> Source: https://ashareapi.com/en/docs/guides/screen-expressions/ · Markdown version for LLMs / AI agents Guide # Factor expression syntax & the 85-factor dictionary The previous guide covered how to screen; this one covers how to write conditions: expression structure, operators, unit traps, and a lookup-ready 85-factor dictionary. Written to be copied and run. ## 1. There is only one expression shape A factor expression is an `intersect([...])` call whose brackets hold a **comma-separated list of conditions**, meaning **all must hold** (AND logic): Structure ``` intersect([factor1 op value, factor2 op value, ...]) # Example: PE between 0 and 20, ROE above 15%, dividend yield above 2% intersect([PE_TTM > 0, PE_TTM < 20, ROETTM > 15, DividendRatioTTM > 2]) ``` - **Only `intersect` (AND)** — there is no `union` / `or` - **No `between` / `in` / nested brackets** — express ranges with two comparisons - **A factor may appear twice** (as with `PE_TTM > 0` and `PE_TTM ## 2. Six comparison operators (that is all) | | | Operator | Meaning | Example | | > | greater than | PE_TTM > 0 | | | less than | PE_TTM | | >= | greater or equal | ROETTM >= 15 | | | less or equal | TotalMV | | = | equal (rare) | — | | != | not equal (rare) | — > greater than PE_TTM > 0 < less than PE_TTM >= greater or equal ROETTM >= 15 <= less or equal TotalMV = equal (rare) — != not equal (rare) — **Simple expressions are allowed**: measured support for `factorA > factorB * k`, e.g. the cash-collection template `GoodsSaleServiceRenderCash > OperatingRevenue * 0.9`. ## 3. Unit rules (the two that bite) Right vs wrong ``` # OK: ROE > 15%, market cap < 5 bn CNY, dividend yield > 2% intersect([ROETTM > 15, TotalMV < 5000000000, DividendRatioTTM > 2]) # WRONG: percentage written as a decimal (read as 0.15%) intersect([ROETTM > 0.15]) ``` - **Percentages take plain numbers**: `ROETTM > 15` means "ROE above 15%" (**not** `0.15`); `DividendRatioTTM > 2` means yield above 2% - **Money is in CNY**: `TotalMV` is in CNY — 5 bn CNY is `5000000000` - **Ratios are plain multiples**: `PE_TTM` / `PB` / `PS_TTM` / `CurrentRatio` take the number directly ## 4. All 85 verified factors (grouped) Listed by group; the "note" column marks verified fields. ## 4.1 Valuation (6) | | | Factor | Meaning | Unit | Note | | PE_TTM | Price/earnings TTM | x | Always guard with > 0 | | PB | Price/book | x | No PB_TTM — writing it errors out | | PS_TTM | Price/sales TTM | x | Market cap / revenue TTM | | TotalMV | Total market value | CNY | The only market-cap factor | | DividendRatioTTM | Dividend yield TTM | % | Plain number (> 3 means 3%) | | DividendTTM | Total dividend TTM | CNY | Amount, not yield PE_TTM Price/earnings TTM x Always guard with > 0 PB Price/book x No PB_TTM — writing it errors out PS_TTM Price/sales TTM x Market cap / revenue TTM TotalMV Total market value CNY The only market-cap factor DividendRatioTTM Dividend yield TTM % Plain number (> 3 means 3%) DividendTTM Total dividend TTM CNY Amount, not yield ## 4.2 Profitability (most used) | | | Factor | Meaning | | ROETTM | Return on equity TTM (most used) | | ROE | Return on equity (current basis) | | ROECut | Ex-non-recurring ROE (health check) | | ROEWeighted | Weighted ROE | | ROIC | Return on invested capital | | GrossIncomeRatioTTM | Gross margin TTM | | NetProfitRatioTTM | Net margin TTM | | NPParentCompanyOwners | Net profit attributable (current) | | NPParentCompanyOwnersTTM | Net profit attributable TTM | | OperatingRevenue | Total operating revenue | | GrossProfitTTM | Gross profit TTM | | NPDeductNonRecurringPL | Net profit ex-non-recurring (health check) ROETTM Return on equity TTM (most used) ROE Return on equity (current basis) ROECut Ex-non-recurring ROE (health check) ROEWeighted Weighted ROE ROIC Return on invested capital