What is the Debate Controversy Index (DCI)?

The Debate Controversy Index (DCI) is a 0–100 score that quantifies how much disagreement exists among YouTube finance analysts about a particular stock. A score near 50 indicates balanced debate; scores near 0 or 100 indicate strong consensus.

Where does TickerReceipts data come from?

Claims are extracted from YouTube videos by financial analysts using AI analysis. Each claim is categorized by stance (bull/bear), confidence level, and topic. Stock price data for verification is sourced from Yahoo Finance and Financial Modeling Prep (FMP). Only verifiable, time-bounded claims are included.

How TickerReceipts works

Q: How is DCI calculated?

DCI starts with the ratio of bullish to total analyst stances (bull_ratio = bull_count / (bull_count + bear_count)), then applies a trend adjustment based on how that ratio changed since the last snapshot (trend_adjustment = clamp((bull_ratio - prev_bull_ratio) * 20, -10, +10)). Final score = clamp(bull_ratio * 100 + trend_adjustment, 0, 100). A score of 50 reflects equal bull/bear counts with no recent directional shift.

Q: What does a DCI score above 60 mean?

A DCI score above 60 means bullish analyst stances outnumber bearish ones, and recent momentum (if any) is tilting further toward bulls. Scores 60–79 indicate a bullish lean; scores 80–100 indicate extreme bullish consensus. A score below 40 reflects bearish consensus.

Q: How often is DCI updated?

DCI is recomputed daily at 10:00 UTC. The underlying prediction data is refreshed earlier the same day: video discovery runs at 06:00 UTC, and prediction verification runs at 08:00 UTC. This means every DCI score reflects analyst activity through the previous calendar day.

Q: How are predictions verified?

Each extracted prediction carries an analyst-stated time horizon (typically 3–6 months). When the horizon elapses, our pipeline checks the actual stock price against the original target using data from Yahoo Finance and Financial Modeling Prep (FMP). A prediction is marked correct if the price moved in the predicted direction past the target, and incorrect otherwise. Verified outcomes feed back into analyst weighting in future DCI scores.

Last updated: 2026-05-11

Verified accuracy

Each tracked claim has a stated time horizon (typically 3–6 months). When the horizon elapses, we compare the actual closing price to the analyst's target using data from Yahoo Finance and FMP.

An analyst's track_record_score is the percentage of resolved predictions that proved correct. We require at least 5 resolved outcomes before publishing a score — analysts below the threshold show BUILDING until enough verdicts land.

How is DCI calculated?

DCI is a 0–100 score derived from two inputs: the current ratio of bullish to bearish analyst stances, and a short-term momentum term that captures whether that ratio is shifting. Here is the exact formula:

bull_ratio        = bull_count / (bull_count + bear_count)
trend_adjustment  = clamp((bull_ratio - prev_bull_ratio) × 20,  min = -10,  max = +10)
DCI               = clamp(bull_ratio × 100 + trend_adjustment,  min = 0,    max = 100)

When no prior snapshot exists (first computation for a stock), trend_adjustment is 0. The multiplication factor of 20 means a 5-percentage-point shift in bull_ratio over one day moves the DCI by one full point in that direction, subject to the ±10 cap.

Weighting parameters

The current DCI computation weights each analyst's stance equally — one analyst, one vote. Analyst credibility (measured by track_record_score, the ratio of correct to total verified predictions) does not yet enter the DCI formula itself; it appears in the separate Accuracy Leaderboard shown on each ticker page. Future iterations of DCI will incorporate credibility weighting so that analysts with a longer verified track record carry more influence. Time decay is not applied to stances: an analyst retains their most recent stance until they publish a new take.

