How to Master Finviz Screener [Step-by-Step Guide]

How to Master Finviz Screener [Step-by-Step Guide]

The finviz screener at finviz.com/screener.ashx lets you filter more than 8,500 U.S. equities across roughly 70 criteria without paying anything. Type in your conditions, press the screen button, and the tool returns a table of matching tickers from the NYSE, Nasdaq, and AMEX. Free-tier users see fundamental data sourced from company filings with no meaningful delay, but quote prices refresh only every 15 minutes. Finviz Elite ($39.99/month) upgrades to real-time quotes and adds email alerts.

This guide walks through a complete screening session from the opening page to an exported candidate list.

Key Takeaways

• The finviz screener has three filter tabs: Descriptive (sector, market cap, country), Fundamental (P/E, P/B, ROE, debt/equity), and Technical (moving averages, RSI, price patterns).
• All filters apply as logical AND conditions. A stock must pass every active filter simultaneously to appear in results.
• Fundamental data like P/E and ROE pulls from company filings and refreshes on filing dates, not on a delayed quote timer.
• Finviz does not calculate Piotroski F-Score, Altman Z-Score, ROIC, or intrinsic value. These require a separate tool.
• Saved screens require a free account. Real-time alert triggers require Elite.
• ValueMarkers tracks 120 indicators including VMCI Score (Value 35%, Quality 30%, Integrity 15%, Growth 12%, Risk 8%), Altman Z-Score, and Piotroski F-Score, filling the gap Finviz leaves open.

Step 1: Open the Finviz Screener

Go to finviz.com and click "Screener" in the top navigation bar, or work through directly to finviz.com/screener.ashx. The page loads with no active filters and all 8,500+ tickers showing in the results table.

Three tabs sit above the filter controls: Descriptive, Fundamental, and Technical. Below the tabs is the results table. At the top right of the results table is a gear icon for managing visible columns. The default view shows ticker, company name, sector, industry, country, market cap, P/E, price, and daily percentage change.

Step 2: Set Descriptive Filters First

Descriptive filters define the type of company before any financial metric applies. Start here to cut the universe from 8,500 to a manageable 1,500-3,000 names.

Setting market cap and volume filters alone typically cuts the starting universe in half. At that point you are working with liquid, large enough companies rather than speculative penny stocks.

Step 3: Apply Fundamental Filters

The Fundamental tab is where value investors spend most of their time. The finviz screener offers filters on P/E, Forward P/E, PEG, P/S, P/B, P/Cash, P/FCF, dividend yield, payout ratio, five-year EPS growth, next-year EPS growth, sales growth, insider ownership, institutional ownership, return on assets, return on equity, current ratio, quick ratio, debt/equity, and gross and operating margins.

A baseline value-quality screen for finding companies in the range of Johnson & Johnson (dividend yield 3.1%) or Coca-Cola (KO, dividend yield 3.0%) looks like this:

1. P/E set to "Under 25" to exclude stocks priced at extreme premiums.
2. P/B set to "Under 3" to filter out names with no grounding in book value.
3. Return on Equity set to "Over 15%" to require consistent profitability.
4. Debt/Equity set to "Under 0.5" to prioritize conservative balance sheets.
5. Dividend Yield set to "Over 1%" if income is part of the screen criteria.
6. EPS Growth (past 5 years) set to "Over 5%" to confirm an earnings track record.

This produces roughly 80-200 names depending on market conditions. If the result count drops below 50, loosen P/E to 30 or Debt/Equity to 1.0.

One important gap: Finviz surfaces ROE but not ROIC (return on invested capital). A company with high ROE from heavy debt looks identical to a genuinely efficient operator at the Finviz filter stage. Apple's ROIC of 45.1% and Microsoft's ROIC near 35% are metrics the screener cannot replicate from ROE alone.

Step 4: Layer Technical Filters Selectively

The Technical tab adds filters based on price history: performance over 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and year-to-date; price relative to 20-day, 50-day, and 200-day moving averages; 52-week high/low distance; beta; RSI range; and chart patterns including double bottom, ascending triangle, and head and shoulders.

For a fundamental investor, two technical filters add signal without noise:

• Price vs. 52-Week High set to "More than -20% below high" to exclude names in a sustained downtrend that has not bottomed.
• RSI set to "Under 40 (Oversold)" to find fundamentally sound companies where price has pulled back sharply.

Avoid stacking more than three or four technical filters. Each one eliminates companies that may be fundamentally excellent but happen to be in a seasonal drawdown.

Step 5: Read and Sort the Results Table

Once filters are set, click any column header to sort results. The most informative sorts for a value screen:

• Sort by P/E ascending to surface the cheapest profitable names first.
• Sort by ROE descending to find the most capital-efficient businesses.
• Sort by Market Cap descending to start with the most liquid, most analyzed names.

Click the gear icon at the right of the header row to add or remove columns. Add EPS Growth (past 5 years) and Return on Equity if you did not filter on them. These two columns give immediate quality context without opening individual stock pages.

Click any ticker in the results table to open Finviz's full quote page for that name. The quote page shows a data grid with all available fundamental metrics, a price chart, recent news, and analyst estimates. It is one of Finviz's most useful pages even for investors who rarely use the screener.

Step 6: Export Your Results

Right-click the results table and choose "Export to CSV," or look for Finviz's export button above the table. The exported file includes every column currently visible in the table.

Open the CSV in a spreadsheet. The typical next step: add two calculated columns. First, EV/EBIT or EV/EBITDA (using market cap, debt, and cash figures you pull from each company's quote page). Second, a free cash flow yield estimate from the most recent annual report. These calculations help rank the exported list before deeper research begins.

