ACM · Industrials(services-engineering services) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-09-30
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Aecom reported revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal 2025. Of the $7.2 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 43.3% went to buybacks and 17.3% back into the business; the share count fell 14.6%. On the accounting screens, it passes 8 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 0.94 is in the distress zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; none of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 202516.1B
Operating margin6.4%gross margin 7.5%
Return on invested capital31.2%21.5% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay623.5M3.9% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDANet cash1.5B more cash than debt
Piotroski F-score8/9tests of improvement passed
Is it growing?
Revenue and the operating income it turns into. Growth that does not reach operating income is growth bought with margin.
RevenueOperating income
05B10B15B20B
2016Operating income 375.5M
2017Revenue 18.2BOperating income 653.9M
2018Revenue 13.9BOperating income 392.6M
2019Revenue 13.6BOperating income 396.1M
2020Revenue 13.2BOperating income 381.5M
2021Revenue 13.3BOperating income 629.6M
2022Revenue 13.1BOperating income 646.8M
2023Revenue 14.4BOperating income 324.1M
2024Revenue 16.1BOperating income 827.4M
2025Revenue 16.1BOperating income 1.0B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+7.1%
+4.0%
—
Operating income
+16.6%
+21.9%
+11.8%
Net income
+21.8%
—
+21.7%
Earnings per share
+24.6%
—
+23.8%
Free cash flow per share
+8.3%
+31.0%
+2.8%
Dividend per share
+31.2%
—
—
Shares
-2.2%
-3.7%
-1.7%
Falling shares are buybacks: each remaining share owns more of the company.
Does it earn more than its capital costs?
Margins say how much of each sale is kept; return on invested capital says how much the business earns on the money it needs to operate. Growth only creates value when that return is above the cost of the capital.
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 10.2%
0%10%20%30%40%
2016Return on invested capital 7.0%
2017Return on invested capital 15.5%
2018Return on invested capital 9.1%
2019Return on invested capital 9.9%
2020Return on invested capital 9.2%
2021Return on invested capital 17.8%
2022Return on invested capital 19.3%
2023Return on invested capital 10.4%
2024Return on invested capital 28.9%
2025Return on invested capital 31.2%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-200M0200M400M600M
2016Economic profit -120.2M
2017Economic profit 218.3M
2018Economic profit -47.7M
2019Economic profit -13.4M
2020Economic profit -32.9M
2021Economic profit 209.2M
2022Economic profit 228.4M
2023Economic profit 3.3M
2024Economic profit 420.7M
2025Economic profit 535.7M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
(return on capital − cost of capital) × capital invested: the profit left after paying for the money used. Today's cost of capital is applied to every year, since a past one cannot be rebuilt honestly.
Return on equity
22.5%
Return on assets
4.6%
Asset turnover
1.32×
Overheads (SG&A)
1.0% of revenue
Is the profit cash, and where does the cash go?
Net income is an accounting opinion; free cash flow is what was left in the bank after investing. Stock-based pay does not leave the bank — shareholders pay it through dilution — so it is shown taken off as well.
Net incomeFree cash flowAfter stock-based pay
-500M-250M0250M500M750M
2016Net income 96.1MFree cash flow 622.8MAfter stock-based pay 549.4M
2017Net income 339.4MFree cash flow 610.3MAfter stock-based pay 526.5M
2018Net income 136.5MFree cash flow 661.3MAfter stock-based pay 588.2M
2019Net income -261.1MFree cash flow 677.0MAfter stock-based pay 613.1M
2020Net income -186.4MFree cash flow 215.0MAfter stock-based pay 160.8M
2021Net income 173.2MFree cash flow 568.4MAfter stock-based pay 523.7M
2022Net income 310.6MFree cash flow 576.6MAfter stock-based pay 538.1M
2023Net income 55.3MFree cash flow 590.4MAfter stock-based pay 544.5M
2024Net income 402.3MFree cash flow 707.9MAfter stock-based pay 646.4M
2025Net income 561.8MFree cash flow 684.9MAfter stock-based pay 623.5M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
7.2B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 17%1.2B
Acquisitions 5%339.8M
Dividends 6%408.3M
Share buybacks 43%3.1B
Kept, or used to pay down debt 29%2.1B
Over the same years it paid 600.4M in stock. The share count fell 14.6%. 2.5B of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
-$2$0$2$4$6
2016Earnings per share $0.62Free cash flow per share $3.99
2017Earnings per share $2.13Free cash flow per share $3.84
2018Earnings per share $0.84Free cash flow per share $4.08
2019Earnings per share $-1.63Free cash flow per share $4.24
2020Earnings per share $-1.16Free cash flow per share $1.33
2021Earnings per share $1.16Free cash flow per share $3.80
2022Earnings per share $2.18Free cash flow per share $4.04Dividend per share $0.44
2023Earnings per share $0.39Free cash flow per share $4.21Dividend per share $0.69
2024Earnings per share $2.95Free cash flow per share $5.19Dividend per share $0.84
2025Earnings per share $4.21Free cash flow per share $5.14Dividend per share $1.00
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
130M140M150M160M170M
2016Diluted shares 156.1M
2017Diluted shares 159.1M
2018Diluted shares 162.3M
2019Diluted shares 159.7M
2020Diluted shares 161.3M
2021Diluted shares 149.7M
2022Diluted shares 142.7M
2023Diluted shares 140.1M
2024Diluted shares 136.5M
2025Diluted shares 133.3M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Debt and liquidity
Debt is not bad in itself; debt the business cannot service in a bad year is. Net debt is debt minus cash, and below zero the company holds more cash than it owes.
