Where Are the Highest-Quality Value Opportunities This Week?
Tuesday, October 20, 2026 · Johnny Hopkins
The All Investable universe includes the Large Cap 1000 but extends further into the middle of the market-cap spectrum, where companies generally receive less analyst coverage and may be more likely to become mispriced.
This week’s supplied screen contains 200 companies, with 84 trading below 10x Acquirer’s Multiple® and 115 trading below 12x. The median Acquirer’s Multiple across the screen is approximately 11.1x.
A low valuation alone does not necessarily indicate a high-quality opportunity. Some businesses are inexpensive because they face declining earnings, heavy debt, industry disruption or unusually favourable conditions that may not continue.
To identify companies offering a stronger combination of value and quality, we applied the following additional filters:
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Acquirer’s Multiple below 12x
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Five-year average return on assets above 15%
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Positive incremental growth
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Positive free-cash-flow yield
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Debt-to-equity below 50%
A total of 28 companies met all five requirements.
The qualifying group has a median Acquirer’s Multiple of approximately 8.2x, a median free-cash-flow yield of approximately 9.2%, and a median five-year average return on assets of 20.0%.
Where Quality Value Is Appearing
Energy remains well represented, with qualifying companies across integrated oil and gas, exploration and production, downstream energy, midstream operations and oilfield services. Companies such as Equinor, APA Corporation and Gulfport Energy illustrate the range of opportunities in the sector. These businesses can generate substantial cash flow, although their earnings remain sensitive to commodity prices, production costs and industry cycles.
Materials and mining also feature prominently. The qualifying group includes metal ore miners such as Sibanye Stillwater and Harmony Gold, alongside chemicals producers including CF Industries and SQM. While several companies offer attractive valuations and strong historical profitability, investors should consider the sustainability of earnings through different commodity and economic environments.
Technology contributes candidates across semiconductor manufacturing and technology consulting. SK Hynix, Micron Technology and Cirrus Logic represent the semiconductor industry, while Cognizant Technology Solutions and Genpact provide exposure to technology services. These businesses benefit from different demand drivers, although semiconductor cycles, AI-related investment and corporate technology spending remain important considerations.
Consumer businesses are particularly well represented this week, with qualifying companies including Lululemon, Deckers Outdoor and Crocs. Their inclusion highlights opportunities outside traditional cyclical value sectors. However, brand strength, changing consumer preferences, inventory management and margin sustainability warrant further investigation.
Healthcare is represented by Novo Nordisk, Bristol Myers Squibb and Zoetis. These companies provide exposure to different healthcare markets, including pharmaceuticals, obesity and diabetes treatments, and animal health. Investors should assess competitive positioning, product pipelines, patent protection and the durability of future earnings.
Additional qualifying companies operate in professional services, automotive parts, tobacco, machinery and leisure goods. Their presence adds further diversity to the group and demonstrates that attractive valuation and quality characteristics are not confined to a small number of industries.
The diversity of businesses gives investors several different areas of the market to investigate rather than concentrating exclusively on the cheapest sectors.
Bottom Line
This week’s All Investable screen contains 28 companies combining modest valuations, positive free cash flow, strong historical returns on assets and debt-to-equity below 50%.
The median five-year return on assets among the qualifying companies is 20.0%, while the median Acquirer’s Multiple is approximately 8.2x.
With 84 of the 200 companies trading below 10x, the broader screen continues to offer a substantial pool of potentially undervalued businesses. Applying additional profitability, growth, cash-flow and balance-sheet requirements helps narrow that universe to a more focused group for further research.
Energy, materials and technology remain important sources of qualifying companies, while the presence of consumer and healthcare businesses provides opportunities to investigate value beyond commodity-sensitive industries.
These measures provide a starting point rather than a conclusion about any company’s investment merits. The next step is to examine earnings durability, competitive advantages, capital allocation and the risks behind each valuation.
The complete ranked list, company names and underlying valuation and quality measures are available to subscribers through the Acquirer’s Multiple® All Investable Stocks Screener.
In addition to our free U.S. Large-Cap 1000 Screener, subscribers receive access to the complete All Investable, Small and Micro Cap, and Canada All TSX screens—including company rankings and valuation, free-cash-flow, shareholder-yield and quality measures.