The framework
These are the seven criteria Graham laid out in Chapter 14 of The Intelligent Investor — the book that shaped how I think about stocks. I have been applying these rules manually for years before building Seven Value, and I know firsthand how tedious that process is.
Before I built this tool, checking a stock against Graham's criteria meant opening financial statements, hunting for the right numbers, doing the math by hand and keeping track of everything in a spreadsheet. It took hours per stock — and I was doing it regularly across many different companies.
That frustration is exactly why I built Seven Value. I wanted a tool that would run all seven checks automatically, so I could spend my time thinking about investments rather than calculating them. The 7 rules haven't changed — only the time it takes to apply them.
Graham required companies to be large enough to survive economic downturns. Industrial companies must have at least $500M in annual sales. Public utility companies must have at least $250M in total assets. Small companies carry risks that Graham considered unacceptable for the defensive investor — they are more vulnerable to competition, market shifts and financial stress.
Current assets must be at least twice the current liabilities — a current ratio of 2.0 or higher. Additionally, long-term debt must not exceed net current assets (working capital). For utility companies, debt should not exceed twice the equity. This rule ensures the company can meet its short-term obligations without stress and is not dangerously leveraged.
The company must have reported positive earnings — no losses — in each of the past ten years. This filters out companies that look profitable today but have a history of swinging to losses during tough periods. Consistent profitability over a full decade is proof that a business model is genuinely resilient, not just temporarily lucky.
The company must have paid uninterrupted dividends for at least twenty years. Graham viewed consistent dividend payments over two decades as strong evidence of financial discipline and shareholder-friendly management. A company that has paid dividends through recessions, wars and market crashes has proven its durability in a way that no financial model can replicate.
Earnings per share must have grown by at least one-third over the past ten years, using three-year averages at both the beginning and end of the period to smooth out fluctuations. This modest requirement ensures the company is at least keeping pace with inflation and not slowly shrinking in real terms. It is a floor, not a target.
The current price should not exceed 15 times the average earnings of the past three years. A high P/E ratio means you are paying for future optimism rather than proven value. When you overpay, you leave no room for error. Paying a fair or below-fair price is the simplest form of risk management available to any investor.
The current price should not exceed 1.5 times the book value per share. Graham also introduced a combined multiplier rule — the P/E ratio multiplied by the P/B ratio should not exceed 22.5, which is equivalent to his upper limits of 15 P/E and 1.5 P/B. This gives flexibility: a company with a lower P/E can be acceptable even with a higher P/B, as long as their product stays within 22.5.
Every stock analyzed on Seven Value is checked against all of these automatically.
| # | Rule | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adequate Size | Sales ≥ $500M · Utilities ≥ $250M assets |
| 2 | Current Ratio | ≥ 2.0x · LTD ≤ Net Current Assets |
| 3 | Earnings Stability | Positive EPS · 10 consecutive years |
| 4 | Dividend Record | Uninterrupted · 20+ years |
| 5 | Earnings Growth | ≥ 33% EPS growth over 10 years |
| 6 | P/E Ratio | ≤ 15x trailing 3-year average |
| 7 | P/B Ratio | ≤ 1.5x · P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 |
Three principles that guide how I invest and why I built Seven Value.
Stories are easy to tell. Numbers are harder to fake. I trust what the financial statements say more than what management presents in earnings calls.
Graham's most important lesson. A great company at the wrong price is a bad investment. Margin of safety is not optional — it is the entire point.
Nobody can consistently predict what a stock will do next quarter. What you can control is having a disciplined, repeatable process. That is what these 7 rules give you.
What used to take me hours now takes seconds. Try it for free — no credit card required.
Start free analysis