Key figures
- 589 companies: 515 from the S&P 500, 29 from the CAC 40, 18 Nasdaq-100 companies outside the S&P 500 and 27 from a thematic selection.
- Median P/E: 23.6, among profitable companies; 9% had no positive P/E.
- Median free cash flow yield: 4.1%.
- 77% pay a dividend.
- Outside banks, insurers and REITs (481 companies): median ROIC 9.4%; 46% earn more than 10% on invested capital, 9% lose money on it.
- 52% have a Piotroski F-Score of 7 or more (strong financial health), 4% of 3 or less.
- 21% are in Altman’s distress zone (Z below 1.81), 60% in the safe zone (above 2.99).
Sector by sector
| Sector | Companies | Median P/E | Median FCF yield | Median dividend yield | Median ROIC | Piotroski ≥ 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 111 | 31.3 | 3.3% | 0.0% | 11.4% | 50% |
| Industrials | 92 | 26.1 | 4.0% | 1.2% | 10.4% | 60% |
| Financial Services | 76 | 13.6 | — | 1.9% | — | — |
| Healthcare | 65 | 29.1 | 4.4% | 0.4% | 8.7% | 65% |
| Consumer Cyclical | 59 | 19.7 | 4.5% | 1.2% | 14.5% | 53% |
| Consumer Defensive | 39 | 21.9 | 5.8% | 3.0% | 10.5% | 51% |
| Utilities | 33 | 20.9 | −5.4% | 3.0% | 4.1% | 12% |
| Real Estate | 32 | 31.7 | — | 4.1% | — | — |
| Energy | 28 | 15.2 | 5.5% | 1.9% | 9.2% | 54% |
| Communication Services | 27 | 15.1 | 5.8% | 0.6% | 6.7% | 33% |
| Basic Materials | 27 | 31.0 | 4.0% | 1.7% | 7.8% | 59% |
—: not meaningful for the sector (banks, insurers, REITs) or not available. Outside REITs, the highest median P/E is in Technology (31.3), the lowest in Financial Services (13.6). Median ROIC ranges from 4.1% (Utilities) to 14.5% (Consumer Cyclical). For REITs, P/E is a poor guide: depreciation of buildings weighs on earnings; they are usually judged on funds from operations (FFO).
Utilities: a negative median free cash flow yield (−5.4%). Heavy investment programmes — networks, infrastructure — can exceed the cash operations generate and are funded with debt; free cash flow then turns negative without the company being in trouble.
Financial health in detail
How the 481 companies (outside banks, insurers and REITs) spread across the Piotroski F-Score — nine tests of profitability, balance-sheet strength and efficiency:
| Piotroski F-Score | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1% |
| 2 | 8 | 2% |
| 3 | 10 | 2% |
| 4 | 28 | 6% |
| 5 | 79 | 16% |
| 6 | 105 | 22% |
| 7 | 128 | 27% |
| 8 | 98 | 20% |
| 9 | 22 | 5% |
Altman’s Z-Score was designed for manufacturers: for large companies that buy back shares or run with little equity, a low score does not mean bankruptcy is near. 21% in the distress zone reads as “worth a closer look”, not as a verdict.
How to read these figures
- The P/E says how many years of current earnings the price represents; it compares within a sector and over time.
- The free cash flow yield relates the cash really available to the market value.
- ROIC measures what the business earns on the capital it employs.
- The Piotroski F-Score and Altman Z-Score sum up financial health in one number — useful to sort, not enough to judge.
- A median splits the group in two: half the companies are above it, half below.
Method and limits
Figures computed by InvestIQ’s engine from Financial Modeling Prep data, for every company in the universe, rescored in rotation (no score is more than seven days old); scores computed between 31 October 2026 and 3 November 2026. Cash flows over the trailing twelve months. Companies whose computation failed are left out. Banks, insurers and REITs are left out of ROIC, the Piotroski F-Score and the Altman Z-Score, which do not describe them. See the methodology.
These statistics describe a group, not a company, and recommend no sector. They are updated every month.