Everything You Need to Know About How to Use Thinkorswim Stock Screener [FAQ]
The Thinkorswim stock screener is a built-in scan tool inside TD Ameritrade's trading platform that lets you filter the entire U.S. market by technical conditions, fundamental metrics, and custom thinkScript queries. Knowing how to use the Thinkorswim stock screener correctly cuts your watchlist from thousands of names down to a handful worth examining each morning.
This FAQ covers every common question about the screener: where to find it, which filters matter, how to write scan queries, and where it falls short for investors who care about long-term fundamentals.
Key Takeaways
- The Thinkorswim stock screener lives under the Scan tab in the desktop platform and the Scan/Screener tab in the web app.
- You can filter by technical conditions (price relative to moving averages, volume spikes, RSI thresholds) and fundamental data (P/E ratio, EPS growth, market cap).
- Custom scan queries use thinkorswim's proprietary thinkScript language, which requires syntax knowledge but gives you precise control.
- Thinkorswim does not cover international exchanges; its fundamental data depth is limited compared to dedicated value screeners.
- For value investors who want ROIC, Piotroski F-Score, Altman Z-Score, or DCF-based filters, a purpose-built tool covers more ground faster.
- Saving scans as watchlists inside the platform makes your morning routine significantly more repeatable.
Where to Find the Thinkorswim Stock Screener
Open Thinkorswim on desktop and click the Scan tab at the top of the interface. Inside, you will see two sub-tabs: Stock Hacker and Spread Hacker. For equity screening, you want Stock Hacker.
The web version (accessed via schwab.com after the TD Ameritrade merger) places the screener under the Screener section in the left navigation. The mobile app has a simplified filter set under the Markets tab. For serious screening work, the desktop platform is far more capable.
How to Use Thinkorswim Stock Screener: The Basic Setup
Once inside Stock Hacker, set your scan target. You can scan:
- All stocks on a major exchange (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX)
- A specific watchlist you have already built
- An index like the S&P 500 or Russell 2000
Start by setting your universe to NASDAQ and NYSE combined. This gives you about 7,500 names to start. Then add filters from the left side of the panel.
The most useful basic filters for swing traders and value investors:
| Filter | Where to Find It | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | Fundamentals category | Exclude micro-caps below $500M |
| Average Volume (30-day) | Fundamental / Technical | Avoid illiquid names below 500K daily volume |
| P/E Ratio | Fundamentals category | Set a max to avoid extreme overvaluation |
| Price | Technical category | Set a min (e.g., $5) to exclude penny stocks |
| EPS growth (Y/Y) | Fundamentals category | Filter for earnings momentum |
After each filter, the result count in the top-right corner updates in real time. A good working screener lands on 20 to 80 results, narrow enough to review but broad enough to find opportunities.
How to Use Thinkorswim Stock Screener with Custom Scan Queries
The real power of the Thinkorswim screener sits in thinkScript. Click Add Condition, then select Study from the dropdown. You can type a condition directly in the thinkScript editor.
A simple example: find stocks where the close crossed above the 50-day simple moving average in the last 3 bars.
close(period = AggregationPeriod.DAY) crosses above Average(close(period = AggregationPeriod.DAY), 50)
You can combine multiple study conditions. Stack a volume condition on top of the moving average cross and you narrow it further:
volume(period = AggregationPeriod.DAY) > Average(volume(period = AvirgperiodAggregationPeriod.DAY), 20) * 1.5
The thinkScript editor auto-completes function names, but you still need to understand how aggregation periods and the data hierarchy work. TD Ameritrade (now Schwab) maintains full documentation at their ThinkScripting guide.
How to Save and Reuse a Thinkorswim Scan
After building a scan you want to repeat, click the Save Scan button at the top of the Stock Hacker panel. Name it clearly ("Value oversold, 50MA cross") so you can retrieve it fast.
Your saved scans appear in the Scans menu. You can also schedule them to run at a specific time, useful for pre-market prep at 8:45 a.m. Eastern.
Scans populate results into a list. Right-click any result to open the chart, add to a watchlist, or pull up the Fundamentals tab for basic financial data.
How to Use Thinkorswim Stock Screener for Fundamental Investing
Here the platform shows its limits. Thinkorswim offers about 20 fundamental filters: P/E, P/B, EPS growth, revenue growth, dividend yield, market cap, and a handful of others. That covers the basics.
It does not offer:
- ROIC or ROCE
- Piotroski F-Score
- Altman Z-Score
- Free cash flow yield
- Debt-to-equity with historical context
- VMCI Score or composite quality scores
Apple (AAPL) has a P/E of 28.3 and an ROIC of 45.1%, which is a quality signal that separates it from other names at similar P/E levels. Thinkorswim shows you the P/E. It does not show the ROIC.
