
Here we look at the financial ratios that we will be using for Warren Buffett's method at picking stocks.
Our first step is to see if the company we are interested is a Buffett-like company.
Assess earnings per share growth and verify return on equity above 15% and return on invested capital above 12%, with debt under five times earnings and positive free cash flow.
Apply Buffett's four-stage stock analysis to determine if the current price is a good bargain, computing initial rate of return, return on equity method, EPS growth method, then averaging results.
Assess Warren Buffett's stage a initial rate of return by comparing EPS divided by price times 100 to the treasury rate, as General Mills shows 8.8% versus 4.1%.
Compute the expected annual return using the earnings per share growth rate, project earnings per share ten years forward, value the stock with a price-to-earnings ratio, and apply Buffett's thresholds.
Apply Warren Buffett's stock screening method to Walmart: assess consumer monopoly, earnings growth, ROE, ROIC, debt, and free cash flow, then estimate future returns via EPS, book value, and P/E.
Apply Warren Buffett's method to Monster Beverage: assess durable competitive advantage, growth in earnings, ROE and ROIC, debt, and projected returns to estimate a 17.1% annual return.
When ready to analyze your own stocks, use the Checklist and Calculations worksheet to go through the step-by-step process in Buffett's Method to help make your decision.
Warren Buffett is considered to be the Greatest Investor of All Time. His investment approach is not glamorous or eye-catching; he doesn't jump from big hype stock to big hype stock. Instead, he invests in businesses that have simple products that people don't want to live without, and he holds on to them for a very long time.
Buffett is not interested in the "next big thing" (and all the speculation and hype that goes along with it). He does not chart stock prices nor try to capitalize on small day-to-day stock market movements.
His primary concern is simple: What is a good business really worth, and at what price can he get its stock. Buffett's approach to choosing stocks is not difficult, yet most investors would not follow it. His method requires you to be rational and unemotional in your decision-making (which most people fail at doing). Buffett's strategy is: Buy with great care and hold for a long time.
This course will take you through the methodology that Buffett uses to:
Choose the right company to invest in. It must
have a durable competitive advantage,
be financially secure,
keep growing year after year,
have great management, and
give excellent returns on an investment.
Determine the rate of return to expect on your investment if you buy the stock (with two different approaches):
using the historical Return on Equity data
using the historical Earnings per Share data.
The main goal is to choose a solid, financially sound company that is priced low enough to give a high rate of return over the long term.