Data Methodology & Sources

Every data point on BillionsMINE is sourced from institutional-grade providers and primary regulatory filings. This page documents our data provenance, calculation methodologies, and verification processes for academic transparency.

Primary Data Sources

SEC EDGAR XBRL

Primary source for all fundamental financial data

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Data Points
  • Income Statements (Revenue, EBITDA, Net Income, EPS)
  • Balance Sheets (Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Debt)
  • Cash Flow Statements (Operating, Investing, Financing)
  • Shares Outstanding, Dividends, Stock-Based Compensation
Refresh Frequency

Updated within 24 hours of SEC filing

Verification

Every data point traceable to original 10-K/10-Q filing via CIK number

Alpaca Markets

Real-time US equity prices and market data

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Data Points
  • Latest trade price (real-time during market hours)
  • Previous day close (for daily P&L calculation)
  • Intraday OHLCV bars (1min to daily)
  • Volume, bid/ask spread indicators
Refresh Frequency

Real-time (sub-second during NYSE/NASDAQ hours)

Verification

Alpaca is a registered broker-dealer (FINRA/SIPC member)

Twelve Data

Historical price data and technical indicators

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Data Points
  • Historical OHLCV data (intraday to monthly)
  • Symbol search across global exchanges
  • End-of-day adjusted prices
  • Exchange metadata and market hours
Refresh Frequency

End-of-day updates; intraday every 1 minute

Verification

Institutional-grade data provider serving 100,000+ developers

NewsData.io & RSS Feeds

Financial news and market sentiment data

Data Points
  • CNBC, MarketWatch, WSJ, Financial Times RSS feeds
  • Real-time business/finance news aggregation
  • Ticker mention scoring for trending analysis
  • AI-powered sentiment classification (OpenAI)
Refresh Frequency

Every 15 minutes (news); real-time (RSS)

Verification

Primary sources are tier-1 financial media outlets

Model Methodologies

DCF (Discounted Cash Flow)

Enterprise Value = Σ(FCFₜ / (1+WACC)ᵗ) + Terminal Value / (1+WACC)ⁿ
Inputs: Revenue growth, EBITDA margin, WACC, terminal growth, tax rate, capex %, D&A %, NWC change
Data Source: SEC EDGAR 10-K (latest 3 fiscal years)
Method: Projects 5-year free cash flows using user-adjustable assumptions, discounts at WACC, adds perpetuity terminal value using Gordon Growth Model.

Reverse DCF

Implied Growth = solve for g where DCF(g) = Market Price
Inputs: Current market price, current FCF margin, WACC, terminal growth
Data Source: SEC EDGAR + Alpaca (live price)
Method: Back-solves the revenue growth rate the market is pricing into the current stock price. Iterative solver with Newton-Raphson approximation.

Comparable Company Analysis

Implied Price = Peer Median Multiple × Company Metric / Shares
Inputs: P/E, EV/EBITDA, P/Sales, EV/Sales, FCF Yield, PEG
Data Source: SEC EDGAR (company financials) + AI peer selection
Method: AI identifies 5-8 comparable public companies based on sector, size, growth, and margin profile. Applies median multiples to derive implied share prices.

LBO (Leveraged Buyout)

IRR = solve for r where Entry Equity × (1+r)ⁿ = Exit Equity
Inputs: Entry multiple, debt/equity split, interest rate, exit multiple, hold period
Data Source: SEC EDGAR (EBITDA, debt capacity)
Method: Models acquisition with leverage, projects debt paydown from cash flows, calculates equity IRR at exit. Uses actual company EBITDA and debt capacity metrics.

EPV (Earnings Power Value)

EPV = Adjusted Earnings × (1/WACC)
Inputs: Normalized earnings, maintenance capex, WACC
Data Source: SEC EDGAR (5-year earnings history)
Method: Calculates sustainable earnings power assuming zero growth. Useful as a floor valuation — what is the company worth if it never grows?

Portfolio Optimization (Quantics)

max Sharpe = (E[Rp] - Rf) / σp subject to Σwᵢ = 1
Inputs: Historical returns (1Y daily), risk-free rate, constraints
Data Source: Alpaca (historical price data)
Method: Mean-variance optimization using Markowitz framework. Computes efficient frontier, maximum Sharpe portfolio, minimum variance portfolio, and risk parity allocation. Uses 252-day trailing returns.

Options Pricing (Black-Scholes)

C = S·N(d₁) - K·e⁻ʳᵀ·N(d₂)
Inputs: Underlying price, strike, time to expiry, risk-free rate, implied volatility
Data Source: Alpaca (underlying price), SEC EDGAR (option chain)
Method: Black-Scholes-Merton model for European-style options. IV calibrated from market prices. Greeks computed analytically.

Academic Integrity & Data Provenance

  • All fundamental data originates from SEC EDGAR XBRL filings — the same primary source used by Bloomberg, Capital IQ, and FactSet.
  • Real-time prices are sourced from Alpaca Markets, a FINRA-registered broker-dealer and SIPC member.
  • Valuation models implement standard academic methodologies (Damodaran DCF, Greenwald EPV, LBO as taught in PE coursework).
  • No proprietary or black-box data transformations — all formulas are documented above and visible in the platform's info tooltips.
  • Students can independently verify any data point by cross-referencing the original SEC filing linked on each company's valuation page.
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