A field-by-field guide to every signal on a Value Screener card — 5 categories, 10 signals, the Piotroski F-Score, and what each chip means for your fundamental research.
The US Value Screener checks fundamental quality and valuation across 10 signals in 5 categories. Each signal scores 1 (pass) or 0 (fail). The total determines the verdict.
Coverage: Russell 1000 stocks (≥ $10B market cap). Refreshed weekly. Sector benchmarks use Damodaran industry medians.
| Chip | What it means |
|---|---|
| 8/10 scored | 8 signals passed out of 10 total. The denominator may be less than 10 if a signal is N/A (e.g. D/E for banks). |
| BANK | Financial sector stock — Debt/Equity and Current Ratio are structurally not applicable for banks and are excluded from the score. This is not a negative signal. A bank scoring 7/8 is strong. |
| NEG EQUITY | Negative book value — often from aggressive share buybacks (e.g. Apple). ROE and D/E signals may be distorted. Factor this in when reviewing those chips. |
| ✓ chip | Signal passes — green chip with value shown (e.g. "✓ Q1 ROE 35.2%") |
| ✗ chip | Signal fails — red chip with value shown. This is the category dragging the score down. |
| S.Buy ↑12% (analyst chip) | Analyst consensus rating and 12-month upside vs current price, shown in the collapsed card row. Combines the Wall St. recommendation (S.Buy / Buy / Hold / Sell) and the mean price target gap — useful for quickly spotting stocks where fundamental quality aligns with analyst conviction. |
| ★ / ☆ (star) | Add the stock to your personal watchlist (Trial/Premium). Stars persist across devices and screener tabs. |
| 📊 (detail button) | Opens the full stock detail popup with every metric, signal, and history row on one screen. |
Three signals check whether the stock is trading at a reasonable price relative to earnings, assets, and operating profit. Benchmarks are sector-adjusted using Damodaran industry medians.
| Signal | What it measures | Pass condition |
|---|---|---|
| V1 — P/E Ratio | Price relative to trailing 12-month earnings. Benchmarked to the sector median. | P/E < sector median × 1.3 (30% premium allowed) |
| V2 — P/B Ratio | Price relative to book value (net assets per share) | P/B < 4.0 |
| V3 — EV/EBITDA | Enterprise value relative to operating earnings. Useful for comparing across different capital structures. | EV/EBITDA < sector median × 1.2. N/A for Financials sector. |
Three signals check how efficiently the company converts capital into profit.
| Signal | What it measures | Pass condition |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 — ROE | Return on Equity — profit generated per dollar of shareholders' money. A core signal. | ROE > 15% |
| Q2 — ROIC | Return on Invested Capital — profit earned on all capital deployed (equity + debt − cash). Harder to inflate than ROE. | ROIC > 10% |
| Q3 — Net Margin | Net profit as a percentage of revenue. Benchmarked to the sector median. | Net margin > sector median |
The Piotroski F-Score is a 9-point composite financial health check — each sub-criterion scores 1 (pass) or 0 (fail). A cumulative score of 6 or above earns a pass on the F1 signal. The screener shows the sub-score (e.g. "F1 Piotroski 8/9") so you can see exactly how healthy the company is.
| Signal | What it measures | Pass condition |
|---|---|---|
| B1 — Debt/Equity | Total debt relative to shareholders' equity. Measures financial leverage. A core signal. | D/E < 1.0. N/A for banks — excluded from their score. |
| B2 — Current Ratio | Short-term assets vs short-term liabilities. Measures liquidity — can the company pay near-term obligations? | Current ratio ≥ 1.5. N/A for banks. |
| Signal | What it measures | Pass condition |
|---|---|---|
| G1 — Revenue Growth | Year-over-year revenue growth rate. A core signal — data must be present for STRONG verdict. | Revenue growth > 5% YoY |
The star on every card saves the stock to your personal watchlist (Trial/Premium plans). Use the Watchlist filter pill at the top of any screener tab to show only your starred stocks. Since the Value Screener refreshes weekly, starring a STRONG value stock lets you monitor whether it holds its fundamental rating over subsequent runs.
The sort dropdown lets you reorder the Value Screener list by: Stars ↓ (signal score highest first, default), Analyst Upside ↓, Analyst Rating ↑, P/E ↑ (cheapest by trailing P/E first), and Mkt Cap ↓. Sorting "Analyst Upside ↓" combined with filtering to STRONG is a quick way to find fundamentally strong stocks where analysts also see room to run.
Expand any card and scroll to the 4-week history row to see how the verdict has moved over the past four weekly screener runs. Because the Value Screener is updated weekly (not daily), a consistent STRONG across 4 weeks is a meaningful signal of sustained fundamental quality — not just a one-week blip.
| If you see… | What it suggests | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| STRONG + 9/10 or 10/10 | Fundamentally excellent across the board | Cross-reference with the Technical Screener — does price momentum support the fundamentals? |
| WATCH + missing core signal | Good score but one core data point is unavailable | Check if the data gap is structural (e.g. bank) or temporary. Don't penalise unnecessarily. |
| BANK chip | D/E and Current Ratio excluded — not a red flag | Focus on Q1 ROE, F1 Piotroski, and G1 Revenue. Banks are evaluated on profitability and health instead of leverage. |
| NEG EQUITY chip | Negative book value — ROE an |