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Strategy Guide
QARP Screening:
How to Find Quality at a Fair Price
No single free tool screens all four QARP criteria. Here is the exact two-tool workflow — and the manual check — to build a clean QARP candidate list.
The Four QARP Criteria
| Criteria |
Target |
What It Tells You |
| ROIC |
> 15% |
The business generates strong returns on every dollar invested. This is the single best indicator of a quality business. |
| Debt / EBITDA |
< 2x |
Low financial risk. The company can service its debt without stress even if earnings dip. |
| FCF Yield |
> 4% |
Real cash is being generated relative to price. Prevents buying expensive businesses that only look profitable on paper. |
| Revenue Growth (5yr) |
Consistent > 5% annually |
The business is not shrinking. Revenue consistency separates compounders from one-cycle winners. |
What Each Tool Can Screen
| Criteria |
TradingView |
FinViz |
| ROIC > 15% |
Yes — native filter |
Yes — under Fundamental filters |
| Debt / EBITDA < 2x |
Partial — Debt/Equity only, not Debt/EBITDA |
No — Debt/Equity only |
| FCF Yield > 4% |
Yes — use "FCF Margin FY > 4%". Also add "P/FCF: 10–25" to set a fair-price range (floor excludes distressed, ceiling excludes overvalued). |
No — not available |
| Revenue Growth (5yr) |
Partial — TTM and 1yr only |
Yes — "Sales growth past 5 years" filter |
Bottom Line
TradingView covers 2.5 of 4 criteria. FinViz covers 2 of 4. Neither does Debt/EBITDA natively. A two-tool workflow plus one manual check gets you a clean list.
The Two-Tool Workflow
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Step 1 — FinViz: Narrow the universe
Go to FinViz Screener and apply:
• Return on Investment > 15% (closest proxy for ROIC in FinViz)
• Sales growth past 5 years > 8%
• Market Cap: Mid ($2B–$10B) or Large (>$10B) — avoids illiquid small caps
This typically returns 40–80 names. Export or note the list.
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Step 2 — TradingView: Apply FCF filter
Go to TradingView Stock Screener and add:
• FCF Margin FY > 4% — confirms real cash generation relative to revenue
• P/FCF > 10 — excludes distressed or broken businesses
• P/FCF < 25 — caps valuation so you are not overpaying for quality
• Performance (1Y) < -10% — forces the pullback condition; you only want quality on sale
• RSI < 50 — confirms the stock is not already running
Note: TradingView offers several FCF options. For QARP, use FCF Margin FY and P/FCF only — ignore FCF Per Share, Per Employee, and Growth % as they don't normalize to price or quality.
Then cross-reference against your FinViz list — keep only names appearing in both. This is the step that cuts 60 symbols down to 8–15 genuine candidates.
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Step 3 — Manual check: Debt/EBITDA
For each surviving name, look up Debt/EBITDA on Macrotrends.net or Simply Wall St.
• Search the ticker → Financial Statements → look for "Net Debt / EBITDA" or "Debt/EBITDA ratio"
• Keep only names where Debt/EBITDA < 2x
This is a 2–3 minute check per stock. Typically 5–10 names survive all four filters.
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Step 4 — Entry trigger
From the surviving list, only act when a name is 15–30% off its 52-week high with RSI < 50. This is the "fair price" part of QARP — you are waiting for quality to go on sale due to a temporary problem, not a permanent one.
Alternative: Simply Wall St (All-in-One)
Simply Wall St is the closest thing to a purpose-built QARP screener available to retail investors. It visualizes ROIC, debt levels, FCF, and revenue consistency on a single page per stock, and its screener supports all four criteria natively.
The free tier is limited. A paid subscription (~$10–15/month) unlocks full screener access. For serious QARP screening, it is worth the cost versus the manual two-tool workflow.
The Criteria Are a Starting Gate, Not a Buy Signal
Passing all four filters means a business is worth investigating — not that it is worth buying today. Before entering, confirm: (1) the reason for the pullback is temporary and identifiable, (2) management has not changed the capital allocation strategy, and (3) the business model has not structurally changed. Quality businesses can still be value traps if the moat has eroded.
Quick Reference