For value investors who screen on quality metrics alongside price metrics, the ValueMarkers screener covers 120+ indicators across 73 exchanges, including Piotroski, Altman Z-Score, ROIC, free cash flow yield, and composite VMCI Scores. That is a fundamentally different data depth.
Thinkorswim Screener vs. Dedicated Value Screeners
| Feature | Thinkorswim | ValueMarkers |
|---|---|---|
| Technical filters | Excellent (thinkScript) | Basic |
| Fundamental indicators | ~20 metrics | 120+ metrics |
| ROIC / Piotroski / Z-Score | No | Yes |
| International exchanges | U.S. only | 73 exchanges |
| DCF calculator | No | Yes (4 models) |
| VMCI composite score | No | Yes |
| Guru portfolio tracker | No | Yes |
| Price | Free with brokerage account | Freemium |
Thinkorswim wins for traders who need real-time technical scans and options flow. ValueMarkers wins for investors who screen on long-term business quality.
What the Thinkorswim Screener Cannot Do
The screener does not give you a valuation framework. It tells you a stock's current P/E. It does not tell you whether that P/E is cheap or expensive relative to the company's historical range or intrinsic value.
It does not weight quality signals. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) has a P/E of 9.8 and a P/B of 1.5. Those numbers look optically cheap. But without looking at ROIC (10.2%), capital allocation patterns, and free cash flow over a decade, you can easily misread what you see.
The platform was built for active trading, not for multi-year investment research. Use it as the tool it was designed to be.
Further reading: SEC Investor.gov · FINRA
Why thinkorswim screener filters Matters
This section anchors the discussion on thinkorswim screener filters. 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 thinkorswim screener filters 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 thinkorswim screener filters
See the main discussion of thinkorswim screener filters 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 thinkorswim screener filters alongside the rest of the 120-indicator composite, with sector percentiles and historical trends shown on every stock profile.
Sector benchmarks for thinkorswim screener filters
See the main discussion of thinkorswim screener filters 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 thinkorswim screener filters alongside the rest of the 120-indicator composite, with sector percentiles and historical trends shown on every stock profile.
Related ValueMarkers Resources
- Roic — Glossary entry for Roic
- Roe — Glossary entry for Roe
- Dividend Yield — Dividend Yield is the metric used to how cheaply a stock trades relative to its fundamentals
- How To Use Stock Screener — related ValueMarkers analysis
- Best Free Stock Screener — related ValueMarkers analysis
- Dollar Cost Averaging Vs Lump Sum Investing — related ValueMarkers analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
what happens if the stock market crashes
A market crash does not destroy well-screened portfolios in the same way it hurts speculative ones. Stocks with strong fundamentals, low debt, and positive free cash flow tend to fall less and recover faster. Thinkorswim's screener can surface oversold quality names during a crash by filtering for low P/E combined with positive EPS growth. Historically, investors who bought S&P 500 index funds at the 2009 low recovered all losses within four years and compounded at double-digit rates for the decade that followed.
what time does the stock market open
U.S. stock markets open at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on weekdays. Pre-market trading on most brokerages, including Thinkorswim, begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Thinkorswim scans can be run against pre-market data for extended-hours filtering, though liquidity is thin before 9:30 a.m. and prices can move sharply at the open.
are stock markets closed today
U.S. stock markets are closed on federal holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Markets also close early at 1:00 p.m. Eastern on the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Thinkorswim's platform displays a market status indicator at the top of the screen, so you never need to guess.
what time does the stock market close
The NYSE and NASDAQ close at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on regular trading days. After-hours trading continues until 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Thinkorswim. Volume in after-hours sessions is significantly lower than regular-hours volume, which means bid-ask spreads widen and price movements can be exaggerated. Scan results from the screener should always be validated against regular-hours price action.
when does the stock market open
The stock market opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. If you are using the Thinkorswim screener for pre-market prep, the most productive window is 8:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Eastern, when you can run overnight scans, check earnings releases, and build your watchlist before the open. Thinkorswim's saved scans make this routine fast once you have your filters set.
why is the stock market down today
Markets fall for many reasons: weak economic data, earnings misses, interest rate surprises, geopolitical events, or simple profit-taking after an extended rally. The Thinkorswim screener does not explain why the market is down, but it helps you identify names holding up relative to the broader sell-off. Filtering for stocks near 52-week highs on a down day is a classic relative strength technique that many swing traders apply inside Stock Hacker.
The Thinkorswim screener is a capable tool for technical scanning. For fundamental depth across global markets, try our screener with 120+ value and quality indicators.
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.