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Backtested Scanners

Growth Gems: 7-Point Recipe

Read the study: Growth Gems Backtested: 13.17% a Year Since 2000 — and Why the Strictest Rule Loses

213 Hits · last calculated August 8, 2026 Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q) · Market filter active: the list shows 0 hits from Germany

Methodology & criteria

This scanner is an offshoot of the Growth Check (scanner "Growth Gems"): the same ten checks on revenue growth, capital discipline, margins, cash-flow quality and insider behavior, but with a different threshold. Instead of "8 of 10 points or more," this list shows only companies with exactly 7 of 10 points — the details of the ten criteria are described on the Growth Gems scanner. So we ran the numbers for every single score from 0 to 10 as a buy threshold, not just "8 points or more" — each level on its own. Backtest from 2000 to 2026 (26.5 years), US stocks only, including tickers that later disappeared from the tape, a monthly grid on month-end closing prices, 0.1% cost per buy and sell, an equal-weighted portfolio. Result of the point ladder: exactly 7 points turned out to be the strongest level — 14.38% a year ($100,000 grew to $3.52 million), with a maximum drawdown of 53.1%. For comparison: from 8 points it was 12.58% a year, from 9 points 13.17%, and a perfect 10 points brought only 6.79%. More points does not mean more return here. Building on that finding, we tested the following recipe for this scanner: buy at exactly 7 points, sell as soon as the score leaves 7 or the price falls 15% below the entry price (a 15% stop-loss); after a stop-loss sale, the same stock is locked out for six months. With this complete recipe the result was 15.58% a year ($100,000 grew to $4.63 million), with a maximum drawdown of 51.5%, spread across 9,579 purchases. Over the same period the S&P 500 returned 6.55% a year and the Nasdaq 100 8.12% (both excluding dividends). Honestly: with the stop-loss, only 47.3% of individual trades won (56.4% without the stop) — the return advantage does not come from more winning trades but from capped losses and faster rotation into new candidates. Stops were measured on month-end closing prices only; in live trading they can trigger earlier than this backtest shows. This list only reflects the buy side of the recipe — the stop-loss and re-entry lock are rules for your own portfolio, not investment advice. Source: fundamental data.

No global trading filters — this strategy checks the entire stock universe purely against its own criteria (mega caps over $50B included).

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Terms in This Scanner Explained

(16)
ADR (Average Daily Range)
The average daily swing of a stock in percent - measured over 10 or 30 trading days (columns "ADR 10D/30D"). An ADR of 5% means: on a normal day the gap between the intraday low and high runs about 5%. Traders look for movement - that is why stocks with an ADR under 1% are filtered out globally. Scanners that run without the global filters still include them; that is noted below their hit list. Not to be confused with ADR meaning "American Depositary Receipt" (a US certificate for foreign shares) - here ADR always means the daily swing.
AI Classification
Our company-by-company assessment of the AI boom based on SEC filings (the last four quarterly 10-Q reports and two annual 10-K reports): "Sells AI" (AI is a revenue source), "Threatened" (AI is a concrete business risk), "Uses AI" (operational use), or "Neutral" (no material AI exposure). Every classification requires at least two direct quote citations - otherwise the column shows "-". Not a quality judgment or a buy recommendation; the full file is on the stock page, methodology at /stocks/ai-rating-methodology.
Analysis (Full Company Analysis)
If the Analysis column shows "Read," there is an in-depth TickerGuard company analysis for this stock: business model, scanner findings, quarterly results, evidence from SEC filings, plus opportunities and risks. One click opens it directly.
Avg/Yr 3Y (Average Annual Return)
The stock's average annual return over the past 3 years. Shows at a glance whether a stock delivers over the long run or just had a short hot streak.
Earnings Date
The date of the next quarterly earnings report. Price gaps in either direction are common around this date - that is why we color it red when it is 7 days away or less, and yellow when it is 14 days away or less: elevated risk for fresh positions.
EPS (Earnings per Share)
Quarterly earnings divided by the number of shares outstanding. The most important growth metric: if EPS rises strongly over several quarters, the company is earning more money per share.
Free Cash Flow (FCF)
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures - the money left over for everything else (debt paydown, acquisitions, or buybacks). Consistently positive free cash flow is one of the most honest signs of a healthy business model.
Funda Rating (Fundamental Rating A+ to F)
Our proprietary fundamental rating from 0 to 100 points with a school-grade rank from A+ to F. 50 points is the average across the universe, 100 the best possible score. Every stock is scored against all others by percentile: growth in earnings and revenue, earnings surprises, analyst estimates, and quality criteria such as margins, cash flow, and balance-sheet strength. Grades: A+ from 95, A from 75, B from 55, C from 45, D from 25, E from 5, F below — A/A+ are the fundamentally strongest stocks in the universe.
Insider Buying / Selling
Purchases and sales of a company's own stock by executives and officers - subject to SEC disclosure in the US. Insiders sell for many reasons (a house, taxes), but they buy for essentially one reason: they think the stock is too cheap.
Market Capitalization (Mkt Cap)
The market value of the company: share price x total shares outstanding, shown here in billions of dollars. Micro caps (< $0.3B) are small and volatile, mega caps (> $200B) are heavyweights. Our scanner universe is deliberately capped at $50B - we look for stocks with room to run. The cap does not apply to scanners that run without the global filters; that is noted below their hit list.
Net Margin
How much of revenue is left as profit? Net income divided by revenue, in percent. A 20% margin means: out of every dollar of revenue, 20 cents is left as profit. Rising margins are a strong quality signal.
Operating Cash Flow (OCF)
The cash that actually flows into the company from day-to-day operations - without accounting effects such as depreciation. A company can report book profits while still burning cash; operating cash flow reveals that.
Piotroski F-Score
A balance-sheet health check developed by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria covering earnings, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency produce a score from 0 to 9. Scores of 7 or higher are considered financially very solid, scores under 3 a warning sign.
Sector & Industry
Two levels of industry classification: sector is broad (e.g., Technology), industry is narrow (e.g., Semiconductors). Many strategies watch industry strength, because strong stocks are almost always found in strong industries.
Stage (Weinstein Stages 1-4)
Stan Weinstein divides every price chart into four stages: Stage 1 = basing (sideways after a downtrend), Stage 2 = uptrend (the only buying stage), Stage 3 = topping, Stage 4 = downtrend (avoid, or short candidate). Measured against the 30-week line (150-day moving average) and its slope.
Stress RS (Strength on Stress Days)
A stress day is a day on which both the overall market and the stock's own sector fell at least 0.5%. Stress RS counts on how many of these days the stock still closed green (shown as "g/n" = green days out of n stress days) and turns that into a rating from 1 to 99. High values point to buyers stepping in even on weak days - often a sign of institutional accumulation.

