A simple screen for finding growth stocks that are still cheap

In a market hitting all-time highs, it feels impossible to find a bargain. But it's not. You just need a system. One of the best places to start is a simple, powerful screen for 'growth at a reasonable price', or GARP. As the expert on the show explained, he ran a screen with two simple criteria: find S&P 500 stocks with 'above average growth and below average price to earnings multiples' (Mad Money, https://www.cnbc.com/mad-money/).

Let's break down this piece of genius. At the time, the S&P 500 was expected to grow earnings by 12.5% and traded at just under 22 times next year's earnings (Mad Money, https://www.cnbc.com/mad-money/). So the mission was simple: find companies growing faster than 12.5% but trading for less than 22 times earnings. This is how you systematically hunt for bargains instead of just guessing. You're not buying garbage; you're buying quality growth, but you're refusing to overpay for it.

The expert noted that this simple screen found a surprising 104 companies. He then applied his own judgement, booting out energy and materials names because he felt they were too cyclical (Mad Money, https://www.cnbc.com/mad-money/). This highlights a critical step: a screen is not a buy list. It's a starting point for research. It narrows the universe of thousands of stocks down to a manageable number of interesting ideas.

For an AI-augmented investor, this is a phenomenal starting point. You can use an AI assistant to run this exact screen for you using real-time data, and then immediately ask it to do the initial quality check on the results. You're combining a timeless, systematic strategy with the speed and power of modern technology. This is how you build a repeatable process for finding great family investments.