CAN SLIM is William O'Neil's stock selection method, first published in How to Make Money in Stocks. Each letter represents one criterion: Current earnings, Annual earnings, New highs, Supply and demand, Leader or laggard, Institutional sponsorship, and Market direction. Shibui lets you describe all seven in plain English and check them across the entire US market at once.
What the screener checks
Earnings power (C + A)
Quarterly EPS growth of 25% or more year-over-year, plus annual earnings growth of 24%+ over 3-5 years. Shibui checks each individual period, not just the latest quarter.
Price strength (N + L)
Stock within 15% of the 52-week high and outperforming the market. Shibui computes relative strength from raw prices versus SPY over any lookback period you choose.
Institutional quality (S + I)
Shares outstanding, float size, volume trends, and institutional ownership above 40-50%. Shibui pulls ownership statistics and daily volume data in the same query.
Market direction (M)
S&P 500 above its 200-day SMA as a bull market filter. Ask Claude to check SPY's technical indicators before running the full screen. This one criterion can keep you from screening into a bear market.
The 7 CAN SLIM criteria
O'Neil developed CAN SLIM by studying the characteristics of the biggest stock market winners from 1953 to 1993. Each letter maps to a specific data check. Here is how each criterion translates to Shibui's data:
| Letter | Criterion | What to check | Shibui data |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Current quarterly EPS | EPS grew ≥ 25% YoY in the latest quarter | fundamentals_derived_quarterly (eps_growth_yoy) |
| A | Annual earnings growth | Earnings grew ≥ 24% annually over 3-5 years | fundamentals_yearly |
| N | New highs | Price within 15% of the 52-week high | stock_quotes (52-week window) |
| S | Supply and demand | Shares outstanding < 50M or low float, rising volume | stock_quotes, ownership_stats (shares_float) |
| L | Leader vs. laggard | Relative price strength in the top 20% of the market | stock_quotes (price-based RS vs SPY) |
| I | Institutional sponsorship | Institutional ownership ≥ 40-50% | ownership_stats (percent_institutions) |
| M | Market direction | S&P 500 above its 200-day SMA | stock_quotes on SPY, technical_indicators |
Shibui has the data columns for each of these checks. Claude constructs the screen from the underlying data when you describe the criteria. There are no built-in CAN SLIM scores or ratings. You define the thresholds, Claude checks them.
One honest caveat: the L criterion (leader) does not match O'Neil's proprietary Relative Strength Rating. Shibui can compute a stock's price performance relative to SPY or a sector ETF over any lookback period, but this is a simpler calculation than the 12-month weighted RS that Investor's Business Daily publishes. The CAN SLIM screening guide explains the difference.
Example screens
"Screen US stocks for CAN SLIM criteria: quarterly EPS growth above 25%, annual earnings growth above 24% over 3 years, within 15% of 52-week high, institutional ownership above 40%, and market cap above $2 billion."
This is the core CAN SLIM screen. Claude checks quarterly fundamentals for the C criterion, annual statements for the A criterion, daily prices for the N criterion, and ownership statistics for the I criterion. The market cap floor keeps the list to widely followed names. Typically, only a small fraction of the market passes all criteria at once.
"Run a CAN SLIM momentum screen: stocks near 52-week highs with 25%+ EPS and revenue growth, relative strength in the top 15% versus SPY over 6 months, SMA-50 above SMA-200, and institutional ownership above 50%."
This layers technical momentum filters (relative strength, moving average alignment) on top of the CAN SLIM fundamentals. Most CANSLIM screeners separate these steps or lack one side entirely. Here they run in one pass.
"Backtest CAN SLIM with and without the market direction filter: compare 3-month forward returns for stocks meeting all criteria in bull markets versus bear markets, across multiple market cycles."
This tests O'Neil's claim that the M criterion matters. Shibui has 64 years of daily prices and 35+ years of quarterly fundamentals, enough to run historical CAN SLIM screens across multiple market cycles and measure how much the market-direction filter contributes to the strategy's edge.