View all terms in the Scanner Glossary

Hit List

Tip: clicking a column header sorts the table by that column; a second click flips the direction.

Growth Gems: 7-Point Recipe
Symbol Growth Score Earnings Avg/Y 3Y Stress RS Stage Funda Rating Piotroski MktCap Industry AI Rating Deep Dive Deep-Dive Report Sector Price YTD 6 Mo. 1 Year Off High Price Target RS EPS Rating ADR 10D ADR 30D Beta P/E P/E (f) P/S P/B P/FCF PEG EV/EBITDA EBIT Margin Gross Margin Net Margin ROE ROA Debt/Eq Equity Ratio Sales +/Y Div. Yield Payout Ratio Altman Z Inst. % Short % Analysts
No stocks currently pass this scanner.

Frequently Asked Questions

This scanner is an offshoot of the Growth Check (scanner "Growth Gems"): the same ten checks on revenue growth, capital discipline, margins, cash-flow quality and insider behavior, but with a different threshold. Instead of "8 of 10 points or more," this list shows only companies with exactly 7 of 10 points — the details of the ten criteria are described on the Growth Gems scanner.

All scanners are recalculated daily across the entire stock universe — most recently on 8. August 2026. The data basis is fundamental data and SEC filings (10-K annual reports and 10-Q quarterly reports).

Currently, 213 stocks pass this scanner's criteria (as of 8. August 2026). The 100 strongest hits are shown.

No global trading filters — this strategy checks the entire stock universe purely against its own criteria (mega caps over $50B included).

Because in the backtest more points did not mean more return. We ran every score from 0 to 10 on its own as a buy threshold, over January 2000 to July 2026 (26.5 years), US stocks only including tickers that later disappeared from the tape, a monthly grid on month-end closing prices, 0.1% cost per buy and sell, an equal-weighted portfolio. Exactly 7 points was the strongest single rung at 14.38% a year; from 8 points it was 12.58%, from 9 points 13.17%, and a perfect 10 points returned only 6.79%. That is why this scanner shows the rung itself rather than "7 or more". The full recipe we tested alongside it reads: buy at exactly 7 points, sell as soon as the score leaves 7 or the price falls 15% below the entry price (a 15% stop-loss), then lock the same stock out for six months. Calculated that way the result was 15.58% a year with a maximum drawdown of 51.5% across 9,579 purchases; over the same period the S&P 500 returned 6.55% a year (excluding dividends). Honestly: with the stop-loss only 47.3% of individual trades won, stops were measured on month-end closing prices only and can trigger earlier in live trading. The results list reflects the buy side alone — the stop-loss and re-entry lock are rules for your own portfolio. Source: fundamental data.

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Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.

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