Software companies are pouring record money into R&D, and AI has turned that spend into a running meter. Financial statements show what was spent, not what it earned, so investors and boards can't tell winners from cash burners.
That blind spot is where the next decade's software wealth gets made or lost. Whoever sees R&D return first backs the compounders and avoids the burners.
We grade 250 public software companies on one scale, the R&D Return Score (AAA–D), built only from SEC filings.
Every covered software company is evaluated through one standardized framework: quarterly financial statements and 5-year DCF models, published research reports, and a single R&D Return rating formula.
Clean, scannable quarterly fundamentals, 6 core operating KPIs, explicit 5-year unlevered cash flow schedules, and WACC sensitivity matrices.
7-section fundamental equity research reports, continuous thesis updates, and quantified operating value levers across the coverage universe.
One unified rating formula combining Buy / Watch / Pass verdicts, 1-year lagged R&D Return grades (AAA–D), and Rule of 40 efficiency.
