Mastering the Stock Screener

20 Ready-Made Screens · Custom Filter Builder · 33 Ratios · 1,269+ Indian Stocks

COMPLETE GUIDE

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Published: April 18, 2026  |  10 min read  |  Platform Guide  |  Discovery

Multimedia Learning Hub

Learn the Screener through a structured overview and interactive knowledge test

What You Will Master

The Finmagine Screener is a fundamental screener for NSE-listed stocks — not a price-chart scanner. It works by querying the Intelligence Engine's pre-computed ratio classifications. Every company in the database has been assigned an Excellent / Good / Average / Poor grade and an Improving / Stable / Declining trend for up to 33 financial ratios. The Screener lets you combine those classifications as conditions to find companies that meet your investment criteria across the full 1,269+ stock universe.

What This Guide Covers:

  1. The classification system — what Excellent, Good, Average, and Poor mean for each ratio category
  2. The 20 Quick Screen presets — what each one does and when to use it
  3. The custom filter builder — adding ratio conditions, classification chips, and trend filters
  4. The 33 available ratios — organised by Profitability, Leverage, Liquidity, Growth, and Efficiency
  5. Extra filters — Sector, Sub-Sector, MCap range, Sort order
  6. The global quality floor — what it is and how it affects results
  7. Free vs Premium limits — 20 results vs 200
  8. Practical workflows — from screen to stock page

Who This Is For:

  • Fundamental investors — screen for quality, value, or growth characteristics before deep-diving into individual stocks
  • Framework followers — apply time-tested strategies (Magic Formula, Graham Defensive, Coffee Can, Piotroski) with one click
  • Idea generators — discover stocks you have never encountered by filtering on ratio trends rather than just current levels
What are the four classification tiers in the Screener?
Excellent, Good, Average, and Poor. Every ratio for every company is pre-classified into one of these four tiers by the Intelligence Engine.
What do the three trend options mean?
Improving — the ratio has been getting better over recent periods. Stable — little directional change. Declining — the ratio has been deteriorating. Trends filter by direction of change, not the absolute level.
How many stocks does the Screener cover?
1,269+ companies from the Finmagine Intelligence Engine, covering NSE-listed equities across all sectors.
What is the global quality floor and which sectors are exempt?
All screens apply a baseline quality filter: ROCE ≥ 10%, ROE ≥ 10%, OPM ≥ 10%, D/E ≤ 0.75. Financial Services companies are exempt from the OPM and D/E thresholds since their business models operate differently.
How many results can free vs Premium users see?
Free users see up to 20 results per screen. Premium users see up to 200 results per screen.
What does the "Latest results only" checkbox do?
It restricts results to companies whose ratio data has been updated within the last 90 days. Useful to exclude companies with stale financial data — e.g. those that have delayed their quarterly filings.
What is the Magic Formula preset based on?
Joel Greenblatt's Magic Formula: ROCE ≥ 20% (return on capital) combined with PE < 25 (earnings yield). It looks for high-quality businesses at reasonable prices.
What is the Coffee Can preset?
A long-duration quality filter inspired by Robert Kirby's Coffee Can portfolio: ROCE Excellent + Revenue Growth Excellent + D/E Excellent + MCap ≥ ₹500Cr. Designed for "buy and hold for 10 years" candidates.
What is the difference between Price Pessimism and Value Buys?
Value Buys screens for PE < 20 with ROCE Good or better — a cheap-on-earnings approach. Price Pessimism screens for quality businesses (ROCE Good+) whose stock price has fallen more than 10% in the past year — the business is fine but the market has sold it off.
Can you combine a classification filter and a trend filter on the same ratio?
Yes. In a custom filter row, you can select both a classification (e.g. Good) and a trend (e.g. Improving) for the same ratio. This filters for companies where the ratio is currently Good AND has been improving — a double confirmation signal.

The Classification System — How Ratios Are Graded

The Screener does not work with raw ratio values. Instead, the Intelligence Engine pre-computes a classification for every ratio of every company: one of four tiers.

Excellent Good Average Poor

The thresholds vary by ratio. For ROCE, "Excellent" means a very high return on capital; for D/E, "Excellent" means very low debt relative to equity. The classification is ratio-specific and built from the distribution across the full stock universe — so "Excellent ROCE" means excellent relative to all Indian listed companies, not just within a sector.

In addition to classification, each ratio has a trend — the direction of change over the past several reporting periods:

Why trend matters as much as level: A company with Good ROCE that is Improving is often a better opportunity than one with Excellent ROCE that is Declining. The trajectory tells you whether management is improving capital efficiency or coasting on past performance.

The 20 Quick Screen Presets

Click any preset card to instantly load a proven filter combination. The screen runs immediately — no configuration required. You can then add extra filters (Sector, MCap) on top of a preset or modify the conditions in the filter builder.

