Stock Screener
A Stock Screener That Screens on Real Earnings, Not Reported Ones
Every other screener runs on as-reported GAAP data, so every other screener finds the same value traps. This one filters 25,000+ companies on Uniform Accounting numbers, with more than 130 distortions removed, and shows you the as-reported figures beside them so you can see exactly where the accounting was hiding the business.
Why a good stock screener is so hard to find
There are dozens of free screeners and they all produce the same list, because they all run on the same as-reported data. Three problems follow.
The inputs are distorted
A “low P/E” built on earnings inflated by capitalized costs and recurring “one-time” charges is not low. A “poor ROA” depressed by acquisition goodwill and expensed R&D is not poor. Every filter inherits every distortion in the filings.It finds value traps by design
Screen for cheap and you get the companies whose reported earnings are highest relative to price. Those are disproportionately the ones whose reported earnings are least real. The screen selects for the problem.It misses what everyone misses
The businesses worth finding are the ones the market misprices, and the market misprices them precisely because the reported numbers hide them. A screener built on those numbers can’t see them either.Screen on Uniform numbers, see the as-reported numbers beside them
Set your filters on the cleaned-up metrics. Every result shows both versions of each number, and a verdict on what the gap between them means.
| Company | Sector | Uniform ROA | As-reported ROA | Uniform P/E | As-reported P/E | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meridian Industrial Co. | Industrials | 17% | 6% | 13x | 22x | Hidden quality |
| Northgate Software Inc. | Technology | 24% | 9% | 16x | 41x | Hidden quality |
| Harbor Consumer Brands | Consumer staples | 14% | 12% | 17x | 19x | Fairly reported |
| Atlas Health Systems | Health care | 15% | 4% | 12x | 35x | Hidden quality |
| Summit Retail Group | Consumer discretionary | 13% | 11% | 15x | 16x | Fairly reported |
| Pioneer Energy Partners | Energy | 12% | 14% | 18x | 9x | Cheaper than it looks? No |
Four kinds of stock a normal screener can’t tell apart
Put as-reported valuation on one axis and Uniform valuation on the other, and the market splits into four groups. A conventional screener only sees the horizontal axis.
Clean the numbers first
Every company is restated under Uniform Accounting before it enters the screen, so filters run on comparable returns and multiples rather than on whatever each management team chose to report.
Show both versions
Each metric appears twice: Uniform and as-reported. The gap between them is the analysis. A big gap in the right direction is where the ideas are. A big gap in the wrong direction is the trap you just avoided.
Screen for quality and price together
Uniform ROA and cash conversion for quality, Uniform P/E against implied expectations for price. The default filters match the tests behind the FA Alpha 50, and every filter is adjustable.
Screener questions advisors ask
Is it free?
The screener is free to try with a limited result set. FA Alpha members see full company names, the complete Uniform metric set, and exports. The free FA Alpha Daily newsletter is the easiest way to see the method before joining.
What is Uniform Accounting?
A framework of more than 130 adjustments that restates as-reported financial statements onto one comparable basis: removing goodwill from the capital base, putting leases back on the balance sheet, capitalizing the investment GAAP expenses, and treating recurring “one-time” items as the operating costs they are. Our Knowledge Base page on why GAAP earnings distort profitability explains each adjustment.
Are the results recommendations?
No. FA Alpha is a research publication, and the screener is a research tool. It surfaces companies whose Uniform numbers meet the criteria you set. Whether any of them fits a client is the advisor’s decision, and nothing on this page is individualized investment advice.
How is this different from the FA Alpha 50?
The FA Alpha 50 is the fifty names that pass our analysts’ full process each month, including earnings call forensics and credit work. The screener lets you run your own version of the first two steps, quality and valuation, with your own thresholds, across the whole database. See how the list is built on our best stocks to buy now page.