The Globe and Mail attempts to identify large-cap Canadian companies offering robust economic performance and high free cash flows in its Tuesday, April 12, edition. The Globe's Jean-Didier LaPointe writes in the Number Cruncher column that he screened for stocks using the following criteria: A minimum market cap of $1-billion; an economic performance index, or EPI (return on capital divided by cost of capital), of one or higher. An EPI ratio of one or more indicates a company's capacity to create wealth for its shareholders (a higher EPI displays a greater rate of wealth creation); a return on capital of 12 per cent or higher; a five-year average return on capital of 12 per cent or higher; a free-cash-flow-to-capital ratio of 5 per cent or higher. This ratio gives a sense of how well the company uses the invested capital to generate free cash flow, which could be used to stimulate growth or reduce debt; positive annualized dividend growth rate over one-, two-, three- and four-year horizons; and all companies must pay a dividend. Companies with robust performance are Saputo, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Lucara Diamond, Magna International, Gildan Activewear and Centamin.