Methodology
CASJ looks first at what carries the dividend. Only then at how attractive it sounds.
A high dividend yield can signal a mature cash-flow machine. It can also be a siren song before a payout cut. The CASJ methodology forces every stock through the same questions: how much free cash flow comes in, how much capital the business needs to keep running, how strong the balance sheet is, and which source proves the number.
Valuation
FCF/EV: how much free cash flow are you buying?
FCF/EV compares free cash flow with enterprise value. The numerator is the cash left after the investment needed to keep the business alive; the denominator looks at the whole financing stack, equity value plus net debt. A high FCF/EV can signal value, but only if the cash flow is normal, repeatable, and not flattered by the cycle.
Dividend
Dividend yield is the invitation, not the analysis
Dividend yield shows the net income the current market price implies after the headquarters-country withholding tax is processed in the CASJ import. CASJ treats that as the opening question, not the verdict. The better question is whether the payout is funded by free cash flow, whether management keeps the payout sane, and whether the dividend can survive a bad market, higher rates, or an earnings dip.
Balance sheet
Debt decides who has freedom
A dividend becomes fragile when lenders matter more than shareholders. CASJ therefore looks at net debt, rate sensitivity, refinancing, capital intensity, and sector risk. A company with a lower yield and more financial freedom can be more attractive than a high dividend attached to a balance sheet begging for mercy.
Quality
Cash flow still needs oxygen in bad years
CASJ is not looking for perfect companies. They do not exist, and when they do, the market usually prices them as if God runs the finance department. The method looks for companies where revenue, margin, capital needs, and dividend policy still form a defensible pattern when the cycle turns against them.
Sources
Checked by hand, kept reproducible
Screener figures are treated as CASJ manual research: checked by hand against published annual reports, financial statements, company presentations, and conference materials. Google Sheets is transport. The source logic lives in the research, not in the fact that a cell is filled.
Use
The screener builds shortlists, not orders
The CASJ screener is built for faster comparison: sectors, countries, dividend yield, FCF/EV when available, source status, and warnings. Human judgment still matters afterward. A shortlist is the beginning of research, not permission to get lazy.
Why blank fields can be professional
No source, no number
If FCF/EV is blank in the screener, CASJ has not forgotten it. It means the current imported dataset does not yet contain an approved FCF/EV source column. CASJ would rather show a dash than a beautiful number nobody can reproduce. Once the source data is added and approved, the same screener column will populate with the verified metric.
Compliance
This methodology is educational research. It helps compare, exclude, and monitor companies, but it is not personal buy or sell advice. CASJ does not publish proprietary target prices or entry prices.