Worked example: NVDA

Suppose on Day 1, 12 analysts have published bull takes on NVDA and 4 have published bear takes. No prior snapshot exists:

bull_ratio        = 12 / (12 + 4)  = 0.75
trend_adjustment  = 0               (no prior snapshot)
DCI               = 0.75 × 100 + 0 = 75  → direction: "bull"

On Day 2, two analysts flip from bull to bear (now 10 bull, 6 bear):

prev_bull_ratio   = 0.75
bull_ratio        = 10 / (10 + 6)  = 0.625
raw_trend         = (0.625 - 0.75) × 20 = −2.5
trend_adjustment  = clamp(−2.5, −10, +10) = −2.5
DCI               = 0.625 × 100 − 2.5 = 60.0  → direction: "bull" (barely)

The DCI dropped 15 points in one day, reflecting both the shift in the current ratio and the negative momentum signal. Without the trend adjustment it would have been 62.5; the adjustment adds a small additional signal that the ratio is moving in a bearish direction.

What does a DCI score above 60 mean?

DCI scores map to five direction labels:

80–100 — Extreme Bull: overwhelming bullish consensus; bears are a small minority.
60–79 — Bull: bullish stances outnumber bearish ones, with moderate momentum.
40–59 — Balanced: genuine disagreement; neither side dominates. Scores near 50 are the most controversial.
20–39 — Bear: bearish stances outnumber bullish ones.
0–19 — Extreme Bear: overwhelming bearish consensus.

A score above 60 does not imply the stock will rise — it reflects the current distribution of publicly stated analyst positions captured from YouTube videos, nothing more. All DCI data is for educational and informational purposes only and is not investment advice.

How do we collect analyst predictions?

YouTube videos from tracked finance analysts are discovered daily via an automated pipeline running at 06:00 UTC. For each new video, a Gemini AI model extracts stock mentions, price targets, time horizons, and the analyst's directional stance (bullish, bearish, or neutral). Only verifiable, time-bounded claims are included — vague commentary ("the market feels shaky") is filtered out. Ambiguous extractions are flagged for human review.

Stock price data for verification is sourced from Yahoo Finance and Financial Modeling Prep (FMP). We do not perform independent research on the companies covered; tracked statements are the data exactly as stated by the analyst, including cases where an analyst turns out to be wrong.

How often is DCI updated?

Our data pipeline runs on a daily cron schedule: video discovery at 06:00 UTC, prediction verification at 08:00 UTC, and DCI recalculation at 10:00 UTC. DCI scores and analyst track records therefore reflect the latest available data within a single business day. Weekly change snapshots (showing week-over-week DCI delta, stance flips, and new debates) are computed every Monday.

How are predictions verified?

Each extracted prediction has an analyst-stated time horizon, typically 3–6 months. When the horizon elapses, the pipeline compares the actual closing price to the analyst's target using price data from Yahoo Finance and FMP. A prediction is marked correct if the price moved past the target in the predicted direction, and incorrect otherwise. A prediction remains pending until the target date passes.

An analyst's track_record_score is the percentage of their verified predictions that resolved correctly. We require at least 5 verified outcomes before displaying a track record score, to avoid misleadingly precise numbers from very small sample sizes.

Sample size and coverage

TickerReceipts currently tracks YouTube finance analysts across hundreds of active stock debates. Coverage grows daily as new analysts and videos are discovered. We prioritize analysts who make specific, verifiable stock predictions rather than general market commentary.

Limitations and transparency

We believe in being upfront about what our data can and cannot do. AI-based extraction may occasionally miss nuance or misclassify an analyst's stance — particularly with sarcasm, conditional statements, or hedged opinions. Not all analysts make explicit price predictions; some offer directional commentary that is harder to verify precisely. Building a meaningful track record requires 3–6 months of data, so newer analysts will have limited verification history. We show "pending" status transparently so users always know what has and has not been verified yet.

DCI is a measure of analyst opinion distribution, not a predictor of stock performance. A high DCI score means analysts skew bullish; it does not mean the stock will outperform. Past analyst accuracy is no guarantee of future accuracy. All content on TickerReceipts is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.