According to Charles H. Dow, a values-based approach to financial data determine future worth
"Values will tell in the long run. The value of railway stocks can be ascertained to a reasonable extent. If a railway stock is selling below its real value, based not upon hearsay, but upon a careful study of the figures, it will work higher, even if the general market declines (May 19, 1900)."
Who was Charles H. Dow?
“Charles Henry Dow was an American journalist who co-founded Dow Jones & Company with Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser. Dow also founded The Wall Street Journal, which has become one of the most respected financial publications in the world. He also invented the Dow Jones Industrial Average as part of his research into market movements. He developed a series of principles for understanding and analyzing market behavior which later became known as Dow theory, the groundwork for technical analysis (source: Wikipedia.org).”