The Quantery blog
Practical notes on testing investment ideas: building screens from raw fundamentals, backtesting without fooling yourself, and reading the numbers straight from the filings. Research, not advice.
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How should a backtest handle idle cash? | Quantery Blog
Learn how cash assumptions change a sparse stock backtest, choose a defensible return proxy, and test whether the thesis survives the choice.
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How should a stock screen handle amended filings? | Quantery Blog
Learn when a 10-K/A changes the numbers, how Quantery preserves the first-reported record, and how to compare amendments manually.
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How to read a debt maturity schedule | Quantery Blog
Learn how a debt maturity schedule reveals refinancing pressure, liquidity gaps, and what a balance-sheet leverage ratio can miss.
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How to read accumulated other comprehensive income | Quantery Blog
Learn what AOCI contains, where it sits in shareholders' equity, what can reverse, and why the footnote matters more than the headline balance.
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How to read pension obligations in a filing | Quantery Blog
Learn how pension assets, benefit obligations, funded status, discount rates, and cash contributions change the balance-sheet picture.
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How to audit a stock screen before you run it | Quantery Blog
A practical preflight for checking formulas, missing-data rules, rank logic, gates, and backtest settings before a stock screen produces results.
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How to build an options volatility stock screen
Build an options volatility thesis with IV rank, realized volatility, and open interest, then test what the signal does and does not predict.
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How to read deferred tax assets in a filing | Quantery Blog
Learn what deferred tax assets and valuation allowances mean, why releases can lift net income, and how to keep tax benefits from fooling a screen.
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How to read operating lease liabilities | Quantery Blog
Learn how operating lease liabilities, right-of-use assets, and lease costs change leverage analysis for retailers and other tenants.
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How to read drawdown in a backtest | Quantery Blog
Learn what maximum drawdown measures, what it hides, and how to test whether a stock-screen result could survive its worst losing stretch.
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How to test acquisition-driven growth | Quantery Blog
Separate purchased growth from operating progress by testing revenue, goodwill, debt, dilution, margins, and cash conversion after acquisitions.
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Should a stock screen use levels or changes? | Quantery Blog
Learn when a stock screen should use a current financial level, a year-over-year change, or both, with a filing example and testable thesis rules.
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How to compare return horizons in a backtest | Quantery Blog
Learn how to read short and long return horizons without confusing shrinking samples, overlapping windows, or signal decay with proof.
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How to read accounts payable in a filing | Quantery Blog
Learn what accounts payable reveals about supplier credit, working capital, and liquidity, then turn a change in payment terms into a testable screen.
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How to test metric definition risk | Quantery Blog
Learn how to rerun a stock thesis with plausible accounting definitions, find formula-sensitive results, and keep fragile metrics out of hard gates.
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How to create a stock screen report
Turn a recorded Quantery scan into a useful report by checking its scope, adding near-misses deliberately, and reviewing the evidence before export.
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How to read research and development expense | Quantery Blog
Learn where R&D expense appears in a filing, what rising research intensity can mean, and how to test whether spending produces operating progress.
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Average vs compounded return in a backtest
Learn why average event returns and compounded portfolio returns answer different questions, how losses widen the gap, and which number to report.
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How should a backtest weight stock positions?
Learn when equal weighting is a useful baseline, how position rules can reshape a backtest, and which sensitivity tests expose the difference.
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What does a backtest confidence interval mean?
Learn what a backtest confidence interval measures, why clustered signals make it too narrow, and how to report uncertainty without false precision.
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How to test whether retained earnings create value
Turn retained earnings into a testable capital-allocation thesis by measuring reinvestment, operating progress, and shareholder dilution.
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How to test a cyclical value thesis
Learn to normalize margins, reject peak-earnings traps, and test whether a cheap cyclical stock stays cheap across a full business cycle.
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How to test operating leverage after ASML's results
Turn ASML's record quarter into a test of whether sales growth, wider operating margins, and cash conversion travel together across companies.
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Quantery 1.7: a report you can hand to someone
Release notes for 1.7.0 through 1.7.2. A Print report button turns any scan into a paper-style report: scan summary, criteria with thresholds, ranked survivors, and a detail card per company. An optional AI memo adds an executive summary and a short assessment inside each company card. Every company page now opens with a profile of the business.
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How to customize your stock research dashboard
Build a Quantery company dashboard around the metrics your thesis uses, then separate filing history from changes recorded across scan runs.
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How to reuse stock screen formulas
Save formulas and thresholds as reusable Quantery favorites, insert editable copies into new theses, and avoid hidden dependencies when rules travel.
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How to save a stock watchlist
Save a reusable stock watchlist in Quantery with its scan settings, then rerun, revise, and compare it without losing the research setup.
