using them in investment decisions.
2. The Experiment: Testing 4 AI Tools
Tools Tested
I ran the exact same prompt across four leading AI platforms:
Gemini 3 Pro
Claude 4.5 Sonnet (Extended Thinking)
ChatGPT 5.2 (Extended Thinking)
Perplexity Pro (Deep Research)
The Prompt
I used a straightforward prompt crafted with basic ChatGPT assistance. Here's what I fed to all four tools:
You are acting as a credit and equity research analyst reviewing an annual report.
Extract the consolidated debt maturity schedule, including outstanding amounts by instrument and maturity year.
Identify and summarize the capital structure at the consolidated level (gross debt, net debt, equity, hybrids if any).
Use only reported figures and footnotes from the annual report, clearly distinguishing short-term vs long-term debt.
If maturities or instruments are not fully disclosed, state the gap explicitly without estimating or inferring.Data Inputs
Tullow Oil 2024 Annual Report (200 pages)
Tullow Oil Investor Presentation (17 slides)
