How to read the score on this site

By the end of this lesson

What the five pillars measure and how they're weighted
Why a forensic finding can cap an otherwise excellent score
What the score deliberately does not tell you

Everything in the previous five modules is applied mechanically, across the whole listed universe, by the engine behind this site. Knowing how it works tells you what to trust it for — and, more importantly, what not to.

The five pillars

What gets scored

Growth
What it asks: Is revenue and profit compounding, consistently?
Where you learned it: Growth quality
Profitability
What it asks: Margins and returns on capital, against sector norms
Where you learned it: Margins · ROCE and ROE
Balance sheet
What it asks: Leverage, coverage, liquidity
Where you learned it: Debt
Earnings quality
What it asks: Does profit become cash?
Where you learned it: Cash flow
Valuation
What it asks: Where the multiple sits against the company's own history
Where you learned it: P/E · Value traps

Pillar	What it asks	Where you learned it
Growth	Is revenue and profit compounding, consistently?	Growth quality
Profitability	Margins and returns on capital, against sector norms	Margins · ROCE and ROE
Balance sheet	Leverage, coverage, liquidity	Debt
Earnings quality	Does profit become cash?	Cash flow
Valuation	Where the multiple sits against the company's own history	P/E · Value traps

Each company is judged through one of eight sector frameworks, so a bank is scored on NIM, asset quality and ROA rather than on debt-to-equity — the point of A bank is not an FMCG.

The forensic layer, and why it can override the rest

Separately from the pillars, a forensic pass runs the checks from Red flags: Piotroski F-Score, promoter pledge, share dilution, other income as a share of profit before tax, debtor-day trends and tax-rate anomalies.

The one thing

A severe forensic finding caps the overall score, however strong the five pillars look. A company whose profits aren't turning into cash does not get to score well on the strength of those profits.

Reading the number

8–10
Read it as: Strong on every pillar with a clean forensic pass. Still needs your own work on valuation and fit.
6–8
Read it as: Good, with identifiable weak spots. Read the pillar breakdown to see which.
4–6
Read it as: Mixed. Usually one pillar dragging the rest — find out which and whether it matters to you.
Below 4
Read it as: Weak, or capped by a forensic finding. Read the flags before anything else.

Score	Read it as
8–10	Strong on every pillar with a clean forensic pass. Still needs your own work on valuation and fit.
6–8	Good, with identifiable weak spots. Read the pillar breakdown to see which.
4–6	Mixed. Usually one pillar dragging the rest — find out which and whether it matters to you.
Below 4	Weak, or capped by a forensic finding. Read the flags before anything else.

What the score cannot do

It does not know what the business will do next. Every input is historical. A company transforming right now scores on what it used to be.
It cannot read a management team. Capital allocation judgement, integrity and strategy don't appear in a ratio.
It cannot see disruption coming. A business with beautiful ten-year numbers can be facing a technology shift that ends it.
It is not a price target and not advice. A 9/10 company at three times a fair price is still a poor purchase — which is exactly what Module 5 was about.
It reflects filings. If the filings are misleading, the score built on them is too — which is why the forensic layer exists, and why it's a filter rather than a guarantee.

Worth knowing

How to actually use it

Treat the score as stage 2 of your routine, done for you across five thousand companies. It narrows the field and tells you where to point your attention.

Then do stages 3, 4 and 5 yourself: read the pillar breakdown to see why the score is what it is, read the flags, form your own valuation view, and write your thesis. The score tells you where to look. It does not tell you what to conclude.

See it live · Every report shows the full pillar breakdown, the forensic findings, the P/E band against its own history and the reverse-DCF implied growth — the reasoning, not just the number.

Open the board →

In one screen

1Five pillars: growth, profitability, balance sheet, earnings quality, valuation — judged within eight sector frameworks.
2A severe forensic finding caps the score regardless of the pillars.
3The score is backward-looking and cannot assess management, disruption or price fit.
4Use it to narrow the field, then do the judgement yourself.

Check yourself

Nothing is scored or stored — the explanation after each answer is the point.

1/2

A company scores 8.4/10 on the pillars but has a severe forensic flag. What happens, and why?

2/2

What can the score definitively NOT tell you?

Next lesson →

Nine mistakes that undo good analysis

← Previous

Your 45-minute research routine

← All lessons

The five pillars

What gets scored

Growth
What it asks: Is revenue and profit compounding, consistently?
Where you learned it: Growth quality
Profitability
What it asks: Margins and returns on capital, against sector norms
Where you learned it: Margins · ROCE and ROE
Balance sheet
What it asks: Leverage, coverage, liquidity
Where you learned it: Debt
Earnings quality
What it asks: Does profit become cash?
Where you learned it: Cash flow
Valuation
What it asks: Where the multiple sits against the company's own history
Where you learned it: P/E · Value traps

Pillar	What it asks	Where you learned it
Growth	Is revenue and profit compounding, consistently?	Growth quality
Profitability	Margins and returns on capital, against sector norms	Margins · ROCE and ROE
Balance sheet	Leverage, coverage, liquidity	Debt
Earnings quality	Does profit become cash?	Cash flow
Valuation	Where the multiple sits against the company's own history	P/E · Value traps

Each company is judged through one of eight sector frameworks, so a bank is scored on NIM, asset quality and ROA rather than on debt-to-equity — the point of A bank is not an FMCG.

The forensic layer, and why it can override the rest

The one thing

Reading the number

8–10
Read it as: Strong on every pillar with a clean forensic pass. Still needs your own work on valuation and fit.
6–8
Read it as: Good, with identifiable weak spots. Read the pillar breakdown to see which.
4–6
Read it as: Mixed. Usually one pillar dragging the rest — find out which and whether it matters to you.
Below 4
Read it as: Weak, or capped by a forensic finding. Read the flags before anything else.

Score	Read it as
8–10	Strong on every pillar with a clean forensic pass. Still needs your own work on valuation and fit.
6–8	Good, with identifiable weak spots. Read the pillar breakdown to see which.
4–6	Mixed. Usually one pillar dragging the rest — find out which and whether it matters to you.
Below 4	Weak, or capped by a forensic finding. Read the flags before anything else.

What the score cannot do

It does not know what the business will do next. Every input is historical. A company transforming right now scores on what it used to be.

It cannot read a management team. Capital allocation judgement, integrity and strategy don't appear in a ratio.

It cannot see disruption coming. A business with beautiful ten-year numbers can be facing a technology shift that ends it.

It is not a price target and not advice. A 9/10 company at three times a fair price is still a poor purchase — which is exactly what Module 5 was about.

It reflects filings. If the filings are misleading, the score built on them is too — which is why the forensic layer exists, and why it's a filter rather than a guarantee.