Quality
Most recently reported Return on Equity. Higher = better.
As of 2026-08-31 · 76 names held · backtest spans 238 months
Trailing returns
Cumulative return vs S&P 500 TR
Performance stats
| Metric | Factor | S&P 500 TR |
|---|---|---|
Annualized return (1 + total) ^ (252/4987) − 1 | +11.56% | +11.31% |
Annualized volatility daily-return stdev × √252 | +20.72% | +19.61% |
Sharpe ratio ann return ÷ ann vol (rf = 0) | 0.56 | 0.58 |
Max drawdown worst peak-to-trough on the cumulative series | -51.07% | -55.25% |
Information ratio ann excess return ÷ tracking error (vs S&P 500 TR) | 0.07 | — |
Monthly hit rate share of months where factor return > S&P 500 TR | 55% (131/238) | — |
How it's computed
What. At each month-end, take each ticker's most recent reported return_on_equity whose period_end + 60 days is on or before the rebal date — i.e. the latest RoE that was *publicly known*. Rank cross-sectionally, hold the top quintile equal-weighted.
Why it has worked. Persistently profitable firms with strong balance sheets outperform weaker peers — the quality premium examined in Novy-Marx (2013) and AQR's *Quality Minus Junk*. The intuition: profitability is sticky, but markets focus on earnings momentum or simple valuation and under-price the persistence.
Caveats. This is single-metric quality — multi-factor academic constructions blend RoE with gross margin, accruals, leverage, and earnings stability. Single-metric RoE can flag highly leveraged companies (small equity base = high RoE). Worth combining with a leverage screen in production use.
Current sector mix
| Sector | Names | % of screen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Technology | 17 | 22.4% | |
| Industrials | 14 | 18.4% | |
| Consumer Discretionary | 13 | 17.1% | |
| Health Care | 7 | 9.2% | |
| Financials | 6 | 7.9% | |
| Materials | 5 | 6.6% | |
| Consumer Staples | 5 | 6.6% | |
| Communication Services | 4 | 5.3% | |
| Energy | 2 | 2.6% | |
| Real Estate | 2 | 2.6% | |
| Utilities | 1 | 1.3% |
Current top quintile (76 names)
| Ticker | Name | Sector | Signal ↓ | Z-score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAS | MASCO CORP /DE/ | Industrials | 788.9% | 6.73 |
| IT | GARTNER INC | Information Technology | 350.8% | 6.73 |
| CLX | CLOROX CO /DE/ | Materials | 203.3% | 6.73 |
| CL | COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO | Consumer Staples | 132.9% | 6.73 |
| GDDY | GoDaddy Inc. | Information Technology | 90.4% | 6.73 |
| MA | Mastercard Inc | Industrials | 57.8% | 4.09 |
| FTNT | Fortinet, Inc. | Information Technology | 54.0% | 3.79 |
| APP | AppLovin Corp | Information Technology | 51.0% | 3.55 |
| TPR | TAPESTRY, INC. | Consumer Discretionary | 50.4% | 3.50 |
| COR | Cencora, Inc. | Health Care | 45.8% | 3.13 |
| KMB | KIMBERLY CLARK CORP | Materials | 34.7% | 2.24 |
| WDC | WESTERN DIGITAL CORP | Information Technology | 33.1% | 2.11 |
| GEV | GE Vernova Inc. | Industrials | 31.5% | 1.98 |
| NVDA | NVIDIA CORP | Information Technology | 29.8% | 1.85 |
| HAS | HASBRO, INC. | Consumer Discretionary | 29.4% | 1.81 |
| AAPL | Apple Inc. | Information Technology | 27.8% | 1.68 |
| SNDK | Sandisk Corp | Information Technology | 26.2% | 1.56 |
| ITW | ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC | Industrials | 23.8% | 1.36 |
| HD | HOME DEPOT, INC. | Consumer Discretionary | 23.7% | 1.35 |
| LLY | ELI LILLY & Co | Health Care | 23.7% | 1.35 |
| MCO | MOODYS CORP /DE/ | Industrials | 21.0% | 1.14 |
| AMGN | AMGEN INC | Health Care | 19.8% | 1.04 |
| ZTS | Zoetis Inc. | Health Care | 18.6% | 0.94 |
| VST | Vistra Corp. | Utilities | 18.3% | 0.92 |