Quality & Profitability Presets

🏆
Quality Compounders
ROCE Excellent + ROE Excellent + D/E Excellent — businesses with the highest return on capital, equity, and no meaningful debt
💎
Strong Profitability
ROCE Excellent + OPM Good+ + NPM Good+ — triple-tier profitability check across ROCE, operating margin, and net margin
♻️
Consistent Compounders
ROCE Excellent + ROE Excellent + Revenue Growth Good+ + PAT Growth Good+ — quality compounders that are also growing
Coffee Can
ROCE Excellent + Revenue Growth Excellent + D/E Excellent + OPM Good+ + MCap ≥ ₹500Cr — the most demanding quality filter, built for decade-long holds

Balance Sheet & Safety Presets

🛡️
Fortress Balance Sheet
D/E Excellent + Interest Coverage Excellent + Current Ratio Good+ — no meaningful debt and able to easily service what little exists
Debt-Free Growers
D/E Excellent + PAT Growth Good+ — clean balance sheet plus earnings momentum

Growth Presets

🚀
Growth Accelerators
PAT Growth Good+ + Revenue Growth Good+ — companies growing both top line and bottom line at above-average rates
📈
Rising Margins
OPM trend Improving + ROCE trend Improving — companies whose profitability is expanding, regardless of current level
📈
Margin Expansion
OPM trend Improving + EBITDA Margin trend Improving — dual margin improvement signal
🔄
Turnaround Watch
PAT trend Improving + OPM trend Improving + ROCE ≥ 10% + MCap ≥ ₹500Cr — businesses recovering operationally, with a quality and size floor

Value Presets

🏷️
Value Buys
PE < 20 + ROCE Good+ — quality businesses trading at a modest earnings multiple
🧮
Magic Formula
ROCE ≥ 20% + PE < 25 — Joel Greenblatt's framework: high return on capital at a reasonable price
📐
Graham Defensive
PE < 15 + D/E < 0.5 — Benjamin Graham's conservative value filter: cheap earnings and low financial leverage
📉
Price Pessimism
ROCE Good+ + 1Y price return < -10% — quality business that the market has sold off more than 10% in the past year
🏅
Hidden Champions
ROCE Excellent + Revenue Growth ≥ 10% + MCap < ₹5,000Cr — quality small and mid-cap businesses before they become well-known

Ownership & Momentum Presets

🔥
Momentum Movers
ROCE Good+ + 1Y price return ≥ 20% — quality businesses that the market is already rewarding
🤝
Promoter Conviction
Promoter holding ≥ 60% + D/E Excellent — high promoter skin-in-the-game with no balance sheet risk
🌍
FII Favorites
FII holding ≥ 15% + ROCE Good+ — stocks with significant foreign institutional ownership, indicating global quality recognition
📊
Piotroski-Inspired
ROE + OPM + D/E all Excellent — a three-signal quality confirmation inspired by Joseph Piotroski's F-Score framework
🔓
Deleveraging
D/E trend Declining + Interest Coverage trend Improving — companies actively paying down debt and improving their debt-service capacity

Building a Custom Screen

Click + Add Condition to open a filter row. Each row has three controls:

  1. Ratio dropdown — 33 ratios grouped by category (Profitability, Leverage, Liquidity, Growth, Efficiency). Select the ratio you want to filter on.
  2. Classification chips — click one or more of Excellent Good Average Poor. Selecting multiple means OR within that condition — e.g. "Excellent OR Good" means either tier qualifies.
  3. Trend dropdown — optionally filter by Improving / Stable / Declining. Leave blank to ignore trend.

Add multiple rows with + Add Condition. Each row is combined with AND logic — the company must satisfy every condition to appear in results. Click × on any row to remove it. Click Clear all to reset.

Power technique — combine classification and trend on the same ratio: Set ROCE to "Good" classification AND "Improving" trend. This finds companies whose ROCE is currently good but heading higher — often more interesting than static Excellent-ROCE businesses.

The "Latest Results Only" Checkbox

Tick this to restrict results to companies whose ratio data has been updated within the last 90 days. This is useful when you want to ensure the financial data underpinning the classifications is current — for example, filtering out companies that have delayed quarterly filings or have stale ratio entries in the engine.