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How to screen for self-funded growth
Build a stock screen for revenue growth backed by free cash flow, while checking whether debt and dilution are doing the funding instead.
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How to test a drop in revolving credit
Turn the latest fall in revolving consumer credit into a filing-based test of demand, margins, cash conversion, and retailer resilience.
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How to test customer concentration risk
Learn how to find customer concentration in a filing, separate direct from indirect exposure, and test whether diversification changes stock outcomes.
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How to read deferred revenue in a filing
Deferred revenue records consideration received or due before work is done. Learn where it appears, why it matters, and how to review it.
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How to read goodwill and impairment charges
Learn how acquisitions create goodwill, what an impairment charge means, how it changes the statements, and how to test acquisition discipline.
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How to read operating margin on a stock screen
Learn how operating margin is calculated, what a widening margin can reveal, where it misleads, and how to test the trend in a stock thesis.
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Does your backtest count dividends correctly?
Learn how dividends, stock splits, and return conventions can distort a backtest, then audit the strategy and benchmark on the same basis.
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How to read clustered signals in a backtest
Learn why clustered backtest signals share a market episode, how to spot dependence, and which controlled reruns reveal whether an edge travels.
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Does a complex stock thesis add value?
Compare a full stock thesis with a simple baseline, then remove each rule to learn whether the extra complexity improves the test.
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What XBRL can and cannot tell a stock screen
Learn how SEC filing tags become comparable stock-screen inputs, where custom tags and tagging errors break the chain, and how to audit them.
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How to build a custom stock universe
Build a named stock list in Quantery, attach it to a thesis, and test it without confusing today’s membership with historical evidence.
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How to refresh stock data before a scan
Refresh only the price, filing, or market datasets your thesis uses, verify the job, then rerun the same rules without muddying the comparison.
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How to use AI qualitative scoring
Use Quantery's optional AI pass after the quantitative gate, write criteria the model can judge, cap the workload, and audit every verdict.
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How to choose a backtest start date
Choose a backtest start date from data coverage and the thesis mechanism, then test whether the result survives nearby windows.
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How to screen for durable refining margins
Turn wider oil-refining margins into a test of cash conversion, margin durability, and balance-sheet strength without betting on crude prices.
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How to keep a backtest research log
Keep a reproducible record of thesis versions and backtest runs, including failures, so the search behind a promising result remains visible.
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How to read effective tax rate on a stock screen
Learn how pretax income and income tax expense produce the effective tax rate, why unusual tax items distort earnings, and how to screen for them.
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How to read the interest coverage ratio
Learn how EBIT, interest expense, and debt maturities reveal whether operating profit can cover a company's financing burden.
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How to handle broken ratios in a stock screen
Learn why zero and negative denominators create misleading stock ratios, then guard them with nulls, flags, and explicit thesis rules.
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How to use rolling windows in a backtest
Re-run one frozen stock thesis across rolling date windows to see whether its result persists, decays, or depends on one stretch of history.
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When to stop testing a stock thesis
A failed backtest is useful evidence. Learn when to retire a stock thesis, when to revise one rule, and how to preserve a research record.
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How should a backtest handle delisted stocks?
A backtest should keep delisted stocks in its universe, record a defensible terminal return, and stress-test outcomes that are missing.
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How to build a backtest sensitivity map
Map a backtest across nearby thresholds and cadences, then use the shape of the results to spot cliffs, plateaus, and fragile rules.
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How to test a hiring slowdown with a stock screen
Turn a drop in small-worksite job openings into a testable cash-resilience screen, then separate a macro story from company evidence.
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How to choose a stock screen template
Choose among Quantery’s editable templates by matching each one's business question, data demands, gate, and valuation method to your thesis.
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How to connect market data to Quantery
Choose the right data source for your thesis, connect it locally, verify coverage, and refresh only the evidence your next scan needs.
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How to version and roll back a stock thesis
Learn how to save, activate, compare, and roll back thesis versions in Quantery without losing the rules behind earlier research runs.
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How to stress-test backtest trading costs
Turnover, spreads, slippage, and market impact can erase a paper edge. Learn how to test a backtest before trusting its gross return.
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Is your stock screen just a size bet?
Test whether a stock screen finds the trait you intended or mostly selects smaller companies whose returns, liquidity, and risks differ.
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How to validate a stock thesis before running it
Check a stock thesis for valid fields, formulas, rule order, null handling, and test settings before you trust a scan or backtest.
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How many signals does a backtest need?
A backtest needs enough independent go events to test a claim. Learn how to measure signal density and recognize thin evidence.