| IDXX | IDEXX LABORATORIES INC /DE | Health Care | 17.9% | 0.88 |
| GOOGL | Alphabet Inc. | Communication Services | 17.5% | 0.85 |
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC | Communication Services | 17.0% | 0.81 |
| V | VISA INC. | Industrials | 16.9% | 0.80 |
| ADSK | Autodesk, Inc. | Information Technology | 15.4% | 0.68 |
| PTC | PTC INC. | Information Technology | 15.3% | 0.67 |
| INTU | INTUIT INC. | Information Technology | 14.8% | 0.64 |
| FIS | Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. | Financials | 14.8% | 0.63 |
| SYY | SYSCO CORP | Consumer Staples | 14.8% | 0.63 |
| AMP | AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL INC | Financials | 14.7% | 0.63 |
| TRGP | Targa Resources Corp. | Energy | 14.7% | 0.62 |
| MSI | Motorola Solutions, Inc. | Information Technology | 14.3% | 0.59 |
| CAT | CATERPILLAR INC | Industrials | 13.7% | 0.54 |
| MLM | MARTIN MARIETTA MATERIALS INC | Materials | 13.4% | 0.52 |
| ULTA | Ulta Beauty, Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | 13.2% | 0.50 |
| GOOG | Alphabet Inc. | Communication Services | 13.1% | 0.49 |
| TJX | TJX COMPANIES INC /DE/ | Consumer Discretionary | 12.8% | 0.47 |
| GWW | W.W. GRAINGER, INC. | Industrials | 12.8% | 0.47 |
| CMG | CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC | Consumer Discretionary | 12.6% | 0.45 |
| WSM | WILLIAMS SONOMA INC | Consumer Discretionary | 12.4% | 0.44 |
| AON | Aon plc | Financials | 12.2% | 0.42 |
| SHW | SHERWIN WILLIAMS CO | Consumer Discretionary | 12.1% | 0.41 |
| AMAT | APPLIED MATERIALS INC /DE | Information Technology | 11.7% | 0.39 |
| EBAY | EBAY INC | Industrials | 11.6% | 0.38 |
| META | Meta Platforms, Inc. | Communication Services | 11.0% | 0.33 |
| KO | COCA COLA CO | Consumer Staples | 11.0% | 0.33 |
| PEP | PEPSICO INC | Consumer Staples | 10.8% | 0.31 |
| HWM | Howmet Aerospace Inc. | Materials | 10.5% | 0.29 |
| CTAS | CINTAS CORP | Consumer Discretionary | 10.5% | 0.29 |
| GE | GENERAL ELECTRIC CO | Industrials | 10.4% | 0.28 |
| ROST | ROSS STORES, INC. | Consumer Discretionary | 10.3% | 0.27 |
| PLTR | Palantir Technologies Inc. | Information Technology | 10.2% | 0.26 |
| EXPD | EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL OF WASHINGTON INC | Industrials | 10.0% | 0.25 |
| NXPI | NXP Semiconductors N.V. | Information Technology | 10.0% | 0.24 |
| DLTR | DOLLAR TREE, INC. | Consumer Discretionary | 9.9% | 0.24 |
| CPAY | CORPAY, INC. | Financials | 9.8% | 0.23 |
| ROK | ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC | Health Care | 9.8% | 0.23 |
| LII | LENNOX INTERNATIONAL INC | Industrials | 9.7% | 0.22 |
| RCL | ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD | Industrials | 9.4% | 0.20 |
| SPG | SIMON PROPERTY GROUP INC. | Real Estate | 9.4% | 0.19 |
| NEM | NEWMONT Corp /DE/ | Materials | 9.3% | 0.19 |
| CDW | CDW Corp | Consumer Discretionary | 9.2% | 0.18 |
| TXN | TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC | Information Technology | 9.2% | 0.18 |
| HSY | HERSHEY CO | Consumer Staples | 9.2% | 0.18 |
| VRT | Vertiv Holdings Co | Information Technology | 9.2% | 0.18 |
| TPL | Texas Pacific Land Corp | Financials | 9.2% | 0.18 |
| BBY | BEST BUY CO INC | Consumer Discretionary | 8.9% | 0.16 |
| PGR | PROGRESSIVE CORP/OH/ | Financials | 8.8% | 0.15 |
| AMT | AMERICAN TOWER CORP /MA/ | Real Estate | 8.6% | 0.14 |
| CHRW | C. H. ROBINSON WORLDWIDE, INC. | Industrials | 8.6% | 0.14 |
| GILD | GILEAD SCIENCES, INC. | Health Care | 8.6% | 0.14 |
| OXY | OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP /DE/ | Energy | 8.5% | 0.12 |