The Piotroski F-Score grades fundamental health from 0 to 9.
What it is
The Piotroski F-Score, created by accounting professor Joseph Piotroski in 2000, rates a company's financial strength on a scale of 0 to 9. It awards one point for each of nine yes/no tests covering profitability, leverage and liquidity, and operating efficiency. A higher score points to stronger, improving fundamentals.
Why it matters
It is a simple, transparent way to separate financially improving companies from deteriorating ones, and it was originally designed to find healthy firms among cheap value stocks. Scores of 8 or 9 indicate strong fundamentals, while 0 to 2 signals weakness. Because it rewards year-over-year improvement, a high score reflects positive momentum in the fundamentals, not just a strong snapshot.
How it's calculated
It sums nine binary tests across three areas, awarding one point each: profitability (positive net income, positive operating cash flow, rising return on assets, and operating cash flow exceeding net income), leverage/liquidity (falling long-term debt ratio, rising current ratio, and no new shares issued), and efficiency (rising gross margin and rising asset turnover). The total ranges from 0 to 9.
How Quintarthai uses it
Piotroski-style fundamental quality signals feed Quinn's bull/bear and QuinnScore analysis on a company's deep-analysis page, and quality metrics are available across the screener and company pages.
Cross-border note. Several inputs (gross margin, operating cash flow, asset values) can shift modestly under IFRS versus US GAAP, so compare F-Scores between Canadian and US companies with that accounting difference in mind.
FAQ
What is a good Piotroski F-Score?
A score of 8 or 9 reflects strong, improving fundamentals, while 0 to 2 signals weak or deteriorating ones. The score is most useful as a relative filter rather than a standalone buy or sell trigger.
What does the F-Score measure?
It measures fundamental financial strength across profitability, leverage and liquidity, and operating efficiency, with extra weight on year-over-year improvement. It was designed to help identify financially solid companies, particularly among value stocks.
Check your understanding
What distinguishes the Piotroski F-Score from a simple snapshot of a company's financial health?
Several of the nine pass/fail tests reward year-over-year improvement, so a high F-Score reflects improving fundamentals, not just a strong single-period snapshot.