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Method 6 min read May 28, 2026

Piotroski F-Score: measuring a company's financial health

A score out of 9 that sums up a company's financial health in nine simple tests.

The Piotroski F-Score is a score from 0 to 9 that measures a company's financial soundness from nine accounting criteria. A score of 7 to 9 indicates a financially healthy company; a score of 0 to 3 signals fragility.

What does the Piotroski F-Score measure?

Designed by Professor Joseph Piotroski, it evaluates three areas: profitability, debt structure and operational efficiency. Each criterion passed earns one point.

What are the 9 criteria?

Profitability: positive net income, positive operating cash flow, rising ROA, and cash flow greater than net income. Leverage: a decrease in long-term debt, a rising current ratio, no issuance of new shares. Efficiency: rising gross margin and rising asset turnover.

How to interpret the score?

ScoreReading
7-9Solid financial health
4-6Average situation, to watch
0-3Financial fragility

How to use it in practice?

The Piotroski works well as a quality filter, especially combined with a low valuation: a discounted stock with a high score is a classic value-investing profile. In InvestIQ's scoring, it acts as a quality multiplier rather than a simple added point.

This is not investment advice.

InvestIQ

Put this method into practice

A 0-100 conviction score computed across 5 dimensions, a BUY/SELL/HOLD verdict, in seconds.

Frequently asked questions

A score of 7 to 9 out of 9 indicates a financially solid company. Below 4, the financial situation is considered fragile.

It is mostly relevant for mature companies. For high-growth firms or financials, it must be complemented by other measures.

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