Stocks

Screening Filters

1. Market Cap ≥ $10B (market_cap: min 10000000000)

   • Purpose: Focus on large, established companies.
   • Rationale:
     • When you’re asking “Should I invest in stocks right now?”, you’re often worried about risk and volatility.
     • Large-cap stocks tend to be more stable, more liquid, and better covered by analysts than small or micro caps.
     • This makes them a more conservative way to get equity exposure, especially if you’re unsure about timing.

2. Index Component: S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100 (is_index_component: ['GSPC', 'NDX'])

   • Purpose: Limit the universe to major, high‑quality U.S. companies.
   • Rationale:
     • The S&P 500 (GSPC) and Nasdaq 100 (NDX) include many of the largest, most established, and most followed businesses.
     • These firms generally have stronger governance, disclosure, and liquidity—important when you’re entering the market in uncertain conditions.
     • If you’re asking whether to invest now, starting with index-quality names is a way to reduce the chance of picking highly speculative or opaque stocks.

3. Return on Equity ≥ 10% (return_on_equity: min 10)

   • Purpose: Ensure the companies are consistently profitable and use shareholders’ capital efficiently.
   • Rationale:
     • A ROE above 10% is a common hurdle for “quality” businesses.
     • When timing feels uncertain, it’s safer to own companies that have demonstrated the ability to generate solid returns from the capital they deploy.
     • This filter steers you away from marginal or unprofitable firms that are more vulnerable in market downturns.

4. 5‑Year Revenue CAGR ≥ 5% (revenue_5yr_cagr: min 5)

   • Purpose: Target companies with sustained, not just one‑off, growth.
   • Rationale:
     • If you’re worried about when to invest, a key offset to timing risk is owning businesses whose revenues are structurally growing.
     • A minimum 5% compound annual growth rate over five years indicates a history of expansion through different market environments.
     • This emphasizes companies where long‑term business momentum can matter more than short‑term market swings.

5. P/E (TTM) between 10 and 25 (pe_ttm: min 10, max 25)

   • Purpose: Avoid stocks that are extremely overvalued or extremely distressed/cheap for a reason.
   • Rationale:
     • When entering the market, valuation discipline helps reduce the risk of buying into bubbles (very high P/E) or value traps (very low P/E).
     • A P/E range of 10–25 is a “reasonable valuation” band for many established companies:
       • Below ~10 can sometimes signal serious business or cyclical issues.
       • Well above ~25 can indicate high expectations and higher downside if sentiment turns.
     • This filter tries to balance paying a fair price with not overpaying when you invest now.

Why Results Match Your Question (“Should I invest in stocks right now?”)

• Focus on quality over speculation: These filters push you toward large, index‑level companies with solid profitability and growth, which are better suited for investors who are unsure about timing and want to reduce risk rather than chase high‑risk, high‑volatility names.

• Reduce timing sensitivity through fundamentals:

  • By emphasizing sustained revenue growth, healthy ROE, and reasonable valuations, the screen looks for businesses where long‑term fundamentals, not short‑term market noise, are the primary driver of returns.
  • This makes the exact entry point (“right now” vs. a bit later) less critical than it would be for speculative or highly cyclical stocks.

• Practical way to act if you decide to invest:

  • The question “Should I invest now?” is ultimately about whether you can invest in a way that balances opportunity and risk.
  • This filter set doesn’t answer the timing question by itself, but it defines a type of stock—large, established, profitable, growing, reasonably valued—that is generally more appropriate for building a long‑term position regardless of short‑term market swings.