Fundamental Strength Indicator

17 Mei 2023

Name of the indicator: Fundamental Strength Indicator

A brief description of the indicator:
Using this indicator, you can evaluate a company in terms of the strength of its financial performance and see how that score has changed over time.

The background to the creation of the indicator:
The main idea that inspired me to create this indicator is: "Even if you buy just 1 share of a company, treat it like buying the whole business". However, when I need to evaluate the business of thousands of public companies traded on exchanges, there is an objective difficulty: it is very time-consuming. To solve this problem, I had to create a scoring system of the fundamental analysis of the company, embodied in this indicator.

What the indicator looks like:
- First, it is a Histogram with bars of three colors: green, orange, and red. The width of the histogram depends on the depth of data from the company statements. The more historical data, the wider the histogram over time.



The green color of the bars means that the company has been showing excellent financial results by the sum of the factors in that time period. According to my terminology, the company has a "strong foundation" during this period. Green corresponds to values between 8 and 15 (where 15 is the maximum possible positive value on the sum of the factors).

The orange color of the bars means that according to the sum of factors during this period the company demonstrated mediocre financial results, i.e. it has a "mediocre foundation". Orange color corresponds to values from 1 to 7.

The red color of the bars means that according to the sum of factors in this period of time, the company demonstrated weak financial results, i.e. it has a "weak foundation". The red color corresponds to values from -15 to 0 (where -15 is the maximum possible negative value on the sum of factors).



- Second, this is the Blue Line, which is the moving average of the Histogram bars over the last year (*). Averaging over the year is necessary in order to obtain a weighted estimate that is not subject to medium-term fluctuations. It is by the last value of the blue line that the actual Fundamental Strength of the company is determined.
(*) The last year means the last 252 trading days, including the current trading day.





- Third, these are operating, investing, and financing Cash Flows expressed in Diluted net income. These flows look like thick green, orange, and red lines, respectively.



- Fourth, this is the Table on the left, which shows the latest actual value of the Fundamental Strength and Cash Flows.




Indicator settings:
In the indicator settings, I can disable the visibility of the Histogram, Blue Line, Cash Flows (each separately), and Table. It helps to study each of the parameters separately. It is also possible to change the color, transparency, and thickness of lines.




Mandatory requirements for using the indicator:
- works only on a daily timeframe;
- only applies to shares of public companies;
- company financial statements for the last 4 quarters and more are required;
- it is necessary to have the data from the Balance sheet, Income statement, and Cash flow statement, required for the calculation.

If at least one component required for calculating the Fundamental Strength is missing, the message "no data to calculate the Fundamental Strength correctly" is displayed. In the same case, but for the operating cash flow, the message "no data to calculate the Operating Cash Flow correctly" is shown, and similarly for other flows.




What is the value of the Fundamental Strength Indicator:
- allows for a quantitative assessment of a company's financial performance in points (from -15 to 15 points);
- allows you to visually track how the company's financial performance has changed (positively/negatively) over time;
- allows to visually trace the movement of main cash flows over time;
- speeds up the process of selecting companies for your shortlist (if you are focused on financial results when selecting companies);
- allows you to protect yourself from investing in companies with weak and mediocre fundamentals.

Indicator calculation methodology:
Guided by the "Treat stock investments as buying the whole business" approach, you can imagine what kind of business an investor is interested in owning and simultaneously determine the input parameters for calculating the indicator.

(!) Here it is important to emphasize that the idea of a benchmark business for investment is a subjective notion, so be sure to check whether it coincides with your own opinion.

For me, a benchmark business is:
- A business that operates efficiently without diminishing the return on shareholders' investment. To assess the efficiency and profitability of a business, I use the following financial ratios (*): Diluted EPS and Return on Equity (ROE). The first two parameters for calculating the indicator are there.
- A business that scales sales and optimizes its costs. From this point of view, the following financial ratios are suitable: Gross margin, Operating expense ratio, and Total revenue. Plus three other metrics.
- A business that turns goods/services into cash quickly and does not fall behind on payments to suppliers. The following financial ratios will fit here: Days payable, Days sales outstanding, and Inventory to revenue ratio. These are three more metrics.
- A business that does not resort to significant accounts payable and shows financial strength. Here I use the following financial ratios: Current ratio, Interest coverage, and Debt to revenue ratio. These are the last three parameters.

(*) If you want to learn more about these financial ratios, I suggest reading my two articles on TradingView:
Financial ratios: digesting them together
What can financial ratios tell us?
Next, each of the parameters is assigned a certain number of points based on its last value or the position of that value relative to the annual maximum and minimum.

For example, if the Current ratio:
- greater than or equal to 2 (+1 point);
- less than or equal to 1 (-1 point);
- more than 1 but less than 2 (0 points).

Or for example, if Diluted EPS:
- near or above the annual high (+2 points);
- near the annual minimum and below (-2 points);
- between the annual maximum and minimum (0 points).

And so on with each of the parameters.
As a result, the maximum number of points a company can score is 15 points. The minimum number of points a company can score is -15 points. These levels are marked with horizontal dotted lines: the green line is for the maximum value, and the red line is for the minimum.

I track the number of points for each day of a company's life on a three-color Histogram. The resulting average value for the last year is on the Blue Line. For me, it is the last value of the Blue Line that determines - this is the actual Fundamental Strength of the company.

