Score framework
How scores are calculated
Two lenses on the same company. Growth Score looks forward; Quarterly Score measures how the latest quarter actually went. Both sit on the same 1–10 scale.
Each quarter is rated on six categories, each given a lean from −2 (clearly deteriorating) through 0 (in line) to +2 (clearly exceptional). The leans are weighted, added to a 5.5 baseline, and a downside cap keeps a strong-looking quarter honest. The arithmetic is deterministic — the judgment lives only in the six leans.
Categories & weights
The six things every quarter is read on, and how far each can move the score.
The six categories
Core— a −2 here caps the quarter at 6.0
Context— refines the read
How they’re weightedsum to 1.00
Worked example
How the six leans build to a score, off the 5.5 baseline.
A 7.1 quarter
illustrative leansReading it
Each bar is one category’s push off the 5.5 baseline (weight × lean). The length bakes in the weight, so a long bar is a category that actually moved the score — here Strategy’s standout +2 barely outweighs Financials’ +1, and a soft industry read trims a little back.
Score bands
What a score means, and where the cohort actually lands today.
The bands
Fixed cuts anchored on 5.5 = a typical, all-in-line quarter.
Where companies land
104 companiesLatest-quarter cohort, by score — right-skewed toward quality.
Trajectory labels
Where a score sits is half the story — the Trend column says where it’s heading.
A 7 on the way up is a different stock from a 7 on the way down. Every threshold sits at or above the ±0.5 re-scoring noise floor, so a move that noise can explain never earns a directional label.
Climbing
Staircase: net gain ≥ 0.8 over the last ~4 quarters, no meaningful down-quarter inside the climb.
Inflecting up
shown as “Inflecting”Fresh break upward: latest quarter +0.6 or more off a stable base.
Recovering
Turning up off a recent low: latest quarter +0.6 or more while still net-down over the last ~4 — a fresh upturn out of a decline, not yet a confirmed climb.
Strong & steady
shown as “Strong”Last 4 quarters all ≥ 7 with no fresh break down.
Steady
Range-bound: last 4 quarters within 0.6 of each other.
Drifting
Moves around, but no direction the noise floor can't explain.
Choppy
Alternating swings beyond ±0.5 — the score itself is unstable.
Weak & stuck
shown as “Stuck”Flat below 5.5 — low and not moving.
Cracking
Fresh break downward: latest quarter −0.6 or more off a stable base.
Worsening
Sustained slide: cumulative fall of 0.8+ across consecutive quarters.
No read yet
Fewer than 3 scored quarters — not enough points for any trajectory rule.
Two lenses on the same comparable scale. Quarterly grades the latest quarter; Growth looks at the forward outlook — read whichever fits your question.