How it compares to other CANSLIM tools
MarketSmith (Investor's Business Daily) is the established tool for O'Neil-style screening. It has built-in CAN SLIM ratings and is the closest thing to an automated CANSLIM screener. Stock Rover and ChartMill offer pre-built screens with some CAN SLIM filters. TradingView has community scripts. Finviz handles basic fundamentals but cannot check institutional ownership thresholds or multi-year earnings trends.
| Feature | Shibui | MarketSmith | Stock Rover | ChartMill | Finviz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | ~$30/month | $28/month | Free basic | Free / $24.96/month |
| CAN SLIM scoring | Manual via prompt | Built-in (O'Neil ratings) | Preset screen | CANSLIM-style filters | No preset |
| EPS growth filters | Any period, any threshold | Preset (EPS Rating) | Predefined ranges | Yes | Current quarter only |
| Institutional ownership | Yes (ownership_stats) | Yes (built-in) | Yes | No | Basic |
| Historical depth | 64 years daily, 35+ years fundamentals | ~10 years | ~10 years | Limited | Limited |
| Backtest across cycles | Yes | No | Limited | No | No |
| Alerts / automation | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (email) |
If you want daily automated CAN SLIM alerts with O'Neil's proprietary ratings, MarketSmith is the purpose-built tool. If you want to define your own thresholds, combine CAN SLIM with other criteria (like VCP setups or consecutive earnings growth), and backtest across decades, Shibui handles that. See the AI stock screener overview for how Shibui compares on other screening approaches.
Frequently asked questions
What is CANSLIM stock screening?
CANSLIM is a stock selection method created by William O'Neil, founder of Investor's Business Daily. Each letter represents one criterion: Current quarterly earnings, Annual earnings growth, New highs, Supply and demand, Leader or laggard, Institutional sponsorship, and Market direction. A CANSLIM screener checks all seven across the market to find growth stocks with strong fundamentals and price momentum.
Is there a free CANSLIM screener?
Shibui Finance is a free CANSLIM screener. You connect it to Claude (the free plan works) and describe O'Neil's criteria in plain English. There is no subscription and no API key. The trade-off: there are no built-in CAN SLIM scores or proprietary ratings. You define the thresholds yourself, and Claude checks them across the market.
What are the 7 CANSLIM criteria?
C = Current quarterly EPS growth of 25% or more year-over-year. A = Annual earnings growth of 24%+ over 3-5 years. N = New highs, with the stock within 15% of its 52-week high. S = Supply and demand, measured by shares outstanding, float, and volume trends. L = Leader in its industry group by relative price strength. I = Institutional sponsorship of 40-50% or more. M = Market direction, with the S&P 500 in a confirmed uptrend.
Can I screen for CANSLIM on TradingView or Finviz?
TradingView does not have a built-in CANSLIM screener. Community Pine Scripts exist but require programming. Finviz can check basic earnings growth and moving averages, but cannot filter by institutional ownership thresholds or consecutive annual earnings growth. Shibui lets you describe all seven CAN SLIM criteria in plain English and checks them across the full market in one pass.
What is the difference between CANSLIM and VCP screening?
CAN SLIM is a stock selection system covering fundamentals, price strength, and market conditions. VCP (Volatility Contraction Pattern) is a chart pattern for timing entries. Many traders use both: CAN SLIM to find quality growth stocks, then VCP to time the entry. On Shibui, you can combine both in one query, screening for CAN SLIM fundamentals alongside VCP technical criteria. The CAN SLIM guide explains how to layer them together.
Does CANSLIM screening work with end-of-day data?
Yes. CAN SLIM screening uses quarterly earnings, annual trends, and daily closing prices relative to highs and moving averages. None of these require intraday data. Shibui's data is end-of-day, updated after market close. You cannot set real-time breakout alerts, but for identifying stocks meeting O'Neil's criteria, end-of-day data is standard practice.
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