Graham Value Screener

By Christian Richter | Last updated 2026-09-23

Benjamin Graham laid out the framework for value investing in Security Analysis (1934) and The Intelligent Investor (1949). The core idea: buy stocks trading below a conservative estimate of what the business is worth, with enough of a gap (the margin of safety) to protect against errors in your estimate. Graham described two approaches. The Defensive Investor applies strict, mechanical filters: adequate size, strong financials, earnings stability, a dividend record, and moderate P/E and price-to-book ratios. The Enterprising Investor goes further, looking for net-net stocks (companies trading below their liquidation value) and special situations. Shibui has the balance sheet data to compute net current asset value across the entire market and the historical depth to check earnings stability over 20+ years.

What the screener checks

Graham's criteria mapped to Shibui data

Graham's Defensive Investor criteria from Chapter 14 of The Intelligent Investor, mapped to what Shibui can check. You set the thresholds, Claude runs the screen.

Honest caveats: Graham's original criteria were designed for a different market era. A current ratio above 2.0 eliminates most modern technology companies. The 20-year dividend requirement rules out most growth stocks. These screens work best for finding old-economy companies trading at depressed prices, which is exactly what Graham intended. The net-net screen typically returns micro-caps with thin trading volume, not household names.

Example screens

This combines Graham's price-to-book criterion with the Piotroski F-Score as a quality filter. A stock below book value could be cheap because it is improving (high F-Score) or because it is deteriorating (low F-Score). Adding the Piotroski filter separates the two groups. This is a combination that no preset dropdown screener can express in one step.

Graham's ultimate bargain: buying a company for less than its liquidation value. Claude computes NCAV (current assets minus total liabilities) for every stock and compares it to market cap. The operating cash flow filter removes companies that are burning through their cash, the so-called "melting ice cubes" that show up in every net-net screen. Typically 5 to 15 stocks qualify at any given time, almost all micro-caps.

Graham's full Defensive Investor checklist in one query. Claude checks the P/E x P/B product (the combined valuation ceiling), verifies each year's earnings individually, and filters on current ratio. Relaxing the earnings window from 10 years to 5 expands the universe while still requiring sustained profitability.

How it compares to other value screeners

Most screeners support P/E and price-to-book filters. Very few can compute net current asset value or check earnings stability across multiple years. None let you describe the screen in plain English.

GuruFocus and Old School Value are the established tools for Graham-style screening, with pre-built net-net lists, Graham Number calculators, and value investing dashboards. The trade-off is price ($216-$499/year) and a fixed set of screens. On Shibui, you describe any combination in plain English: Graham criteria with a Piotroski F-Score quality filter, a value screen combined with earnings surprise data, or a net-net screen with insider buying overlay. If you want pre-built value rankings and portfolio tracking, GuruFocus or Old School Value are the tools for that. See the AI stock screener overview for how Shibui compares on other screening approaches.

Want to run this screen daily on a schedule? See the automated stock screener workflow for scheduling commands and prompt reliability patterns.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Graham value screen?

A Graham value screen applies Benjamin Graham's criteria from The Intelligent Investor and Security Analysis to find stocks trading below intrinsic value with a margin of safety. Graham defined two investor profiles: the Defensive Investor (strict quality and valuation rules) and the Enterprising Investor (willing to do deeper analysis for greater bargains, including net-net stocks). Shibui has the financial data to run both types of screen across 10,000+ US stocks.

Is there a free net-net stock screener?

Shibui Finance is a free net-net screener. Connect it to Claude (the free plan works) and ask for stocks where current assets minus total liabilities exceeds the market cap. Claude computes NCAV across the entire market. There is no subscription. The trade-off: no real-time data, no pre-built net-net rankings, and no automated alerts. You define the criteria yourself.

What is the Graham Number?

The Graham Number is a formula that estimates the maximum fair price for a stock based on its earnings per share and book value per share: square root of (22.5 x EPS x BVPS). It combines Graham's P/E ceiling of 15 and price-to-book ceiling of 1.5. Shibui has both EPS and book value per share going back 20+ years, so Claude can compute the Graham Number for any stock or screen the market for stocks trading below it.

Can you screen for net-net stocks on Finviz?

No. Finviz has a price-to-book filter but cannot compute net current asset value (current assets minus total liabilities) or compare it to market cap. A net-net screen requires balance sheet line items that Finviz does not expose as screening filters. Shibui has current assets, total liabilities, and market cap, so Claude can compute NCAV across the entire market in one query.

Can you backtest Graham's criteria on Shibui?

Yes. Shibui has quarterly financials, daily valuations, and daily prices going back 20+ years. You can ask Claude to find stocks that met Graham's Defensive Investor criteria at any year-end since 2005 and check their subsequent 1-year returns. This is a historical backtest with survivorship bias (delisted companies are not in the dataset), but it shows how the criteria performed on the stocks that survived.

How does a Graham screen differ from a quality compounder screen?

A Graham screen prioritizes price: buy stocks trading below a conservative estimate of intrinsic value, regardless of whether the business is exceptional. A quality compounder screen prioritizes business quality: high returns on capital, stable margins, and revenue growth, often at higher valuations. Graham buys dollar bills for 50 cents. Compounders buy businesses that turn 50 cents into a dollar every few years. On Shibui, you can run both and see which names overlap.