Wednesday, May 20, 1998

The Daily Workshop Report
by Robert Sheard (TMF Sheard)

LEXINGTON, KY. (May 20, 1998) -- The Warren Buffett fans came out in force last night. My column yesterday discussed, in speculative terms only, a stock screen loosely based on one of Buffett's favorite stock measures, retained earnings. Buffett's belief is that when companies consistently plow back a large proportion of their earnings into the company itself and subsequently invest those retained earnings well, those are companies that interest him.

Yesterday, then, I listed the results of a quick-and-dirty screen of the ValueLine universe (some 1,700 stocks) for any companies that plow back a minimum of 25% of their earnings into common equity. From that group of 105 stocks, I reduced the list further by implementing a market-cap minimum value of $15 billion to turn my attention to the blue chips in the group. That reduced the field to twenty mighty impressive stocks (the first twenty on today's list).

I received a number of e-mails, however, wanting to see the entire list of 105 stocks. So today, I present that list, arranged in descending order by market capitalization (in millions of dollars). Let me repeat that I'm not claiming this is a terrific, nay, even a good way to pick stocks. It's only a quick way to get a field of stocks exhibiting one important factor in Warren Buffett's investment process. Keep that in mind. Fool on!

211,678 Microsoft Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MSFT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MSFT)") end if %>
190,913 Coca-Cola <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: KO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: KO)") end if %>
143,843 Intel Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: INTC)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: INTC)") end if %>
116,593 International Business Machines <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: IBM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: IBM)") end if %>
93,853 Lucent Technologies <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LU)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LU)") end if %>
76,943 Cisco Systems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") end if %>
63,554 Schering-Plough <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SGP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SGP)") end if %>
62,911 Dell Computer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DELL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DELL)") end if %>
56,092 Abbott Labs. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ABT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ABT)") end if %>
31,671 Computer Associates <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CA)") end if %>
25,493 Oracle Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ORCL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ORCL)") end if %>
24,410 Campbell Soup <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CPB)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CPB)") end if %>
23,916 Medtronic Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MDT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MDT)") end if %>
21,397 Gap (The) Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GPS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GPS)") end if %>
20,861 Caterpillar Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CAT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CAT)") end if %>
17,873 Safeway Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SWY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SWY)") end if %>
16,818 Kellogg <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: K)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: K)") end if %>
16,384 Sun Microsystems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SUNW)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SUNW)") end if %>
16,062 Bestfoods <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BFO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BFO)") end if %>
15,521 Amgen <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMGN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMGN)") end if %>
13,930 Boston Scientific <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BSX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BSX)") end if %>
12,857 Tellabs Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TLAB)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TLAB)") end if %>
11,399 Avon Products <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AVP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AVP)") end if %>
11,089 Fort James <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FJ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FJ)") end if %>
10,815 General Mills <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GIS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GIS)") end if %>
10,802 3Com Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: COMS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: COMS)") end if %>
10,496 PeopleSoft <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PSFT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PSFT)") end if %>
9,597 Guidant Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GDT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GDT)") end if %>
9,038 BMC Software <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BMCS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BMCS)") end if %>
8,534 Delta Air Lines <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DAL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DAL)") end if %>
8,517 Gateway <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GTW)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GTW)") end if %>
8,246 Parametric Technology <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PMTC)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PMTC)") end if %>
8,095 Cognizant Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CZT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CZT)") end if %>
7,927 Hershey Foods <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: HSY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: HSY)") end if %>
7,776 Quaker Oats <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: OAT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: OAT)") end if %>
7,118 SLM Holding <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SLM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SLM)") end if %>
5,665 Equifax Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: EFX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: EFX)") end if %>
5,661 Providian Financial <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PVN)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PVN)") end if %>
5,055 UST Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: UST)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: UST)") end if %>
4,746 Maxim Integrated <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MXIM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MXIM)") end if %>
4,745 Network Assoc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NETA)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NETA)") end if %>
4,647 Vastar Resources <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: VRI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: VRI)") end if %>
4,620 Sealed Air <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SEE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SEE)") end if %>
4,356 ALZA Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AZA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AZA)") end if %>
4,313 Ceridian Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CEN)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CEN)") end if %>
4,216 Lexmark International 'A' <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LXK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LXK)") end if %>
4,013 Times Mirror Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TMC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TMC)") end if %>
3,674 Altera Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ALTR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ALTR)") end if %>
3,595 Bed Bath & Beyond <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BBBY)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BBBY)") end if %>
