How to Master Screener.in Query Syntax — Operators and Examples

Step 1: Understand the Basics of the Query Builder

Before you can write complex commands, you need to know where to put them. On the Screener.in homepage, you will see a large text box that says “Search for a company”. This is where you can search for individual stocks. However, for screening, you need to go to the “Screens” page. At the top of this page, there is a section called “Create new screen”. This is your canvas. You will see a text box where you can type your query. All the magic happens here. Every command you write will filter the list of companies shown below in real-time. It’s simple, fast, and incredibly powerful.

Step 2: Learn the Key Query Operators

Operators are the words and symbols that tell the screener what you want to do. Think of them as building blocks for your stock search. Mastering these is the most critical part of using this tool effectively.

Comparison Operators

These operators compare a company's metric to a value you set. They are the most common operators you will use.

• > (Greater than): Finds companies where a metric is higher than your value. Example: Sales growth > 15
• < (Less than): Finds companies where a metric is lower than your value. Example: Debt to equity < 0.5
• = (Equal to): Finds companies where a metric is exactly equal to your value. Example: sebi-shareholding-pattern-disclosures">Promoter holding = 75
• >= (Greater than or equal to): Example: investing/signs-stock-strong-quality-factor">Return on equity >= 20
• <= (Less than or equal to): Example: Price to earning <= 25

Logical Operators

Logical operators let you combine multiple conditions. This is how you build a truly specific screen.

• AND: This operator requires all conditions to be true. Use it to narrow your search. For example, if you want companies with high growth AND low debt, you would use this.
• OR: This operator requires at least one of the conditions to be true. Use it to broaden your search. For example, you could search for companies with high sales growth OR high profit growth.

Example using AND: nifty-and-sensex/role-free-float-market-cap-sensex-30">Market capitalization > 500 AND Debt to equity < 1 AND ROCE > 15

This query searches for companies with a market cap over 500 crores, debt-to-equity below 1, and Return on Capital Employed above 15%. The company must meet all three criteria.

Mathematical Operators

You can also perform calculations directly within the query builder. This is useful for creating custom ratios that are not available by default.

• + (Addition)
• - (Subtraction)
• * (Multiplication)
• / (Division)

For example, you could check if the current price is less than 1.5 times the insurance-company-stocks">book value per share: Current price < 1.5 * Book value

Step 3: Know the Common Financial Ratios

Screener.in has hundreds of pre-calculated financial data points and ratios. You don't need to know all of them, but you should be familiar with the most common ones. You can find a complete list of available variables by clicking the “All Ratios” link below the query box. Here are some of the most popular ones to get you started:

• Market Capitalization: The total market value of a company's shares.
• Current price: The latest stock price.
• Price to Earning: The P/E ratio.
• Debt to equity: A measure of a company's financial leverage.
• Return on Capital Employed (ROCE): A measure of how efficiently a company uses its capital.
• Sales growth: The growth rate of sales over a period (e.g., Sales growth 3Years).
• Promoter holding: The percentage of shares held by the company's promoters.

To use them, you just type their name exactly as it appears in the tool.

Step 4: Build a Powerful Query from Scratch

Let's put everything together. Imagine you are looking for fundamentally strong small-cap companies for long-term savings-schemes/scss-maximum-investment-limit">investment. Here is how you could build a query step by step.

1. Start with the company size. We want small-cap companies, so let's set a market capitalization range. Let's say between 1,000 and 5,000 crores.
   Market capitalization > 1000 AND Market capitalization < 5000
2. Add a mcx-and-commodity-trading/trading-mcx-base-metals-limited-capital-risk-tips">margin-negative">profitability filter. We want profitable companies. A high Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) is a good indicator. Let's look for companies with ROCE greater than 15%.
   Market capitalization > 1000 AND Market capitalization < 5000 AND Return on capital employed > 15
3. Add a low-debt filter. We prefer companies that are not heavily reliant on debt. A dividend-research">Debt to Equity ratio of less than 0.5 is a conservative measure.
   Market capitalization > 1000 AND Market capitalization < 5000 AND Return on capital employed > 15 AND Debt to equity < 0.5
4. Add a growth filter. The company should be growing its sales consistently. Let's look for sales growth over the last 3 years to be more than 10%.
   Market capitalization > 1000 AND Market capitalization < 5000 AND Return on capital employed > 15 AND Debt to equity < 0.5 AND Sales growth 3Years > 10

This final query gives you a focused list of companies that meet all your strict criteria. You can now start your deep-dive research on these few names instead of thousands.

Step 5: Save Your Screen for Easy Access

Once you have created a query you are happy with, you don't have to type it every time. Screener.in allows you to save your screens. Just click the “Save this query” button above the results. Give your screen a name, like “My Small Cap Gems”. You can then access it anytime from the “Screens” page. You can also set up email alerts to be notified when a new company enters your screen, which is a very useful feature.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Queries

As you get started, you might run into some errors. Here are a few common mistakes to watch out for:

• Typos: The query builder is very specific. “factsheet">Market Capitalisation” is not the same as “Market Capitalization”. Double-check your spelling.
• Incorrect Logic: Using OR when you mean AND can give you thousands of results. Think carefully about whether you need all conditions to be met (AND) or just one (OR).
• Forgetting Units: Market cap is in crores of rupees. If you write Market capitalization > 50000, you are looking for large-cap companies, not mid-caps. Be mindful of the units for each metric.
• Over-complicating: Don't add too many filters at once. Start simple and add one condition at a time to see how it affects the results. A screen with zero results is not useful.

Pro Tips for Effective Stock Screening

Ready to take your screening to the next level? Here are a few tips from experienced investors.

• Use Quarterly Data: Besides annual data, you can use quarterly results for more current analysis. For example, use Sales growth Q_Q > 15 to find companies with strong recent quarterly sales growth.
• Screening is Just the Start: A screener is a filtering tool, not a recommendation engine. Always do your own thorough research on the companies that appear in your list. Read their esg-and-sustainable-investing/best-esg-scores-indian-companies">governance/best-tools-director-credentials-board-quality">annual reports and understand their business.
• Create a Watchlist: Don't just save the query. Save the resulting companies to a watchlist. This helps you track their performance and news updates easily.
• Check Promoter Actions: Look for screens where promoters are increasing their stake. You can use the `Promoter holding change` ratio for this. It can be a sign of confidence in the business.

Mastering the query syntax in Screener.in can transform your investment research process. It helps you focus your time and energy on the most promising opportunities in the market. Start with simple queries, experiment with different ratios, and slowly build your confidence.