27 July 2026 Screener (new candidates)
A daily screen for large-cap and mega-cap companies ($10B+ market cap) that combine real earnings, real free cash flow, and a defensible competitive moat with a genuine price discount — the kind of setup where a good business looks cheap because of temporary sentiment, not because something is actually broken.
Six names cleared the bar this run, each independently confirmed across two separate screening passes with fresh supporting evidence both times.
Market backdrop
Markets are in a fragile risk-on mood: the US and Iran paused military strikes over the weekend, sending oil down more than 5% and Treasury yields lower on hopes for renewed diplomacy. Against that, the Fed under new Chair Kevin Warsh has held rates at 3.50–3.75% for four straight meetings and turned more hawkish — nearly half of FOMC members now expect another hike this year, and Goldman has pushed its forecast for the next rate cut out to 2027 given sticky inflation (core PCE at 3.3%) and a resilient labor market (unemployment 4.2%, wages up 3.5% year-over-year). A fresh round of tariffs on 60 trading partners was also announced Friday. Net effect: a higher-for-longer rate environment and tariff noise are the dominant overhang for markets right now, not signs of a broader economic downturn — GDP growth is still running at a healthy 2.0–2.2% pace.
Autodesk (ADSK) — Conviction: 7.7/10
$209.75 | $44.3B market cap | 36% off its 52-week high of $329.09
Autodesk makes the design software (AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion) that’s become the industry standard in architecture, engineering, construction, and manufacturing — deeply embedded in customer workflows with very high switching costs, and sold on a recurring subscription model. The most recent quarter showed 16% revenue growth, 15% billings growth, and expanding margins, alongside a genuine open-market share purchase by a company director in June. Wall Street’s average price target implies roughly 48% upside from here.
The stock is down over a third from its high mostly as part of a broader software-sector selloff tied to fears that AI will disrupt traditional software licensing — not because Autodesk’s own numbers are deteriorating. The main thing to watch: a peer comparison flagged a bit of quarter-to-quarter revenue lumpiness, so this isn’t a perfectly smooth growth story, and the stock could stay range-bound if software valuations broadly don’t recover.
What would confirm the thesis: the stock holding above the $190–200 area, and the next quarterly report (expected around September) showing billings growth still in the mid-teens.
Salesforce (CRM) — Conviction: 7.5/10
$163.66 | $134.0B market cap | 40% off its 52-week high of $274
Salesforce is the dominant enterprise CRM platform, with deep workflow and data lock-in across its customer base and a large subscription business it’s now layering AI agents (Agentforce) on top of. Free cash flow yield has been climbing steadily — from 3.5% to 7.1% over the past three years — even as the stock has been cut by more than half from its high. That’s a real divergence between an improving business and a falling price.
The stock has been caught up in “AI will disrupt SaaS” fears sweeping the software sector. The clearest counter-evidence: Salesforce just won a $1.6 billion, three-year AI-agent contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs, a concrete government commitment that runs directly against the disruption narrative. The risk that narrative poses is real and not fully resolved, though — if agentic AI genuinely does erode demand for traditional CRM licensing over the next few years, today’s improving cash-flow trend could reverse.
What would confirm the thesis: the next earnings report (expected late August) showing Agentforce and Data 360 annualized revenue growth staying above 150% year-over-year, and the stock holding the $150–160 area.
ServiceNow (NOW) — Conviction: 7.4/10
$98.78 | $102.1B market cap | 51% off its 52-week high of $201.15
ServiceNow is the dominant enterprise IT workflow platform, expanding into AI-driven automation (”Now Assist”) with real customer adoption. Its most recent quarter beat expectations on both revenue and earnings, with subscription revenue up 25% year-over-year and management raising guidance — a direct rebuttal to the “AI disruption” narrative that’s driven the stock down roughly 40% over the past year.
The stock still isn’t statistically cheap in absolute terms — its cash-flow multiple remains elevated even after the drawdown, meaning it’s priced as a premium grower. Any real deceleration from here (not yet visible in the numbers) would likely hurt more than it would for a typical value name.
What would confirm the thesis: the next quarterly report (expected late October) showing subscription growth holding near 25%, and the stock holding the $90–95 area.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) — Conviction: 7.3/10
$271.77 | $36.3B market cap | 45% off its 52-week high of $495.55
Alnylam is the pioneer in RNA-interference therapeutics, with a deep patent portfolio and several approved drugs. Its lead product, AMVUTTRA, just gained a stronger competitive position after a rival drug (from AstraZeneca/Ionis) failed its Phase 3 trial in July — the kind of event that should strengthen Alnylam’s franchise, not weaken it. The company recently turned GAAP profitable for the first time, with a healthy net cash position, and analyst price targets cluster well above the current stock price.
The pullback appears to be sentiment-driven “read-through” fear — investors worrying the competitor’s trial failure might signal risk for the broader drug class — which sell-side analysts have called an overreaction. One note of caution: quantitative screens don’t currently favor an earnings beat in the upcoming report, and biotech carries inherent binary risk around trial readouts.
What would confirm the thesis: Q2 earnings on July 30 (this week) showing continued AMVUTTRA revenue growth and no negative read-through from the competitor’s trial failure.
Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) — Conviction: 7.3/10
$41.51 | ~49.8% off its 52-week high of $82.62
FIS provides core banking and payments infrastructure to thousands of financial institutions globally — a mission-critical, high-switching-cost business. After a rocky 2024 driven by its Worldpay divestiture, free cash flow has normalized sharply and leverage has come down significantly. Both the CEO and a company director made genuine open-market stock purchases this year, including the director buying more shares as the price continued to fall — a real conviction signal from people with the best view into the business.
The stock trades at a large discount to analyst price targets and to most reasonable estimates of fair value. The caveat: reported return on equity is still low, so much of the “cheap” thesis depends on the market eventually re-rating the multiple higher rather than on near-term dramatic earnings growth.
What would confirm the thesis: Q2 earnings on August 4 showing continued deleveraging and earnings growth, and the stock holding the $40–42 area — near where the CEO and director bought.
Roper Technologies (ROP) — Conviction: 7.2/10
$367.34 | $37.1B market cap | 35% off its 52-week high of $564.68
Roper is a diversified acquirer of niche, high-margin software businesses across fragmented end markets, with a disciplined capital-allocation track record. Its most recent quarter beat estimates with real organic growth, and management raised full-year guidance — a genuine beat-and-raise, not a one-off. Analyst price targets imply roughly 21% upside from current levels.
This is the most speculative of the six: insider trading data wasn’t available for this pass, and one valuation model suggests an unusually large discount that’s probably at least partly a function of how the model handles Roper’s acquisition-heavy balance sheet, so it’s worth treating with some skepticism rather than taken at face value.
What would confirm the thesis: the next quarterly report (expected late October) showing organic growth and the AI-product tailwind continuing, and the stock holding the $360–370 area.
Not financial advice
This is research and screening output, not a trade instruction or personalized investment advice. Nothing here should be read as “buy now” — the framing above points to specific price levels and upcoming events worth watching, not a signal to act immediately. Do your own diligence before making any investment decision.