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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.
MAX Co Piotroski F-Score Related Terms
MAX Co Piotroski F-Score Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for MAX Co'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.
TSE:6454 vs SNA, RBC, LECO: Piotroski F-Score Comparison
For the Tools & Accessories subindustry, MAX Co'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.
MAX Co Piotroski F-Score vs Industrial Products Industry
For the Industrial Products industry and Industrials sector, MAX Co's Piotroski F-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where MAX Co'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.
MAX Co's current Net Income (TTM) was 14,619.
==> 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.
MAX Co's current ratio of this year was 4.2764513. MAX Co's current ratio of last year was 4.93307279.
==> Last year's current ratio is higher ==> Score 0.
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.
MAX Co's number of shares in issue this year was 179.108. MAX Co's number of shares in issue last year was 183.723.
==> 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.
MAX Co's gross margin of this year was 0.49518327. MAX Co's gross margin of last year was 0.48263469.
==> This year's gross margin is higher. ==> Score 1.
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
MAX Co's asset turnover of this year was 0.85016847. MAX Co's asset turnover of last year was .
==> This year's asset turnover is higher. ==> Score 1.
Evaluation
Piotroski F-Score
=
Que. 1
+
Que. 2
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+
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Que. 6
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Que. 7
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1
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1
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1
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0
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1
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6
Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3
MAX Co has an F-score of 6 indicating the company's financial situation is typical for a stable company.
Is MAX Co (TSE:6454) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, MAX Co stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of 円1,880.00 is trading 53.2% above its estimated GF Value™ of 円1,227.38.
GuruFocus considers MAX Co to be Significantly Overvalued.
Key valuation signals for TSE:6454:
Piotroski F-Score: N/A
GF Value™: 円1,227.38 vs. price of 円1,880.00 (53.2% above fair value)
No single metric tells the full story. See the TSE:6454 stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
MAX Co Ltd manufactures and distributes office supplies and industrial equipment. The company operates through office equipment, industrial equipment, and home care and rehabilitation (HCR) equipment divisions. It mainly offers products such as hand-held staplers and automatic staplers, numbering tools, check writers, and other office supplies. It also markets fastening devices for various purposes such as concrete reinforcing bar tying machines, air compressors, and rechargeable tools.
69GF Score
Get the complete analysis for TSE:6454
Piotroski F-Score is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.
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