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https://preview.redd.it/w3t91d94w6s91.png?width=701&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=23a58c5fa4e66ca5338b6e518825c9d1975844a1

All the other 4 factors make sense to me. What you're doing is that you're taking more risk when you buy value stocks, when you buy small-cap stocks, when you buy stocks at all and when you buy conservative stocks. But because the market prices that excess risk, you get a higher expected return!

But the Robust minus weak factor doesn't make sense to me. From professor French website:

The portfolios are formed on profitability (OP) at the end of each June using NYSE breakpoints. OP for June of year t is annual revenues minus cost of goods sold, interest expense, and selling, general, and administrative expenses divided by book equity for the last fiscal year end in t-1.

To me, it should be the exact opposite intuitively. If you buy companies with weak profitability (I don't know, say AMC), they should have a higher risk than buying a better company with more profitability (say Cinemark). To me, it seems like a free lunch. You get to own better companies and get a higher return.

What am I missing? Can you explain how does it make sense?