Cara-100

Introducing the Cara 100: A Guide to Investing in High-Quality Companies

Investing, a dynamic field that involves trading monetary assets like cash, stocks, bonds, and ETFs, is all about pursuing income or capital appreciation. However, it’s crucial to distinguish between speculation and genuine investment. This distinction underscores the importance of understanding fundamental and quantitative analysis at the company level rather than relying on a pool of largely anonymous companies held by a fund.

The current Cara 100

The entire Cara 100 Companies list as of December 1, 2023
The Cara 100 chart view
The Cara 100 industry view

The previous Cara 100 list dated March 31, 2023

The Cara 100: A Unique Approach to Investing

To assist investors in navigating the intricacies of company investments, the Cara 100 list was created. This meticulously curated list includes companies often acknowledged as industry leaders in corporate fundamentals, such as balance sheet strength, cash flow, margins, earnings, and perhaps dividends.

What sets the Cara 100 apart is its independence from the biases of sell-side investment analysts, providing a unique perspective on selecting high-quality companies for a thorough examination.

A Philosophy Rooted in Fundamentals

The philosophy behind the Cara 100 aligns with the belief that a company is more than just a volatile market price influenced by political and social factors. Over the long run, the price of a company’s shares primarily reflects the company’s intrinsic value, as dictated by corporate fundamentals and macroeconomic factors.

A Dynamic List for a Dynamic Market

The Cara 100 is a dynamic entity, continuously refined to mirror shifts in the included companies’ financial and operating performance and economic operating conditions. The goal is to select the Cara 100 from the listings on the NYSE and Nasdaq markets.  Diversification has been achieved by selecting companies in all eleven sectors and multiple industries. There are large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks.

Leveraging the Cara 100

Whether following a strategy of buying low and selling high or adopting different approaches, the common thread to successful investing lies in understanding and leveraging the qualities of Good Companies, exemplified by the Cara 100.

Evaluating Companies with FinViz.com

To evaluate the financial health and operational strength of these companies, you can use the FinViz.com screener to check out the data:

• Revenue Growth: Look at the company’s year-over-year revenue growth to see if it’s increasing.
• Profitability: Check if the company is profitable. Look at metrics like net income and profit margins.
• Debt Levels: Examine the company’s debt-to-equity ratio to see if it has a manageable level of debt.
• Cash Flow: Look at the company’s cash flow statements to see if it’s generating positive cash flow.
• Valuation: Look at valuation metrics like price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, and price-to-book (P/B) ratio.

A Company is not a Stock, and a Stock is not a Company.

A stock is just a price. Recognizing the fluid nature of market prices, Good Companies in the Cara 100 may transition into Good Stocks or Bad Stocks based on trends and cycles dependent on evolving investor sentiment. Successful trading requires integrating price and volume technical analysis tailored to individual trading systems.

Your comments on the blog are always welcome and appreciated. The Cara 100 is more than just a list—it’s a community of investors committed to understanding and leveraging the power of investing in high-quality companies.