The business valuation model I created is more suitable for companies that produce goods or services, and where tangible assets play a significant role in the business. For example, when analyzing companies in the financial sector, you may see the message "no data to calculate the Fundamental Strength correctly". Many of them may simply be missing data that is used as input for the calculation: Inventory to revenue ratio, Days sales outstanding, etc.

Examples:
Below I will evaluate various companies using the Fundamental Strength Indicator.

Tesla, Inc.


The indicator shows that since 2020, Tesla Inc. has been steadily increasing its Fundamental Strength (from 3.27 in Q1 2020 to 12.79 in Q1 2023). This is noticeable both by the color change of the Histogram from orange to green and by the rising Blue Line. If you look in detail at what has been happening with the financials during this time, it's clear what meaningful work the company has done. Revenues have almost quadrupled. Earnings per share have increased 134 times. At the same time, total debt to revenue fell almost 10 times.




Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.


The company, formed in 2018 by the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, has failed to deliver outstanding financial results, causing its Fundamental Strength to fall from 4.63 in Q1 2018 to -0.53 in Q1 2023. During this period, the drop in diluted earnings per share was accompanied by higher debt and deteriorating liquidity.




Costco Wholesale Corporation


Wholesaler Costco has been surprisingly stable in its financial performance and with steady growth in both earnings and revenue. This is the reason why the Histogram bars are exceptionally green throughout the calculation of the indicator. The Fundamental Strength has not changed in three years and is high at 11 points.



As an additional filter, for example, when comparing two companies where all other conditions are equal - I use the dynamics of Cash Flows expressed in Diluted net income (*). These are the thick green, orange, and red lines over the Histogram.



Why do I use income as a unit of measure of Cash Flows? Because it is a good way to make the scale of indicator values the same for companies from different countries, with different currencies. It also allows you to use a single value scale for both Cash Flows and Fundamental Strength.

(*) If you want to learn more about Cash Flows, I suggest reading my two articles on TradingView:
Cash flow statement or Three great rivers
Cash flow vibrations

So, an additional filter shows the dynamics of Cash Flows over time.
To interpret the dynamics of Cash Flows, I pay attention to the following patterns:
- How the cash flows are positioned in relation to each other;
- In which zone each of the cash flows is located - in the positive or negative;
- What is the trend of each of the cash flows;
- How volatile each of the cash flows is.

As an example, let's look at several companies in order to interpret the dynamics of their Cash Flows.

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.


This is the most ideal situation for me: operating cash flow (green line) is above the other cash flows, investment cash flow (orange line) is near zero and practically unchanged, and financial cash flow (red line) is consistently below zero. This picture shows that the company lives off its operating cash flow, does not increase its debt, does not spend a substantial amount of money on expensive purchases, and retains (does not sell off) assets.

Parker Hannifin Corporation


With stable operating cash flow (green line), the company implements investment programs by raising additional funding. This is noticeable due to an increase in financial cash flow (red line) and a simultaneous decrease in investment cash flow (orange line) with a significant deepening into negative areas. Apparently, there is not enough operating cash flow to realize the planned investments. One has to wonder how sustainable a company can be if it invests in its development using borrowed funds without a subsequent increase in operating cash flow.

Schlumberger N. V.


The chaotic intertwining of cash flows outside of the Fundamental Strength range (-15 to 15) is indicative of the company's rich life, but to me, it is an indicator of high riskiness of its actions. And as we can see, Fundamental Strength has only begun to strengthen in the last year, when the external appearance of cash flow has normalized.

Risk disclaimer:
When working with the Fundamental Strength Indicator and the additional filter in the form of Cash Flows, you should understand that the publication of the Balance sheet, Income statement, and Cash flow statement takes place sometime after the end of the financial quarter. This means that new relevant data for the calculation will only appear after the publication of the new statements. In this regard, there may be a significant change in the values of the Indicator after the publication of new statements. The magnitude of this change will depend both on the content of the new statements and on the number of days between the end of the financial quarter and the publication date of the statements. Until the date of publication of the new statements, the latest relevant data will be used for calculations.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the calculation of Fundamental Strength and Cash Flows requires the availability of data for all parameters of the valuation model. It uses data that is exclusively available on TradingView (there is no reconciliation with other sources). If at least one parameter is missing, I switch to another company's analysis to continue using the indicator.

Thus, the Fundamental Strength Indicator and an additional filter in the form of Cash Flows make it possible to evaluate the financial results of the company based on the available data and the methodology I created. A simple visualization in the form of a three-color Histogram, a Blue line, and three thick Cash Flow lines significantly reduces the time for selecting fundamentally strong companies that fit the criteria of the selected model. However, this Indicator and/or its description and/or examples cannot be used as the sole reason for buying or selling stocks or for any other action or inaction related to stocks.

15 Jun 2023

Catatan Rilis

ver. 1.1. Fundamental Strength Indicator.

The new version of the indicator has an additional filter in the form of Cash Flows. These are three lines of different colors, which are located on top of the Histogram.

Each of the flows corresponds to a different color:

• Operating Cash Flow - green line;
  
• Investing Cash Flow - orange line;
  
• Financing Cash Flow - red line.
  

Added the following clarification to the Cash Flow calculation: because the net income value may be negative, the Diluted net profit module is used for the calculations (without the "minus" sign in this case).

Example from ver. 1.0.

Schlumberger N. V.


Example from ver. 1.1.

Schlumberger N. V.