All 33 Ratios Available for Filtering

CategoryRatioWhat It Measures
PROFITABILITY
ROCEReturn on Capital Employed — profit generated per rupee of total capital deployed
ROEReturn on Equity — profit generated per rupee of shareholders' equity
Operating Margin (OPM)Operating profit as % of revenue — core business profitability before interest and tax
Net Profit Margin (NPM)Net profit as % of revenue — bottom-line profitability after all costs
EBITDA MarginEBITDA as % of revenue — cash operating profitability
CFO / PAT (Cash Conversion)Operating cash flow as a ratio of reported profit — measures earnings quality
LEVERAGE
Debt / Equity (D/E)Total debt relative to shareholders' equity — financial leverage
Interest CoverageEBIT / Interest expense — ability to service debt from operating profit
Debt / EBITDAYears of EBITDA needed to repay total debt
Net Debt / EBITDASame as Debt/EBITDA but uses net debt (debt minus cash)
Net Debt / EquityNet debt relative to equity
Debt / AssetsProportion of total assets funded by debt
LIQUIDITY
Current RatioCurrent assets / current liabilities — short-term solvency
Quick RatioLiquid assets / current liabilities — excludes inventory
Cash RatioCash only / current liabilities — the most conservative liquidity measure
GROWTH
Revenue Growth (CAGR)Compounded annual revenue growth — topline expansion
PAT Growth (CAGR)Compounded annual profit after tax growth — earnings expansion
EBITDA Growth (CAGR)Compounded annual EBITDA growth — cash earnings expansion
EFFICIENCY
Asset TurnoverRevenue generated per rupee of total assets
Inventory TurnoverHow many times inventory is sold and replaced in a year
Receivables TurnoverHow quickly a company collects payments from customers
Fixed Asset TurnoverRevenue generated per rupee of fixed assets (PP&E)
Capital Employed TurnoverRevenue relative to capital employed
Debtor DaysAverage days to collect a receivable
Inventory DaysAverage days inventory is held before sale
Payable DaysAverage days to pay suppliers
Working Capital CycleDebtor Days + Inventory Days − Payable Days — cash conversion cycle
Capex / DepreciationReinvestment rate — >1 means investing more than the asset base is depreciating
Plant & Equipment TurnoverRevenue generated per rupee of plant and equipment

Extra Filters — Sector, MCap, and Sort

The Extra Filters strip below the custom filter builder lets you further narrow or organise results without adding ratio conditions:

FilterWhat It Does
SectorRestrict results to a single sector (e.g. Pharmaceuticals, Financial Services, Consumer Goods). Use this when you already know the sector you want to invest in.
Sub-SectorFurther narrowing within a sector (e.g. within Pharmaceuticals: API manufacturers, formulations, hospitals). More specific than sector alone.
MCap Min (₹ Cr)Set a minimum market cap floor. Common values: ₹500 Cr (eliminate micro-caps), ₹5,000 Cr (mid-cap and above), ₹25,000 Cr (large-cap only).
MCap Max (₹ Cr)Set a maximum market cap ceiling. Use to focus on small or mid-cap opportunities (e.g. max ₹10,000 Cr for small-cap screens).
Sort ByOrder results by: Market Cap, ROCE, ROE, OPM %, Sales Growth, D/E, P/E, or Company Name.
OrderHigh → Low (default, shows best values first) or Low → High (useful for D/E and P/E where lower is often better).
Recommended combination: Run a Quality Compounders preset → set Sector to a sector you understand well → set MCap Min to ₹500 Cr → sort by ROCE High→Low. You now have a focused short-list of the strongest fundamentals in a sector you can analyse with confidence.

The Global Quality Floor

Every screen — preset or custom — applies a baseline quality filter that cannot be turned off:

This floor prevents the screener from surfacing genuinely poor-quality businesses even when a user has not set those criteria manually. It is the reason you may sometimes get fewer results than expected — a company that passes your ratio conditions but fails the quality floor is excluded.

Financial Services exception: Banks, NBFCs, insurance companies, and other Financial Services stocks are exempt from the OPM and D/E thresholds. Their business model inherently involves high leverage and their "operating margin" is not comparable to manufacturing or technology companies. ROCE and ROE floors still apply.

Reading Results and the Screener → Stock Workflow

Each result row shows:

Click any row to open the full stock page for that company. From there, use the Overview tab for the Ratio Health score and Strengths/Concerns, the Ratios tab for the complete 30+ ratio breakdown, the Analysis tab for the investment thesis, and the Compare button to benchmark against peers.

Free vs Premium Result Limits

TierMax Results
Guest / Free20 results per screen
Premium200 results per screen

For many screens, 20 results is enough — Quality Compounders typically returns 30–50 companies and the top 20 by ROCE are already the cream. But for broader screens like Growth Accelerators or Momentum Movers where the universe is larger, Premium unlocks the full depth.

Recommended Workflow — Screen to Conviction

  1. Start with a preset that matches your investment style
  2. Add a sector filter to narrow to an industry you understand
  3. Sort by ROCE High→Low to put the best-quality businesses first
  4. Click the top 3–5 results and open each stock page
  5. Run Compare across those 3–5 stocks to see them side by side
  6. Use the Analysis tab on the winner to build conviction

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