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Research Agent

How Quantis reads everyday words

4 min read · Concept

In everyday words

If you ask a friend for a big slice of cake, they have to guess how big you mean. We do not guess quietly: we say which size we picked, so you can ask for another.

An example in pounds

Say a share costs £50 and paid £2.50 in dividends over the last year. That is £5 for every £100 of share price, a 5% yield, so it counts as a high dividend here, where the line is 4%.

The short version

When a question uses a vague word, the Research Agent picks one stated meaning and tells you which.

Questions like "which stocks are cheap?" or "is Apple growing?" use words that can mean more than one thing. Instead of turning the question away, the Research Agent reads each word one fixed way, worked out with figures it really holds, and says so in one line above the answer.

That line reads like this: I've read 'growing' as revenue higher than the year before in each of the last 3 fiscal years. Ask differently to change it.

If you meant something else, put it in the question, for example "P/E under 15", "revenue growth above 20%" or "market cap over $50 billion", and the agent uses your words instead of its own.

What these meanings never do

  • They are not advice. A question that asks what to buy, sell or hold, such as "best stocks to buy", keeps the reply that says Quantis does not tell you what to buy. No meaning turns it into a list.
  • They are not a verdict. "Cheap" is a comparison of figures: a lower P/E than other shares, or than the share's own past. It does not mean a share is a bargain or that its price will rise.
  • They are past figures. "Safe" and "risky" say how much the price moved in the past. They say nothing about what comes next.
  • They never fill a gap. When the figures a meaning needs are missing, the answer says so. Nothing is estimated in their place.

The words

Growing, increasing

In one sentence: A growing company sold more this year than the year before, and more the year before that too.

For one company: Revenue up on the year before in each of the last 3 fiscal years (or the figure you name, such as profit or earnings per share).

For a list of companies: Revenue in the latest fiscal year higher than in the year before (revenue growth above 0%).

It is about the company's sales, not its share price: ask about the price to see that.

Data: Revenue and other figures from each company's annual reports (10-K) at SEC EDGAR; Revenue growth in Quantis's company metrics table, for a list (it keeps the latest fiscal year and the one before).

Works for: US-listed companies.

Words it covers: "growing", "increasing", "growth company", "expanding", "rising sales".

Cheap, undervalued

In one sentence: Cheap here means a low price for each dollar of yearly profit, against other shares or the share's own past; it is not a sign to buy.

For one company: Its P/E today set against its own P/E at each month-end over the last 5 years.

For a list of companies: The lowest P/E first (the share price against the last 12 months' earnings per share), not the lowest share price: a comparison of figures, not a verdict on value.

For one named share, "is it undervalued?" asks for a verdict, so it gets the report written from Quantis's data, which shows the same P/E figures and gives no verdict.

Data: Earnings per share from SEC filings (10-Q and 10-K); Daily closing prices.

Works for: US-listed companies.

Words it covers: "cheap", "cheapest", "inexpensive", "undervalued", "low valuation".

Expensive, overvalued

In one sentence: Expensive here means a high price for each dollar of yearly profit, against other shares or the share's own past; it is not a sign to sell.

For one company: Its P/E today set against its own P/E at each month-end over the last 5 years.

For a list of companies: The highest P/E first (the share price against the last 12 months' earnings per share): a comparison of figures, not a verdict on value.

For one named share, "is it overvalued?" asks for a verdict, so it gets the report written from Quantis's data, which shows the same P/E figures and gives no verdict.

Data: Earnings per share from SEC filings (10-Q and 10-K); Daily closing prices.

Works for: US-listed companies.

Words it covers: "expensive", "priciest", "pricey", "overvalued", "high valuation".

Big, large company

In one sentence: A big company here is one whose shares are worth $10 billion or more all added together.

For one company: A market cap of $10 billion or more (the latest close times the shares outstanding).

For a list of companies: A market cap of $10 billion or more (the latest close times the shares outstanding).

Data: Shares outstanding from SEC filings; Daily closing prices; Quantis's own size bands (no index provider's list is used).

Works for: US-listed companies.

Words it covers: "big company", "large company", "big stocks", "huge", "how big".