3,369 Jones Apparel Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: JNY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: JNY)") end if %>
3,177 Gartner Group 'A' <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: GART)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: GART)") end if %>
2,952 General Nutrition <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: GNCI)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: GNCI)") end if %>
2,831 Continental Airlines 'B' <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CAI.B)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CAI.B)") end if %>
2,824 Cambridge Technology <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CATP)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CATP)") end if %>
2,698 Lyondell Petrochemical <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LYO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LYO)") end if %>
2,692 Oryx Energy Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ORX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ORX)") end if %>
2,608 Miller (Herman) <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MLHR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MLHR)") end if %>
2,561 USG Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: USG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: USG)") end if %>
2,513 Apollo Group 'A' <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: APOL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: APOL)") end if %>
2,501 Cytec Inds. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CYT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CYT)") end if %>
2,297 Sofamor Danek Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SDG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SDG)") end if %>
2,107 Ross Stores <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ROST)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ROST)") end if %>
2,092 Dollar Tree Stores <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DLTR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DLTR)") end if %>
2,039 Adaptec Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ADPT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ADPT)") end if %>
2,028 Rouse Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: RSE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: RSE)") end if %>
1,996 Safeskin Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SFSK)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SFSK)") end if %>
1,708 Western Digital <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WDC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WDC)") end if %>
1,695 Reebok International <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: RBK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: RBK)") end if %>
1,674 Beckman Coulter <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BEC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BEC)") end if %>
1,578 Novellus Sys. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NVLS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NVLS)") end if %>
1,541 Millipore Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MIL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MIL)") end if %>
1,540 Callaway Golf <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ELY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ELY)") end if %>
1,530 Paging Network <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PAGE)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PAGE)") end if %>
1,479 WinStar Communic. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WCII)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WCII)") end if %>
1,364 Mobile Telecom. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MTEL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MTEL)") end if %>
1,222 Intimate Brands <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: IBI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: IBI)") end if %>
1,180 Champion Enterprises <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CHB)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CHB)") end if %>
1,009 Polo Ralph Lauren 'A` <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: RL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: RL)") end if %>
970 Medusa Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MSA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MSA)") end if %>
968 Ametek Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AME)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AME)") end if %>
896 Catalina Marketing <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: POS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: POS)") end if %>
869 Polaris Inds. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PII)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PII)") end if %>
849 Provigo Inc. (TSE: PGV)
833 C-Cube Microsystems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CUBE)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CUBE)") end if %>
815 Georgia Gulf <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GGC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GGC)") end if %>
771 Billing Concepts <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BILL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BILL)") end if %>
754 Wyman-Gordon <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WYMN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WYMN)") end if %>
730 JLG Industries <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: JLG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: JLG)") end if %>
690 St. John Knits <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SJK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SJK)") end if %>
653 Libbey Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LBY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LBY)") end if %>
612 Dionex Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DNEX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DNEX)") end if %>
610 MagneTek Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MAG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MAG)") end if %>
568 Zeigler Coal <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ZEI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ZEI)") end if %>
528 UniSource Energy <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: UNS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: UNS)") end if %>
414 Shorewood Packaging <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SWD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SWD)") end if %>
385 Acclaim Entertainment <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AKLM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AKLM)") end if %>
342 Furon Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FCY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FCY)") end if %>
321 BARRA Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BARZ)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BARZ)") end if %>
271 Golden Books Family <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: GBFE)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: GBFE)") end if %>
235 Cygnus Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CYGN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CYGN)") end if %>
231 Shoney's Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SHN)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SHN)") end if %>
185 Applied Magnetics <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: APM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: APM)") end if %>
162 Seattle FilmWorks <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FOTO)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FOTO)") end if %>
78 GRC International <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GRH)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GRH)") end if %>
49 Perini Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(AMEX: PCR)") else Response.Write("(AMEX: PCR)") end if %>

Check out the latest file updates for the Workshop:
New Rankings | 1998 Returns | New Database

[Robert Sheard is the author of the The Unemotional Investor (Simon & Schuster, 1998) available now at Amazon.com and your local bookseller.]