Fundamental Screener

Fundamental Screener

Fundamental Screener: Filtering Companies by Their Reported Figures

What it does

A screen is a filter. You set up to six criteria, each a measure, "at least" or "at most", and a number, and the page keeps the companies whose reported figures meet all of them. The figures come from the annual reports companies filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); the site keeps a copy for about 640 companies, mostly the largest listed in the United States, and reads nothing from outside when you press Submit. The page counts and lists. It does not score, rank or rate a company, and a company that meets your criteria is not for that reason a good investment.

The method

The year. Each company is measured on its own latest fiscal year on file, called Y below. A fiscal year is named by the calendar year in which it ends.

The measures. With Rev revenue, GP gross profit (revenue less the direct cost of what was sold), OI operating income (after operating costs, before interest and tax), NI net income, OCF cash from operations and Capex capital expenditures:

gross margin = GP / Rev, operating margin = OI / Rev, net margin = NI / Rev
free cash flow margin = (OCF − Capex) / Rev, capital spending to revenue = Capex / Rev
return on equity = NI / average shareholders' equity, return on assets = NI / average total assets

"Average" is the mean of the balance at the start and the end of the year, because income is earned through the year while a balance sheet is a single date; when the year before is not on file the year-end balance is used.

revenue growth, 1 year = Rev_Y / Rev_{Y − 1} − 1
compound growth over n years = (figure_Y / figure_{Y − n})^1/n − 1, for revenue and for diluted earnings per share (EPS), n = 3 and n = 5
share-count change, 5 years = diluted shares_Y / diluted shares_{Y − 5} − 1 (the total change, not a yearly rate)

A compound growth rate is the one yearly rate that carries the starting figure to the ending one. EPS is net income divided by the weighted number of shares, counting shares that options and convertible securities could add. Per-share figures and share counts of earlier years are put on today's share basis where a company has split its shares.

debt to equity = total debt / shareholders' equity
net debt to EBITDA = (total debt − cash − short-term investments) / (OI + depreciation and amortization)
interest cover = OI / interest expense
current ratio = current assets / current liabilities
dividend payout = dividends paid / NI

EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. Revenue and net income can also be used as criteria themselves, in millions.

The test. A criterion "measure at least x" is met when the measure is x or more; "at most x" when it is x or less. Two rows on the same measure make a range.

Three outcomes, not two. For each company and criterion the result is one of: meets it, does not meet it, or not evaluated. A measure is not evaluated when a line it needs is not in the company's filing data, is withheld as incomplete, or has no meaning there (a growth rate from a figure that is not positive, a payout ratio on a loss, a debt ratio for a bank). A company is listed only when every criterion could be evaluated and is met. A company that fails any criterion is counted as not meeting the screen; one that fails none but has a criterion that could not be evaluated is counted as not evaluated. The results show all three counts for each criterion alone and for all together, so you can see which criterion narrows the list and how many companies the data could not judge.

Filters. The industry filter keeps one division of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), the code the SEC assigns to each company. The currency filter keeps the companies that report in US dollars unless you choose all currencies.

Order. The list is sorted by company name or by a measure you pick. The order is yours; the page attaches no meaning to it.

What it assumes

That the same standard line means the same thing at every company; that one fiscal year, or two single years for a growth rate, is representative; that fiscal years with nearby labels are comparable although they can end many months apart; that debt is what the company tags on the standard borrowing lines; and that a threshold that makes sense in one industry makes sense in another.

When it misleads

The list is only as wide as the data. About 640 companies are on file. A company that is not there cannot be found, however well it would fit.

Blank is not zero. A company with no dividends line may pay none, or may report dividends under a tag the standard lines do not include; a company with no debt line may have no debt. The page does not guess: such a company is not evaluated and does not appear, even if it would meet the criterion. A criterion on a line many companies do not tag (gross profit, interest expense) therefore removes many companies for a reason that has nothing to do with the business.

Small denominators. A ratio is a fraction, and a small denominator makes it large. A company that has bought back nearly all of its equity can show a return on equity of several hundred percent or more; a company whose profit was close to zero five years ago shows a very high EPS growth. A high value can describe the denominator more than the business.

One year, two end points. A margin of one year can be unusual for that year. A growth rate between two single years depends on both: a weak starting year raises it and a weak ending year lowers it, and it says nothing about the years between or the years to come.

Industries differ. Margins, debt and capital spending differ between industries because the businesses differ: a grocer's margin is thin and a software company's is wide. One threshold applied to all industries mostly sorts companies by industry. Banks, insurers and other financial companies report no gross profit, operating income or current assets, and debt ratios are not meaningful for them, so most criteria leave them out.

Currencies. Amounts are in each company's reporting currency and nothing is converted, so revenue or net income of companies in different currencies cannot be compared. Percentages and ratios can.

Standardised data. The figures are mapped from reporting tags. A company that uses an unusual tag can have a line missing or incomplete; debt is the usual case, and leases are not counted as debt. The filing itself is the authority.

Screens look backward. Every measure describes a year that has ended. Nothing here uses a share price, so a screen says nothing about whether a share is cheap or dear, and many investors running the same screen find the same companies.

Worked example

The default criteria are an example of how criteria are written, not a strategy: 5-year revenue growth at least 5 % a year, operating margin at least 15 %, debt to equity at most 1, among companies that report in US dollars. With the data on file on 13 November 2026, 559 companies are screened. Alone, the first criterion is met by 392 (45 not evaluated), the second by 251 (130 not evaluated) and the third by 257 (169 not evaluated, 103 of them financial companies for which the ratio is not meaningful). All three together are met by 85; 318 fail at least one and 156 are not evaluated.

The first company by name is Abbott Laboratories, fiscal 2025, in millions of dollars: revenue 44,328 against 34,608 in fiscal 2020, operating income 8,053, total debt 12,929, shareholders' equity 52,130.

revenue growth = (44,328 / 34,608)^1/5 − 1 = 5.08 % a year (at least 5: met)
operating margin = 8,053 / 44,328 = 18.17 % (at least 15: met)
debt to equity = 12,929 / 52,130 = 0.25 (at most 1: met)

The counts change when the companies file new reports. This page is a calculator for education and analysis, not investment advice.