Comparative screen
Coursera, Boeing, Comcast, QuidelOrtho, Delta Air Lines and Credo Technology, each run through the same disciplined 6-gate value-investing checklist as of June 2026 and as if the report had been written in June 2022.
Across four years, not one of these six was ever a clean PASS — and the verdicts that flipped flipped on price and capital allocation, not on business quality.
Ranked by how investable each looks today (owner quality versus price, not a raw score sum). Two of the four-year reversals cut in opposite directions: the discipline that avoided QuidelOrtho’s value trap also screened out Credo’s ~20x run.
| Company | 2022 — Then | 2026 — Today | What changed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL Delta Air Lines | GRAY ZONEbinds at Gate 2 | → | GRAY ZONEbinds at Gate 5 | Cycle round-trip | Read → |
| CMCSA Comcast | GRAY ZONEbinds at Gate 5 | → | GRAY ZONEbinds at Gate 2 | Two spins in one year | Read → |
| CRDO Credo Technology | FAILbroke at Gate 1 | → | FAILbroke at Gate 5 | The winner the filter missed | Read → |
| COUR Coursera | FAILbroke at Gate 2 | → | GRAY ZONEbinds at Gate 2 | Darling to cigar butt | Read → |
| QDEL QuidelOrtho | FAILbroke at Gate 4 | → | GRAY ZONEbinds at Gate 4 | The trap the filter caught | Read → |
| BA Boeing | FAILbroke at Gate 4 | → | FAILbroke at Gate 4 | The constant veto | Read → |
QuidelOrtho is the filter’s vindication — “cheap and profitable” in 2022 was a peak-COVID mirage with a debt-laden merger underneath, and the stock fell more than 70%. Credo is its blind spot — correctly failed as a tiny, speculative IPO in 2022, it then ~20x’d on an AI catalyst no 10-minute screen could price, and now fails again on valuation. Delta round-tripped the cycle from cheap-near-lows to pricey-near-highs on the same franchise. Boeing never moved off the same gate. Coursera went from expensive growth darling to near-cash cigar butt. Comcast is the newest addition — a sprawling conglomerate that in 2022 gray-zoned at Gate 5 (fair-priced, no visible catalyst) and by mid-2026 has spun off Versant and announced the tax-free spin of NBCUniversal and Sky, now trading at ~4.3x EV/EBITDA with a 5.8% yield — cheaper and simpler, but now binding at Gate 2 as residential broadband loses subs to fixed-wireless. Full gate-by-gate detail on each page.
A company is passed through six gates in order; the binding gate is the one that decides the verdict. A score of five pips is strongest, one is weakest. Management integrity or accounting red flags are an automatic FAIL at Gate 4, regardless of price.
PASS clears all six. GRAY ZONE genuinely undecided — the binding gate is named. FAIL broke a gate. Across all four years, not one of these six was ever a clean PASS.
Data notes. Today figures are from live market sources (Yahoo Finance, SEC filings, StockAnalysis, Macrotrends) and cross-checked; 2022 figures are approximate point-in-time marks (denoted with “~”). Credo’s fiscal year ends in spring, so its FY2026 already reflects data through ~May 2026. QuidelOrtho’s market cap fell sharply through 2026 (from ~$2.3B in January to ~$0.7B), so its cap depends on the date. Boeing’s trailing-twelve-month profitability is volatile and near breakeven. Comcast is quoted at $24.54 immediately preceding the 29 June 2026 NBCU/Sky spin announcement; the market reaction was +4.5% on the day. Information richness: A (multi-source) for all six.
This is a research framework, not investment advice. Figures should be independently verified. Past performance does not predict future results. Do your own due diligence before risking money.