GrossIncomeRatioTTM Gross margin TTM NetProfitRatioTTM Net margin TTM NPParentCompanyOwners Net profit attributable (current) NPParentCompanyOwnersTTM Net profit attributable TTM OperatingRevenue Total operating revenue GrossProfitTTM Gross profit TTM NPDeductNonRecurringPL Net profit ex-non-recurring (health check) 38 profitability factors in total, including expenses, EBIT, per-share metrics and 3-year CAGR. ## 4.3 Growth (partial) | | | Factor | Meaning | Unit | | NPParentCompanyYOY | Net profit YoY | % | | OperatingRevenueGrowRate | Revenue growth | % | | TotalAssetGrowRate | Total asset growth | % | | NPPCCGrowRate3Y | Net profit 3-yr CAGR | % | | ORComGrowRate3Y | Revenue 3-yr CAGR | % | | NetAssetGrowRate | Net asset growth | % NPParentCompanyYOY Net profit YoY % OperatingRevenueGrowRate Revenue growth % TotalAssetGrowRate Total asset growth % NPPCCGrowRate3Y Net profit 3-yr CAGR % ORComGrowRate3Y Revenue 3-yr CAGR % NetAssetGrowRate Net asset growth % ## 4.4 Balance sheet (partial) | | | Factor | Meaning | Unit | Use | | DebtAssetsRatio | Debt-to-assets | % | Health check: > 70% is leveraged | | DebtEquityRatio | Debt-to-equity | % | Leverage inflates ROE | | CurrentRatio | Current ratio | x | Short-term solvency | | QuickRatio | Quick ratio | x | Stricter solvency | | TotalShareholderEquity | Total shareholders equity | CNY | ROE denominator | | InterestBearDebt | Interest-bearing debt | CNY | Real debt pressure | | Goodwill | Goodwill | CNY | Impairment risk | | BillAccReceivable | Notes & accounts receivable | CNY | Common blow-up area | | ARTDays | Receivable turnover days | days | > 180 means slow collection | | Inventories | Inventory | CNY | | --- | --- | --- | --- | DebtAssetsRatio Debt-to-assets % Health check: > 70% is leveraged DebtEquityRatio Debt-to-equity % Leverage inflates ROE CurrentRatio Current ratio x Short-term solvency QuickRatio Quick ratio x Stricter solvency TotalShareholderEquity Total shareholders equity CNY ROE denominator InterestBearDebt Interest-bearing debt CNY Real debt pressure Goodwill Goodwill CNY Impairment risk BillAccReceivable Notes & accounts receivable CNY Common blow-up area ARTDays Receivable turnover days days > 180 means slow collection Inventories Inventory CNY 32 balance-sheet factors in total, including turnover ratios, working capital and contract liabilities. ## 4.5 Cash flow (partial) | | | Factor | Meaning | Unit | | NetOperateCashFlowTTM | Operating cash flow TTM | CNY | | NetOperateCashFlow | Net operating cash flow | CNY | | NetOperateCashFlowYOY | Operating cash flow YoY | % | | FCFF | Free cash flow to firm | CNY | | FCFE | Free cash flow to equity | CNY | | GoodsSaleServiceRenderCash | Cash received from sales | CNY NetOperateCashFlowTTM Operating cash flow TTM CNY NetOperateCashFlow Net operating cash flow CNY NetOperateCashFlowYOY Operating cash flow YoY % FCFF Free cash flow to firm CNY FCFE Free cash flow to equity CNY GoodsSaleServiceRenderCash Cash received from sales CNY 14 cash-flow factors in total. ## 4.6 Market (2) | | | Factor | Meaning | Unit | | ClosePrice | Close price | CNY | | TurnoverRate | Turnover rate | % ClosePrice Close price CNY TurnoverRate Turnover rate % ## 5. Fourteen copy-paste templates From the in-project factor dictionary measured record (verified 2026-08-31). Three most-used templates (copy-paste) ``` # 1) Low valuation + high profitability + dividend intersect([PE_TTM > 0, PE_TTM < 20, ROETTM > 15, DividendRatioTTM > 2]) --limit 20 --orderby ROETTM --desc # 2) Graham-style (conservative) intersect([PE_TTM > 0, PE_TTM < 15, PB < 1.5, DebtAssetsRatio < 50, CurrentRatio > 1.5]) --limit 20 --orderby PE_TTM --asc # 3) Growth (double-high) intersect([PE_TTM > 0, PE_TTM < 25, NPParentCompanyYOY > 25, OperatingRevenueGrowRate > 20, ROETTM > 12]) --limit 