What is CANSLIM: Definition & Meaning Explained

Definition of CANSLIM

CANSLIM is an acronym for a seven-step strategy to pick growth stocks by combining fundamental and technical analysis. Here’s the full form of CANSLIM:

Current quarterly Earnings Per Share (EPS): compare this fundamental indicator with the same figure from the previous quarter. If the figure grows (by 20% or more as a rule of thumb), the company is fundamentally strong.

Annual earnings: Compare this fundamental indicator from the previous years. If there’s year-on-year growth, the company is fundamentally strong. If the year-on-year growth is by 20-25%, even better.

New product or service: strong companies continue to innovate. That’s what this letter is about - checking if the company is continuously launching new products, services, or holding events.

Supply: a fundamentally strong business should have a good supply and demand when it comes to its goods, services, and stock. Executive supply of shares may reduce the value of the company - that’s why it should always be scarce in supply.

Leader: the company should be a leader in its own right, either in or across industries.

Institutional holding: a valuable company will have higher institutional ownership, the percentage of which should always be tracked.

Market trend: an investor must check whether the company or stock is going or against the trend by comparing it to broader indices.

Annual Report

An annual report is an exhaustive written account of a company’s finances, activities, and other relevant information for the fiscal year.

Publicly traded companies are required to publish annual reports so that existing and potential shareholders have full transparency into the company’s finances and overall health.

India VIX

India VIX is an index that measures volatility and market sentiment. The term VIX stands for Volatility Index and thus, the full form of India VIX is Indian Volatility Index.

A higher India VIX means higher volatility whereas India VIX would be lower due periods of low volatility. In fact, there are absolute values that help understand volatility via India VIX.

India VIX typically moves between 15 to 30, which represents a range that is considered “normal” as far as volatility is concerned.

However, India VIX has touched 90 during the 2008 financial crisis and trended near the value once again when the pandemic broke out in 2020.

Foreign Direct Investment

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is the act of acquiring a majority stake in a company located in a different country with the intention of assisting, growing, and managing the business.

FDIs and FPIs may seem similar but there is a major difference - lasting interest. When a company or investor obtains at least 10% control of foreign company with the intention of actively managing the business, it’s known as lasting interest.

A company that establishes a subsidiary in another country can also be classified as FDI. FDIs can also be made through mergers and acquisitions as well as collaborations with foreign companies

Book Running Lead Manager

A book running lead manager is the head or lead of the underwriting process when new shares or securities are issued for their client, most commonly during an IPO.

For context, there was a time when physical ownership certificates were issued. If someone wanted to sell their shares, they’d have to present the ownership certificate and get it transferred to the buyer.

Also known as the book runner, the book running lead manager handles these crucial elements of the underwriting process:

Perform due diligence
Determine the final offering price
Record & track interested buyers
Confirm orders
Guarantee purchase

Income Statement

An income statement of a company is a document that displays crucial financial information like profit, loss, revenue, expenses, taxes, and more. Income statements are logically divided and published in monthly or quarterly manner for better accounting and financial modelling. A combination of these statements is what you see as the quarterly or annual report published by publicly listed companies.

CANSLIM