The numbers that matter
11 measures, computed from SEC filings for 573 companies. Each page carries the distribution — so “is 18% good” has an answer rather than an opinion.
None of this needs more than school arithmetic. Every measure is two or three numbers from the company’s own filing, divided or subtracted — each page opens with the whole calculation in pocket-money numbers.
| Metric | Formula | Companies | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity | 537 | 11.7% |
| Return on capital employed | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) | 444 | 10.1% |
| Owner earnings | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure | 514 | $632.00m |
| Free cash flow | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure | 526 | $746.10m |
| Operating margin | Operating income ÷ revenue | 516 | 15.0% |
| Net margin | Net income ÷ revenue | 549 | 10.2% |
| Debt to equity | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity | 442 | 0.79x |
| Interest cover | Operating income ÷ interest expense | 429 | 4.43x |
| Current ratio | Current assets ÷ current liabilities | 446 | 1.25x |
| Long-term debt to working capital | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) | 258 | 2.30x |
| Cash conversion | Operating cash flow ÷ net income | 414 | 1.78x |
Payout ratios
The same arithmetic asked of the dividend rather than of the business. A company earns $100 and mails $40 of it to shareholders: a 40% payout ratio. The only argument is what to divide by — one page per choice.
| Ratio | Formula | Median | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings payout ratio | Dividends ÷ earnings | 44.2% | 476 |
| Operating cash flow payout ratio | Dividends ÷ operating cash flow | 26.2% | 501 |
| Free cash flow payout ratio | Dividends ÷ free cash flow | 39.6% | 406 |
| Funds from operations payout ratio | Dividends ÷ funds from operations | 65.5% | 46 |
| Net investment income payout ratio | Dividends ÷ net investment income | 96.5% | 4 |
Dividend payout ratio — the formula, the sector medians, and why one threshold does not fit · why there are no share prices here
Read through an investor’s lens
| Investor | What they look at | Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Warren Buffett | Owner earnings, return on equity, and as little debt as possible. | 4 |
| Terry Smith | Return on capital first, then cash conversion, then leave it alone. | 4 |
| Charlie Munger | Over a long enough hold, your return converges on what the business earns on its capital. | 3 |
| Chuck Akre | High returns on equity, earned without leverage, with somewhere to reinvest them. | 4 |
| Philip Fisher | Margins, and what the company is doing to defend them. | 4 |
| Walter Schloss | Start from book value, avoid leverage, and let the balance sheet decide. | 2 |
| Benjamin Graham | Solvency first, and a published number for every test. | 3 |
| Joel Greenblatt | Two numbers only: what the business earns on its capital, and what you get for the price. | 1 |
| Peter Lynch | Balance sheet first, then growth against the price. | 2 |
Descriptions of published method, sourced on each page. Not scores, not recommendations.
Who reads what
| Metric | Buffett | Smith | Munger | Akre | Fisher | Schloss | Graham | Greenblatt | Lynch | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | ● | ● | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | ● | 5 |
| Return on capital employed | · | ● | ● | · | ● | · | · | ● | · | 4 |
| Operating margin | ● | ● | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | 4 |
| Return on equity | ● | · | ● | ● | · | · | · | · | · | 3 |
| Net margin | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | · | ● | 2 |
| Current ratio | · | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | · | · | 2 |
| Cash conversion | · | ● | · | ● | · | · | · | · | · | 2 |
| Owner earnings | ● | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 1 |
| Long-term debt to working capital | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | · | · | 1 |
| Free cash flow | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 0 |
| Interest cover | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 0 |
9 published methods. The overlap is the finding: return on capital and leverage appear in most of them, and no two agree on the full set.
What is not here, and why
| P/E, P/B, EV/EBITDA, dividend yield | Every one needs a share price, which is licensed data. Nothing here holds one — instead every company page computes these in your browser against a price you type. Why, and what you get. |
|---|---|
| Analyst targets, ratings, sentiment | Opinions rather than filings. Nothing here is derived from them. |
| Adjusted or non-GAAP earnings | Used only where the industry has no alternative — funds from operations for REITs — and labelled an approximation where it is. |