Small company

In one sentence: A small company here is one whose shares are worth between $300 million and $2 billion all added together.

For one company: A market cap from $300 million to under $2 billion (the latest close times the shares outstanding).

For a list of companies: A market cap from $300 million to under $2 billion; "smallest" puts the smallest market cap first.

Data: Shares outstanding from SEC filings; Daily closing prices; Quantis's own size bands (no index provider's list is used).

Works for: US-listed companies.

Words it covers: "small company", "small stocks", "smaller companies", "smallest companies", "tiny".

Recently, lately

In one sentence: Recently means the last 30 days.

For one company: The last 30 days (the 1-month price change).

For a list of companies: The price change over the last 30 days.

Data: Daily closing prices (the close on or before 30 calendar days before the latest close).

Works for: US-listed companies, London listings and European listings.

Words it covers: "recently", "lately", "of late", "in recent weeks".

This year

In one sentence: This year means from the last day of trading last year up to the latest close.

For one company: From the last close of last year to the latest close (the year-to-date price change).

For a list of companies: The price change from the last close of last year to the latest close (year to date).

It is the calendar year, not the last 12 months and not a company's fiscal year.

Data: Daily closing prices.

Works for: US-listed companies, London listings and European listings.

Words it covers: "this year", "so far this year", "year to date", "YTD".

Safe, low risk

In one sentence: Low risk here means the price has bounced up and down only a little over the last year; no share is free of risk.

For one company: How much the price has moved: its 1-year volatility and its largest fall from a high, past moves only.

For a list of companies: The lowest 1-year volatility first (how much the daily price moved over the last year), past moves only.

A low figure says the price moved less in the past. It says nothing about what comes next.

Data: Daily closing prices (the last 252 trading sessions).

Works for: US-listed companies, London listings and European listings.

Words it covers: "safe", "safest", "low risk", "least risky", "low volatility".

Risky, volatile

In one sentence: Risky here means the price has bounced up and down a lot over the last year.

For one company: How much the price has moved: its 1-year volatility and its largest fall from a high, past moves only.

For a list of companies: The highest 1-year volatility first (how much the daily price moved over the last year), past moves only.

A high figure says the price moved more in the past. It says nothing about what comes next.

Data: Daily closing prices (the last 252 trading sessions).

Works for: US-listed companies, London listings and European listings.

Words it covers: "risky", "riskiest", "high risk", "volatile".

High dividend

In one sentence: A high dividend here means the company paid out at least $4 a year for every $100 of share price.

For one company: A dividend yield of 4% or more over the last 12 months (dividends paid, on the latest close).

For a list of companies: A dividend yield of 4% or more over the last 12 months, highest first; "best" or "top" dividend stocks are the highest yields first.

It counts dividends already paid, not announced or forecast ones.

Data: Dividends paid (ex-dividend dates in the last 12 months); Daily closing prices.

Works for: US-listed companies, London listings and European listings.

Words it covers: "high dividend", "big dividend", "good dividend", "high-yield stocks", "best dividend stocks".

Beaten up, fallen a lot

In one sentence: Beaten up means the price is a long way below the highest it closed at in the last year.

For one company: How far the latest close is below its 52-week closing high (the highest daily close in the last 365 days).

For a list of companies: Furthest below the 52-week closing high first (the highest daily close in the last 365 days); with a period named, the biggest fall over that period.

Data: Daily closing prices.

Works for: US-listed companies, London listings and European listings.

Words it covers: "beaten up", "beaten down", "fallen a lot", "down a lot", "crashed", "off its highs".

Best, top

In one sentence: Best here means the biggest price rise over the last year and top means the biggest companies, unless you name another figure; neither is a list of shares to buy.

For a list of companies: When no other figure is named, "best" puts the biggest price change over the period named first (the last year when none is named) and "top" the largest market cap first: a ranking of a stated figure, not a list of shares to buy.

"Best stocks to buy" asks for advice, so it keeps the reply that says Quantis does not say what to buy.

Data: Daily closing prices, shares outstanding from SEC filings, or the figure the question names.

Works for: US-listed companies, London listings and European listings.

Words it covers: "best", "top", "strongest", "greatest".