ST Score methodology
How we grade
every stock.
The ST Score rates a stock from 0 to 100 and converts that into a letter grade from A+ to F. It is the average of eight factor grades — valuation, profitability, financial strength, momentum, growth, forecast, sentiment and the Piotroski F-Score — and every factor is measured against the company's own industry or sector peers, not the market as a whole.
In one paragraph: the ST Score is Stocks Telegraph's composite stock rating. For every covered company we calculate eight factor grades from reported financials and market data, rank each factor against industry peers to award a letter from A+ to F, then average those factor grades into a single 0–100 ST Score with its own overall letter grade. A stock graded A+ is one that scores near the top of its peer group across most factors; an F is one that lags on nearly all of them.
What the ST Score is
Most ratings tell you a conclusion without showing the arithmetic. The ST Score is built the other way round: every grade on a stock page can be opened to reveal the underlying metrics, the company's value for each one, and the industry median it was compared with.
The score is purely quantitative. No editor adjusts it, no sponsorship influences it, and the same formula is applied to every company we cover.
The eight factors
Each factor is graded independently, so a company can be excellent on one and poor on another.
Valuation
How much you pay for what you get. We look at P/E, PEG, price/sales, price/book, EV/EBITDA, EV/sales, price to free cash flow and free cash flow yield, comparing each against the industry median rather than a fixed threshold — a cheap software company and a cheap utility look nothing alike.
Profitability
Whether the business actually earns money on what it sells and on the capital it employs: gross margin, operating margin, net margin, return on equity, return on assets and return on invested capital.
Financial Strength
How well the balance sheet would survive a bad year: debt-to-equity, net debt to EBITDA, current and quick ratios, interest coverage, cash position and the Altman Z solvency reading.
Performance / Momentum
How the stock has actually traded: price performance over recent periods, position relative to its 50- and 200-day moving averages, distance from its 52-week high and low, and relative volume.
Growth
The trajectory of the business: revenue, gross profit, operating income, net income, EPS and free cash flow growth, measured over the latest quarter and over multi-year windows so one strong quarter cannot carry the grade.
Forecast
What the numbers ahead imply: consensus revenue and EPS estimates, the direction of estimate revisions, and the analyst price target relative to the current price.
Sentiment
How the market and the people closest to the company are behaving: analyst rating mix, upgrades and downgrades, insider buying and selling, and trading activity around the stock.
Piotroski F-Score
A nine-point accounting checklist covering profitability, leverage and operating efficiency. A company scores one point for each test it passes; 8–9 is considered strong, 0–2 weak. We carry it as its own factor because it is a well-established academic screen for financial quality.
How a stock is graded A+ to F
For each metric inside a factor we compare the company's value with the median value for its industry (falling back to the wider sector when an industry has too few companies). The company's standing across those metrics is converted to a percentile, and the percentile becomes a letter grade.
- A+ / A / A- — near the top of the peer group on most metrics in that factor.
- B+ / B / B- — clearly above the peer median.
- C+ / C / C- — around the peer median; typical for the industry.
- D+ / D / D- — below the peer median on most metrics.
- F — at the bottom of the peer group, or failing the factor's core tests outright.
Comparing within an industry matters. A 3% net margin is weak for software and healthy for a grocery chain, so an absolute cut-off would grade whole sectors unfairly.
How the factors combine into the 0–100 score
Each factor letter grade maps to a numeric value on a 0–100 scale (A+ at the top, F at the bottom). The ST Score is the average of the factor values that are available for that company, and the overall letter grade is read back off the same scale. Factors we cannot calculate — for example forecast data on a stock with no analyst coverage — are left out of the average rather than counted as zero, so a thinly covered company is not penalised for missing data.
As a rough guide: 75 and above is A-range territory, 60–75 is B, 45–60 is C, and below 45 is D or F.
How often grades update
Market-driven inputs — price, momentum, relative volume, analyst ratings and price targets — refresh daily, so momentum, sentiment and forecast grades can move day to day. Fundamental inputs change when a company files new results, so valuation, profitability, growth, financial strength and Piotroski grades typically shift after each quarterly or annual report. Every stock page shows the "as of" date for the grades displayed.
What the ST Score does not do
The ST Score measures a company's current quantitative standing against its peers. It does not predict price, it cannot read management quality, pending litigation, regulation or takeover talk, and it does not know your time horizon, tax position or risk tolerance. Treat a grade as a starting point for research, never as a recommendation. See our disclaimer for the full position.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ST Score?
The ST Score is Stocks Telegraph's composite stock rating. It scores a company from 0 to 100 and translates that into a letter grade from A+ to F, combining eight independent factors: valuation, profitability, financial strength, momentum, growth, forecast, sentiment and the Piotroski F-Score.
How is a stock graded A+ to F?
Each factor is calculated from the company's reported financials and market data, then ranked against companies in the same industry or sector. A stock in the top slice of its peer group earns an A-range grade, the middle earns B and C, and the weakest earn D or F. The eight factor grades are averaged into the overall ST Score and its letter grade.
How often are ST Score grades updated?
Grades refresh daily as prices, volumes and analyst data change, and factor inputs that depend on filings update as soon as new quarterly or annual reports are published.
Is the ST Score investment advice?
No. The ST Score is a quantitative research tool for education and comparison. It does not account for your objectives, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security.
Want to see it in action? Open the stock screener to filter by ST Score and factor grades, or look up any ticker to see its eight factor cards and the metrics behind each one. Browse graded stocks