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Dr. Charlie Tian is the founder and CEO of GuruFocus.com, a leading global investment research platform established in 2004. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Tian transitioned from science to finance, applying a data-driven, disciplined approach to value investing.
The developer of the system is Joseph D. Piotroski is relatively unknown accounting professor who shuns publicity and rarely gives interviews.
He graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in accounting in 1989, received an M.B.A. from Indiana University in 1994. Five years later, in 1999, after earning a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Michigan, he became an associate professor of accounting at the University of Chicago.
He wanted to see if he can develop a system (using a simple nine-point scoring system) that can increase the returns of a strategy of investing in low price to book (referred to in the paper as high book to market) value companies.
What he found was something that exceeded his most optimistic expectations.
Buying only those companies that scored highest (8 or 9) on his nine-point scale, or F-Score as he called it, over the 20 year period from 1976 to 1996 led to an average out-performance over the market of 13.4%.
Even more impressive were the results of a strategy of investing in the highest F-Score companies (8 or 9) and shorting companies with the lowest F-Score (0 or 1).
Over the same period from 1976 to 1996 (20 years) this strategy led to an average yearly return of 23%, substantially outperforming the average S&P 500 index return of 15.83% over the same period.
ZEAL Associate Piotroski F-Score Related Terms
ZEAL Associate Piotroski F-Score Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for ZEAL Associate's Piotroski F-Score can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
ZEAL Associate Piotroski F-Score Chart
ZEAL Associate Annual Data
Trend
Aug23
Aug24
Aug25
Piotroski F-Score
N/A
N/A
5.00
ZEAL Associate Semi-Annual Data
Aug23
Aug24
Feb25
Aug25
Feb26
Piotroski F-Score
N/A
N/A
0.00
5.00
0.00
TSE:329A vs HON, MMM: Piotroski F-Score Comparison
For the Conglomerates subindustry, ZEAL Associate's Piotroski F-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Piotroski F-Score data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
ZEAL Associate Piotroski F-Score vs Conglomerates Industry
For the Conglomerates industry and Industrials sector, ZEAL Associate's Piotroski F-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where ZEAL Associate's Piotroski F-Score falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
*Note: If the latest quarterly/semi-annual/annual total assets data is 0, then we will use previous quarterly/semi-annual/annual data for all the items in the balance sheet.
Profitability
Question 1. Return on Assets (ROA)
Net income before extraordinary items for the year divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.
Score 1 if positive, 0 if negative.
ZEAL Associate's current Net Income (TTM) was 57.
==> Positive ==> Score 1.
Question 2. Cash Flow Return on Assets (CFROA)
Net cash flow from operating activities (operating cash flow) divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.
ZEAL Associate's return on assets of this year was 0.03255397. ZEAL Associate's return on assets of last year was 0.03065419.
==> This year is higher. ==> Score 1.
Question 4. Quality of Earnings (Accrual)
Compare Cash flow return on assets (2) to return on assets (1)
ZEAL Associate's gearing of this year was 0.37385415. ZEAL Associate's gearing of last year was 0.41921365.
==> This year is lower or equal to last year. ==> Score 1.
Question 6. Change in Working Capital (Liquidity)
Compare this year's current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) to last year's current ratio.
Score 1 if this year's current ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower
ZEAL Associate's current ratio of this year was 2.1937689. ZEAL Associate's current ratio of last year was 2.0402182.
==> This year's current ratio is higher. ==> Score 1.
Question 7. Change in Shares in Issue
Compare the number of shares in issue this year, to the number in issue last year.
Score 0 if there is larger number of shares in issue this year, 1 otherwise.
ZEAL Associate's number of shares in issue this year was 2.928. ZEAL Associate's number of shares in issue last year was 2.928.
==> There is smaller number of shares in issue this year, or the same. ==> Score 1.
Efficiency
Question 8. Change in Gross Margin
Compare this year's gross margin (Gross Profit divided by sales) to last year's.
Score 1 if this year's gross margin is higher, 0 if it's lower.
ZEAL Associate's gross margin of this year was 0.30820173. ZEAL Associate's gross margin of last year was 0.31151224.
==> Last year's gross margin is higher ==> Score 0.
Question 9. Change in asset turnover
Compare this year's asset turnover (total sales for the year divided by total assets at the beginning of the year) to last year's asset turnover ratio.
Score 1 if this year's asset turnover ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower
ZEAL Associate's asset turnover of this year was 1.6348128. ZEAL Associate's asset turnover of last year was 1.78779976.
==> Last year's asset turnover is higher ==> Score 0.
Evaluation
Piotroski F-Score
=
Que. 1
+
Que. 2
+
Que. 3
+
Que. 4
+
Que. 5
+
Que. 6
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Que. 7
+
Que. 8
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Que. 9
=
1
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0
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1
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0
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1
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1
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1
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0
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0
=
5
Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3
ZEAL Associate has an F-score of 5 indicating the company's financial situation is typical for a stable company.
ZEAL Associate (TSE:329A) has a Piotroski F-Score of 5 as of Jul. 23, 2026. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on ZEAL Associate and its competitors. This is near median its historical median of 5.00. Over the past decade, ZEAL Associate's Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 5.00 to 5.00.
Is ZEAL Associate's Piotroski F-Score too high?
ZEAL Associate's current Piotroski F-Score of 5 is near median its 10-year median of 5.00. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 5.00 to a high of 5.00. The Conglomerates industry median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00. ZEAL Associate's value of 5 is 0% at this industry median. Overall, ZEAL Associate has a GF Score™ of 16/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does ZEAL Associate's Piotroski F-Score compare to HON and MMM?
ZEAL Associate's Piotroski F-Score of 5 can be compared against companies in the Conglomerates industry. The industry median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00. ZEAL Associate's value of 5 is 0% at this benchmark. Historically, ZEAL Associate's own Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 5.00 to 5.00 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 5.00 vs. the industry median of 5.00, ZEAL Associate has consistently been at the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Piotroski F-Score for a Conglomerates company?
The median Piotroski F-Score among Conglomerates companies is 5.00, based on 557 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Piotroski F-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Piotroski F-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. ZEAL Associate's current Piotroski F-Score of 5 is 0% at the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Piotroski F-Score mean?
A high Piotroski F-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on ZEAL Associate and its competitors. For the Conglomerates industry, the median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. ZEAL Associate's current Piotroski F-Score is 5, which is near median its own 10-year median of 5.00. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is ZEAL Associate stock overvalued right now?
ZEAL Associate (TSE:329A) has a current Piotroski F-Score of 5. The current Piotroski F-Score is 5, which is near median its 10-year median of 5.00 and 0% at the Conglomerates industry median of 5.00. ZEAL Associate's overall GF Score™ is 16/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Piotroski F-Score calculated?
Piotroski F-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For ZEAL Associate (TSE:329A), the current Piotroski F-Score is 5 as of Jul. 23, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
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