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Stock-based compensation and cash flow, explained
Learn why stock pay boosts operating cash flow, where the cost moves instead, and how to test cash conversion and dilution together.
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How to read near-misses in a stock screen
Learn why stock-screen near-misses fail a gate, how to read missed criteria, and when data quality changes the diagnosis.
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How to set stock screen thresholds
Learn how to choose defensible stock screen thresholds, handle missing values, use score bands, and test sensitivity without fitting the result.
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How to test whether two stock signals work together
Learn to test two stock signals alone and together, then see whether their combination adds evidence or only tightens the gate.
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How to stress-test a backtest exit rule
Hold the entry signal fixed, vary maximum holds and gate-fail exits, then test whether a backtest result depends on its selling rule.
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Does your backtest depend on one big winner?
Use contribution analysis and leave-one-winner-out reruns to find whether a backtest result is broad or carried by a few extreme outcomes.
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How to use a holdout period in a backtest
Freeze your stock-screen rules, test them once on untouched dates, and learn what a holdout can and cannot prove about a backtest.
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How to handle missing data in a stock screen
Turn missing fundamentals into explicit thesis rules so gaps cannot pass a stock screen, distort a ratio, or disappear inside a backtest.
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How to test a stock after an equity raise
Turn the rebound in public stock offerings into a test of dilution, operating progress, financing dependence, and how new capital gets used.
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How to test a thesis across market regimes
Learn how to split a backtest into predeclared market regimes, avoid hindsight labels, and tell a conditional edge from a fragile result.
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How to check data coverage before a backtest
Use Quantery’s per-company coverage record to spot stale filings, missing periods, and short price histories before you trust a backtest.
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How to read a backtest report
Read a Quantery backtest report from coverage to event study, portfolio return, benchmark, drawdown, and the next test worth running.
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How to run your first backtest in Quantery
Run a Quantery backtest from an editable thesis, then read its benchmark, event study, portfolio curve, coverage, and caveats.
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How to test whether a stock score means anything
Run progressively stricter score gates, compare identical backtests, and find out whether more points identify a stronger stock screen.
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How to use negative controls in a backtest
Add placebo rules and impossible timing checks to a backtest so data leakage, broad exposures, and fragile stories reveal themselves.
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Strict gates vs score gates in a stock screen
Learn when every criterion should be mandatory, when strengths may offset weaknesses, and how to test both gate designs without moving the thesis.
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Accounts receivable turnover, explained
Learn how receivables turnover connects revenue to customer collections, where to find both lines in a filing, and how to test a collection rule.
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How to audit a stock screen result
Audit a Quantery stock screen result from gate to matched rule, then trace each calculated value back to its filing inputs and run date.
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How to read inventory turnover on a stock screen
Learn what inventory turnover measures, why inventory can outrun sales, and how to build a filing-based inventory discipline screen.
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How much reporting lag should a backtest use?
Learn what reporting lag prevents, why filing deadlines are the wrong shortcut, and how to test whether a thesis survives a slower data clock.
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How often should a backtest rebalance?
Choose a rebalance schedule from the speed of your thesis inputs, then test whether the result survives a slower or faster schedule.
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Is your stock screen just a sector bet?
Test whether a stock screen finds the business trait you intended or merely selects an industry that naturally looks good on the chosen ratio.
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How to screen after a Fed rate hike
Turn the Fed's latest rate increase into a test of debt service, refinancing exposure, cash generation, and the price paid for resilience.
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How to turn a filing into a testable thesis
Use a company filing as a research prompt: separate reported facts from a claim, choose a proxy, and test the rule without knowing the outcome.
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How to compare two screen runs
Compare two Quantery scan runs to see which companies were added, dropped, or still passing, then separate data changes from rule changes.
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How to choose the right backtest benchmark
Choose a backtest benchmark that matches your screen's investable universe, then use factor checks to explain where excess returns came from.
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Percentile ranks and deciles: how screens compare stocks
Learn how percentile ranks and deciles compare stocks, why the universe sets the result, and when a screen also needs an absolute threshold.
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Piotroski F-score: eight signals, one number
Learn how Quantery's eight-signal Piotroski F-score combines filing-based checks, handles missing data, and exposes the signals behind a total.
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Earnings yield and FCF yield: pricing stocks like bonds
Learn how earnings yield, EBITDA/EV, and FCF yield turn valuation multiples into comparable questions without mixing equity and enterprise value.
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Enterprise value: what the whole business costs
Enterprise value adds debt to market cap and subtracts cash. Learn what that bridge means, where it breaks, and how to use it in a screen.
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Return on capital: the quality number screens rank
Learn how return on capital connects operating profit to tangible capital employed, where each input comes from, and how to screen for it.