Step 7: Move from Screener to Research

The finviz screener produces a candidate list. Every name on that list still needs:

• A DCF valuation estimate against current price
• An Altman Z-Score check to rule out financial distress
• A Piotroski F-Score review for earnings quality
• A catalyst assessment: what explains the current discount?

Finviz does not perform any of these four steps. Our screener at ValueMarkers runs all 120 indicators, including Piotroski F-Score and Altman Z-Score, in a single interface. The VMCI composite score weights Value (35%), Quality (30%), Integrity (15%), Growth (12%), and Risk (8%) to give each name a single ranked score rather than forcing manual reconciliation of five separate metrics.

Common Finviz Screener Mistakes

Setting too many strict filters. Fifteen tight conditions often return zero results. Start with five filters and loosen one at a time until you have 50-100 names. Work inward from there.

Ignoring data staleness. Finviz updates fundamental data when companies file reports. A company that reported strong earnings last week will not appear in an "EPS growth over 10%" screen until Finviz processes the new filing. The lag can run several days.

Treating the output as a buy list. A stock passing a P/E and ROE filter is a starting point. A company with an Altman Z-Score below 1.81 is in financial distress territory regardless of how its trailing P/E looks. Finviz does not show the Z-Score.

Skipping the map view. After running a screen, click the "Map" tab in the results area. If 70% of your results sit in two sectors, the map makes that concentration obvious in three seconds rather than three minutes of table scanning.

Further reading: SEC Investor.gov · FINRA

Why stock screener Matters

This section anchors the discussion on stock screener. The detailed treatment, formula, and worked examples appear in the body of this article above. The points below summarize the most important takeaways for value investors who want to apply stock screener in real portfolio decisions. ValueMarkers exposes the underlying data on every covered ticker via the screener and stock profile pages, so the concepts in this article translate directly into actionable filters.

Key inputs for stock screener

See the main discussion of stock screener in the sections above for the full treatment, including the inputs, the calculation methodology, the typical sector benchmarks, and the most common pitfalls to avoid. The ValueMarkers screener lets value investors filter the full universe of 100,000+ stocks across 73 exchanges using stock screener alongside the rest of the 120-indicator composite, with sector percentiles and historical trends shown on every stock profile.

Sector benchmarks for stock screener

See the main discussion of stock screener in the sections above for the full treatment, including the inputs, the calculation methodology, the typical sector benchmarks, and the most common pitfalls to avoid. The ValueMarkers screener lets value investors filter the full universe of 100,000+ stocks across 73 exchanges using stock screener alongside the rest of the 120-indicator composite, with sector percentiles and historical trends shown on every stock profile.

Related ValueMarkers Resources

• Altman Z-Score — Altman Z-Score is the metric used to the reliability of reported earnings versus underlying cash flow
• Piotroski F-Score — Piotroski F-Score captures the reliability of reported earnings versus underlying cash flow
• Pe Ratio — Glossary entry for Pe Ratio
• Finviz Futures — related ValueMarkers analysis
• Finviz Stock Screener — related ValueMarkers analysis
• Zacks — related ValueMarkers analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

how to use stock screener

Set broad filters first to define the type of company you want (sector, market cap, exchange), then layer in fundamental criteria (P/E, ROE, debt/equity) to identify quality and value, and finally add technical criteria if you want to time entries around price levels. Start with four or five filters and narrow from there. Any screener output is a candidate list for further research, not a finished investment decision.

how to use stock screener in tradingview

In TradingView, click "Stock Screener" in the bottom toolbar or go to tradingview.com/screener. Add filters by clicking the filter icon and selecting from the dropdown of fundamental and technical criteria. TradingView's screener covers global exchanges and integrates directly with its charting, so you can click any result to open a full chart without leaving the page. Real-time data on TradingView requires a paid plan; the free tier shows delayed quotes.

how to use thinkorswim stock screener

Open thinkorswim from TD Ameritrade and click the "Scan" tab in the top navigation. Select "Stock Hacker" to build an equity screen. Click "Add Condition" to add criteria from the dropdown of pre-built study conditions or write custom ThinkScript conditions for advanced logic. Results appear in the Scan Results panel, sortable by any column. Click any result to open the associated chart. Thinkorswim's screener is notably powerful for options-related screens and custom scripted conditions.

how to use tradingview stock screener

Go to tradingview.com/screener or access it via the bottom panel of any chart view. Choose your exchange or market, then click the filter icon to add fundamental or technical criteria. TradingView supports both types of filters alongside analyst rating and earnings revision data. Save custom screens to your account and set price or condition alerts on saved screens. Alerts fire in real time on paid plans.

how to use webull stock screener

In the Webull app, tap "Markets" then "Stock Screener." On the desktop platform, find it in the main navigation bar. Set filters for fundamentals like P/E, P/B, and dividend yield, or technical conditions like RSI and moving average signals. Webull integrates screener results with its paper trading account, so you can add a name directly to a watchlist or simulate a trade from the screener output without switching to a different section of the platform.

how to use yahoo finance stock screener

Go to finance.yahoo.com/screener and click "Create New Screener." The filter builder uses sliders and dropdowns for sector, P/E range, market cap, dividend yield, 52-week performance, and a handful of technical criteria. Click "Find Stocks" to generate results. Yahoo Finance's screener is the most accessible free option but covers fewer fundamental data points than Finviz, and it does not support composite quality scoring like Piotroski F-Score or Altman Z-Score.

Ready to go beyond 70 filters and surface stocks ranked by composite quality and value? Compare the finviz screener against tools built for deeper fundamental analysis at ValueMarkers Compare.

Written by Javier Sanz, Founder of ValueMarkers. Last updated April 2026.

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Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.