20 --orderby NPParentCompanyYOY ``` - **Healthy cash flow**: `intersect([PE_TTM > 0, NetOperateCashFlowTTM > 0, ROETTM > 10, DebtAssetsRatio - **Low leverage**: `intersect([PE_TTM > 0, DebtAssetsRatio 10])` - **Small-cap value**: `intersect([PE_TTM > 0, PE_TTM 10])` + `--orderby TotalMV --asc` - **Large-cap quality**: `intersect([PE_TTM > 0, TotalMV > 100000000000, ROETTM > 12, DividendRatioTTM > 2])` - **Below-book recovery**: `intersect([PB > 0, PB 5, NetOperateCashFlowTTM > 0])` + `--orderby PB --asc` - **High gross margin**: `intersect([PE_TTM > 0, GrossIncomeRatioTTM > 50, ROETTM > 15])` - **Receivable risk scan** (reverse use): `intersect([BillAccReceivable > 0, ARTDays > 180, ROETTM **Combination principle**: always include at least one "quality" factor (`ROETTM` or `NetOperateCashFlowTTM`), otherwise pure low-valuation screening tends to surface cheap-but-poor companies. ## 6. Eight pitfalls (measured, from the official dictionary) | | | # | Pitfall | Detail | | 1 | PE_TTM needs > 0 | Loss-makers have negative PE and appear as "low PE" | | 2 | Case sensitive | A-shares use PE_TTM; HK uses PeTTM — a wrong case errors out | | 3 | No PB_TTM | Writing PB_TTM is not available | | 4 | Market cap in CNY | TotalMV 5 bn CNY is 5000000000 | | 5 | Only TotalMV | TotalMarketCap / MarketCap / MV are unavailable | | 6 | Yield = DividendRatioTTM | DividendTTM is the amount; DivTTM is the HK spelling | | 7 | Percentages take numbers | ROETTM > 15 means 15%, not 0.15 | | 8 | Filings lag | TTM uses the latest disclosed report — mind the disclosure date 1 PE_TTM needs > 0 Loss-makers have negative PE and appear as "low PE" 2 Case sensitive A-shares use PE_TTM; HK uses PeTTM — a wrong case errors out 3 No PB_TTM Writing PB_TTM is not available 4 Market cap in CNY TotalMV 5 bn CNY is 5000000000 5 Only TotalMV TotalMarketCap / MarketCap / MV are unavailable 6 Yield = DividendRatioTTM DividendTTM is the amount; DivTTM is the HK spelling 7 Percentages take numbers ROETTM > 15 means 15%, not 0.15 8 Filings lag TTM uses the latest disclosed report — mind the disclosure date ## 7. Code formats (prefix selects the market) | | | Prefix | Market | Example | | sh | Shanghai | sh600519 | | sz | Shenzhen (incl. ChiNext) | sz300750 | | bj | Beijing Stock Exchange | bj430047 | | hk | Hong Kong | hk00700 | | us | United States | usAAPL sh Shanghai sh600519 sz Shenzhen (incl. ChiNext) sz300750 bj Beijing Stock Exchange bj430047 hk Hong Kong hk00700 us United States usAAPL Combine with `--market`: hs (A-shares) / hk / us. ## FAQ Is OR supported? No. The only form is intersect([...]) and everything inside is AND. For OR-like behaviour, issue several requests and merge the results. Can I screen a range, e.g. PE between 10 and 20? Use two conditions: intersect([PE_TTM > 10, PE_TTM Why write ROETTM > 15 rather than 0.15? Percentage factors use the percentage number directly. Writing 0.15 is read as 0.15%, which returns almost nothing. Why do some factor values look unreasonable? Extremes can come from basis issues (TTM vs current, non-recurring items, leverage). Cross-check with ROECut, other ROE bases and DebtEquityRatio — see guide "Factor screening basics", sections 4-5. Last updated: 2026-09-29 Factor list, 8 pitfalls and 14 templates from measured verification notes (85 factors, verified by live runs on 2026-08-31); expression structure and strategies cross-checked against ashareapi /v1/screen live responses (2026-09-29). Related - [Factor screening basics (incl. health check)](/en/docs/guides/factor-screening) - [22 ready-made screening strategies](/en/docs/guides/stock-screening-strategies) - [Value investing screening & outlier checks](/en/docs/guides/value-stock-screening) - [Endpoint reference (screen)](/en/docs/endpoints/screen) [← All tutorials](/en/docs/guides)