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Capex and depreciation: how to read the capital cycle
Learn how capital expenditures and depreciation differ, what each says about a business's capital cycle, and how to put the gap into a thesis.
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ROE and ROA: taking return on equity apart
Learn what return on equity and return on assets measure, how leverage changes the answer, and how DuPont analysis turns ROE into a testable thesis.
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How to avoid counting the same signal twice
Learn how overlapping criteria can overweight one idea in an investment thesis, then separate quality, cash backing, leverage, and valuation.
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When producer prices outrun consumer prices
What CPI and PPI say about margin pressure, where the comparison breaks, and how to test a company's margin defense from its filings.
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Operating cash flow vs net income: the accruals gap
Why net income and operating cash flow disagree, what a persistent gap between them says about earnings quality, and how to score that gap in a rule.
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What EBITDA measures, and what it leaves out
EBITDA is operating profit with depreciation added back. Where it comes from in the filings, what the add-back hides, and how a thesis should use it.
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Can a screen see a dividend cut coming?
Campbell's cut its dividend 36% while free cash flow still covered it 1.4 times. What the filings did show, and how to write that into a testable thesis.
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Revenue, net income, and margins on the income statement
Where revenue, gross profit and net income sit on a real income statement, what gross margin and net margin each measure, and where the two disagree.
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Share count and dilution: why per-share numbers drift
Basic vs diluted share counts, where they sit in a filing, how issuance and buybacks move every per-share number, and how to test for dilution.
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Gross debt vs net debt: how leverage reads on a screen
What total debt and net debt are, where they sit in the filings, when subtracting the cash is fair, and the two ratios a thesis uses to measure leverage.
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Working capital and the current ratio, explained
What current assets and current liabilities are, how working capital and the current ratio come off a real filing, and where the ratio stops working.
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When a one-time gain flatters your value screen
Dollar Tree booked $1.31 a share of tariff refunds and Dollar General $0.25. Why one-off cash gains slip past earnings-quality checks and skew trailing screens.
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How to read a balance sheet: assets, liabilities, equity
The accounting identity behind every balance sheet, what book value really means, why a profitable company can show negative equity, and how a screen reads it.
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Quantery 1.6.0: the universe is part of the thesis
Release notes for 1.6.0. A new Universes page brings standard index universes (S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Dow 30) with point-in-time membership, named custom ticker lists, universe-aware backtests, and four new MCP tools. Thesis universe filters now apply on every scan.
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Trailing vs forward numbers: what a thesis can trust
What trailing twelve months means, how it is built from four filed quarters, and why a screen scores filed numbers instead of forecasts.
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How the three financial statements fit together
The balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement answer three questions and lock together at two joints. Here is the map, and where a screen reads them.
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How to tell if a backtest result is real
Three backtests of the same screen, three different verdicts. How to use perturbation and coverage checks to separate a robust result from a lucky one.
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Quantery 1.5.0: every number can now show its work
Release notes for 1.5.0. Click any value a scan produced and see the rule that scored it, the inputs behind it, and the filing on SEC EDGAR. Plus clickable run history with two-run compare, a per-company data coverage card, and three new MCP audit tools.
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How to choose the universe your screen runs on
Exchange lists, market cap floors, sector exclusions, and missing data decide what your stock screen can see. How to make those choices on purpose.
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Turning an oil price spike into a testable thesis
Energy stocks surged on Middle East supply fears while the EIA forecasts lower oil next year. How to split that headline into claims you can actually test.
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How to connect Claude to Quantery over MCP
Turn on Quantery's local MCP server and connect Claude Code or Claude Desktop, so your assistant can build theses, run screens, and backtest on your machine.
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When capex outruns cash flow: a screen for the AI buildout
Alphabet borrowed $25 billion the same summer its free cash flow went negative. How to turn debt-funded capex into a screen you can test.
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Net current asset value: pricing the business at zero
What net current asset value is, how to compute it from the balance sheet, what the net-net record shows, and why a live screen finds almost none today.
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Your first scan in 10 minutes
Install Quantery, activate a trial key, run a proven starting-point screen, and read the survivors table. Then change one rule and make the screen yours.
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How to build a thesis worth testing
From a hunch to testable criteria: choosing measurable proxies, killing vague rules, and one worked example built from raw fundamentals.
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What makes a backtest honest
Point-in-time data, survivorship bias, look-ahead, excluded costs, and walk-forward testing: what a good backtest result does and does not tell you.
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Free cash flow: the number that's hardest to fake
What free cash flow is, how it's derived from the actual filings, why it diverges from earnings, and how to express an FCF screen from raw fundamentals.
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