Getting Started

Reading Your First Stock

This guide walks you through evaluating a stock with MiniValuator from start to finish. MiniValuator reads a stock and gives you a verdict, then shows the reasoning underneath so you can audit it and make it your own. The whole flow takes a couple of minutes.

Step 1: Go to the Evaluate Page

Open your browser and go to /evaluate. This is the main page where MiniValuator reads a stock and returns a verdict. It is free to start, with no subscription required.

Step 2: Enter a Stock Ticker

Type the ticker symbol for the stock you want to evaluate. For example:

• AAPL for Apple Inc.
• MSFT for Microsoft Corporation
• KO for The Coca-Cola Company

MiniValuator supports publicly traded US stocks. Once you submit the ticker, it fetches the company's latest available financial data automatically.

Step 3: Read the Verdict

MiniValuator returns a plain verdict: Attractive, Worth watching, or Not now, along with the one reason that tips it. The verdict weighs three things together: whether the price looks cheap, whether the business quality justifies it, and what the main risks are. It is a judgment to pressure test, not an order to act on.

Step 4: Audit the Reasoning

Below the verdict, MiniValuator shows the checks behind it so you can see how it got there. Where a plain DCF does not fit the business, it uses the measure that does, so it reads a bank on price to tangible book, a REIT on price to FFO, and a health insurer on forward earnings rather than forcing a cash-flow model.

Step 5: Adjust the Assumptions

If you disagree with the default view, open the underlying model and make it yours. Every input can be edited:

• Free Cash Flow per Share: Derived from the company's most recent annual free cash flow. The model works on a per-share basis throughout, so there is no separate shares-outstanding step.
• Growth Rate: A default annual growth rate pre-filled from historical performance and analyst expectations, applied across the forecast.
• Discount Rate: A flat 10% by default, fully editable. This is roughly a risk-free rate plus an equity risk premium, applied the same way to every company for comparability, not a per-stock WACC.
• Terminal Value Assumption: By default the model uses an exit multiple equal to the stock's current price-to-free-cash-flow, capped at 30x. You can switch to a perpetuity growth rate instead if you prefer.

The forecast period is fixed at 5 years. As you update each input, the intrinsic value estimate recalculates in real time. The defaults are starting points, not recommendations. Your own research and judgment should inform any adjustments.

Step 6: View Your Intrinsic Value and Margin of Safety

Once your inputs are set, the results panel displays:

• Intrinsic Value Per Share: The estimated fair value of one share based on your DCF assumptions.
• Current Market Price: The stock's latest trading price for comparison.
• Margin of Safety: The percentage difference between intrinsic value and market price. A positive figure suggests the stock may be undervalued relative to your model; a negative figure suggests it may be overvalued.

A margin of safety of 20 to 30 percent or more is often cited by value investors as a meaningful buffer against modeling errors and unforeseen business risks.

Step 7: Explore the Sensitivity Heatmap

Below the main results, the sensitivity heatmap displays a 3 by 3 grid of intrinsic value outcomes across combinations of growth rate and terminal value assumption, holding the discount rate fixed. This helps you answer a critical question: how sensitive is this valuation to changes in my key assumptions?

Use the heatmap to:

• Identify the conditions under which the stock remains undervalued.
• Understand your downside if growth comes in lower than expected.
• Build conviction by seeing how robust the valuation is across scenarios.

For a full explanation of how to read and interpret the heatmap, see the Sensitivity Heatmap documentation.

Tips for First-Time Users

Start with a company you know. Evaluating a business you are already familiar with makes it easier to judge whether the verdict and the default inputs seem reasonable.

Do not over-optimize the inputs. It is tempting to dial in assumptions that produce a favorable result. Instead, use conservative estimates and let the margin of safety do its job.

Run multiple scenarios. Try a bull case (higher growth, lower discount rate) and a bear case (lower growth, higher discount rate) to understand the range of possible outcomes.

Cross-reference your inputs. Check the company's historical free cash flow growth, analyst estimates, and industry benchmarks before settling on your assumptions.

For a detailed breakdown of what each input means, how it affects the model, and what ranges are typical, see the DCF Input Parameters documentation.