Quant Value Research
Analyzing the "Architects" of wealth through the lens of modern quantitative finance. Moat decomposition using the 7 Powers framework and deep factor analysis.
Top Composite
Median ROE
Median FCF Margin
Median D/E
7_POWERS_DECOMPOSITION
MSFT · AUTHOR'S JUDGMENT · HAMILTON HELMERSwitching Costs
Loss of value if customer switches to alternative.
Network Economies
Value increases as more people use the product.
Scale Economies
Unit cost declines as volume increases.
Counter-Positioning
New business model that incumbents cannot copy.
Branding
Higher perceived value due to reputation.
Cornered Resource
Preferential access to a valuable input.
QUALITY_VALUE_SCREEN
FY2024 annual filings, curated 2026-07 · fundamentals only, no market data
| Signal | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NVDANVIDIA | 91.9% | 62.5% | 46.7% | 64.3% | 0.11 | 14.6 USD | 85.6 | Exceptional |
VVisa Inc. | 50.4% | 65.7% | 51.8% | 9.3% | 0.53 | 65.2 USD | 66.7 | Strong |
ASMLASML Holding | 41.1% | 32.2% | 32.5% | 19.1% | 0.25 | 142.7 EUR | 60.6 | Strong |
METAMeta Platforms | 34.2% | 42.2% | 32.8% | 18.4% | 0.16 | 197.0 USD | 58.3 | Strong |
AAPLApple Inc. | 164.7% | 31.5% | 27.9% | 8.5% | 1.87 | 22.7 USD | 46.7 | Solid |
MSFTMicrosoft | 32.8% | 44.6% | 30.2% | 14.3% | 0.25 | 97.9 USD | 46.1 | Solid |
ADBEAdobe Inc. | 39.7% | 31.2% | 36.7% | 13.9% | 0.40 | 94.2 USD | 45.0 | Solid |
GOOGLAlphabet | 30.8% | 32.1% | 20.8% | 16.7% | 0.09 | 69.2 USD | 37.8 | Solid |
ORCLOracle | 120.7% | 29.1% | 22.3% | 6.1% | 9.71 | 16.2 USD | 33.3 | Watch |
INFYInfosys | 30.2% | 21.0% | 14.5% | 9.5% | 0.01 | 6.7 USD | 20.0 | Watch |
10 securities · composite = weighted percentile ranks · ASML figures in EUR · see methodology below
ARCHITECT_PERSPECTIVES
Warren Buffett
MOATThe key to investing is not assessing how much an industry is going to affect society, or how much it will grow, but rather determining the competitive advantage of any given company and, above all, the durability of that advantage.
Charlie Munger
STANDARDThe big money is not in the buying and the selling, but in the waiting.
Peter Lynch
TEN_BAGGERGo for a business that any idiot can run – because sooner or later, any idiot is probably going to run it.
RISK_ANTI_MODELS
QUALITATIVEComplexity Trap
Opaque accounting or organizational structure concealing systemic risk.
Financial Engineering
Growth driven by buybacks and leverage rather than operations.
Diworsification
Expansion into low-return, unrelated businesses.
The Fall from Godhood
Cultural decay and loss of founding vision.
Red flags from the historical cases below, reviewed by hand. They are not part of the composite score.
METHODOLOGY
Factor model
Each security is scored on 5 price-independent fundamental factors. Raw values are converted to cross-sectional percentile ranks within the 10-name universe (mean rank for ties), oriented so higher is better, and combined with the weights below. The composite is therefore scale-free and robust to outliers; signals are fixed thresholds on the composite (75/55/35), not discretionary calls.
| Factor | Formula | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Return on Equity | net income / shareholder equity | 30% |
| Operating Margin | EBIT / revenue | 20% |
| FCF Margin | (operating cash flow - capex) / revenue | 20% |
| Revenue 5y CAGR | (revenue / revenue 5y ago)^(1/5) - 1 | 15% |
| Debt / Equity (inverted) | total debt / shareholder equity | 15% |
Graham Number = sqrt(22.5 x EPS x book value per share) - reported per share for reference, outside the composite.
Data and limitations
- Inputs are approximate, rounded figures transcribed from each company's FY2024 annual filing (FY2024 annual filings, curated 2026-07). This is a static research snapshot, not a live feed.
- Market prices are deliberately excluded, so the screen measures business quality, not valuation. A cheap-vs-expensive judgment still requires comparing the Graham Number and quality score against the prevailing price.
- The universe is small and hand-picked toward well-known compounders, so percentile ranks are relative to a strong peer group - a mediocre rank here can still be an excellent business globally.
- ASML reports in EUR; ratios are currency-neutral but the Graham Number is in EUR per share.
- Nothing on this page is investment advice; it is a methodology demonstration.
Factor weights are subjective research priors, not fitted parameters. Changing them changes the ranking; the point of publishing them is that the ranking is reproducible.
HISTORICAL_ANTI_MODELS
LEARNING_FROM_THE_FALLEN