Net debt
-2.0B-1.5B-1.0B-0.5B0
2016Net debt -325.8M
2017Net debt -660.4M
2018Net debt -743.6M
2019Net debt -787.3M
2020Net debt -1.7B
2021Net debt -1.2B
2022Net debt -1.1B
2023Net debt -1.2B
2024Net debt -1.5B
2025Net debt -1.5B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
-1.3×
Interest coverage
6× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.14 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
— collects in 56d
Three classic screens of the accounts
Each asks a different question of the same statements — is it improving, does it look like a company heading for distress, do the accounts resemble ones that were manipulated. None is a verdict; each shows what moves it.
Piotroski F-score
Is the business improving? Nine yes-or-no tests, this year against last.
8of 9 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✓Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforepassed
✓Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)passed
✓Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellpassed
✓More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforepassed
✓No new sharesShare count did not growpassed
✓Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year beforepassed
✕Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforefailed
Where it misleads: it measures change, not level. An excellent business that stood still for a year scores low; a poor one recovering from a disaster scores high.
Altman Z''-score
Does the balance sheet look like those of companies that went bankrupt?
0.94distress zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.07 × 6.56+0.43
Retained earnings ÷ assets -0.10 × 3.26-0.33
Operating income ÷ assets 0.08 × 6.72+0.57
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.26 × 1.05+0.28
Where it misleads: buybacks. A company that returns so much cash that its equity turns small or negative sinks the last two ratios without being anywhere near bankruptcy. Banks and insurers do not fit the model at all.
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
-2.66below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 0.89+0.82
Gross margin slipping 0.89+0.47
Soft assets 1.07+0.43
Sales growth 1.00+0.89
Slower depreciation 1.13+0.13
Overheads vs sales 0.98-0.17
Profit not in cash -0.02-0.10
Leverage rising 0.92-0.30
Where it misleads: fast growth and acquisitions. Sales growth carries a heavy weight, so a company growing 50% a year scores like a suspect without having done anything. It is a screen from a 1999 study, not an accusation.
Where the statements disagree
Cross-checks between the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow for the latest year, each with the benign reading and the worrying one.
None of the six cross-checks fires for the latest year: receivables and inventory move with revenue, profit turns into cash, investment keeps up with depreciation, the tax rate is ordinary and debt is moderate.
What is it worth, under which assumptions?
A company is worth the cash it will generate, brought back to today. This model projects revenue with growth that fades over the years, applies a free cash flow margin, and discounts the result at the cost of capital. Every assumption says where it came from, and all of them can be changed.
Value per share, with these assumptions$75.04discounted at 10.2% a year · 49% of it from after year 10
Type a share price on the left to ask the reverse questions: what growth, what margin or what discount rate that price implies.
What the value implies, in the usual multiples
At this model's value
Price ÷ earnings
17.8×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
7.1×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
0.5×
Free cash flow yield
6.2%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today4.3B
Everything after, today4.1B
The whole business8.5B
Plus net cash1.5B
What belongs to shareholders10.0B
Divided among 133.3M shares: <strong>$75.04</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
00.25B0.50B0.75B1.00B
2016Reported 549.4M
2017Reported 526.5M
2018Reported 588.2M
2019Reported 613.1M
2020Reported 160.8M
2021Reported 523.7M
2022Reported 538.1M
2023Reported 544.5M
2024Reported 646.4M
2025Reported 623.5M
2026Projected 627.1M
2027Projected 651.1M
2028Projected 675.0M
2029Projected 698.6M
2030Projected 721.9M
2031Projected 744.7M
2032Projected 767.1M
2033Projected 788.8M
2034Projected 809.8M
2035Projected 830.1M
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
16.8B
17.4B
18.1B
18.7B
19.3B
19.9B
20.5B
21.1B
21.7B
22.2B
Growth
4.0%
3.8%
3.7%
3.5%
3.3%
3.2%
3.0%
2.8%
2.7%
2.5%
Cash margin
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
3.7%
Free cash flow
627.1M
651.1M
675.0M
698.6M
721.9M
744.7M
767.1M
788.8M
809.8M
830.1M
Worth today
568.8M
535.7M
503.8M
473.0M
443.3M
414.9M
387.6M
361.6M
336.7M
313.1M
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
9.2%
77
81
85
89
95
9.7%
73
76
79
83
88
10.2%
69
72
75
78
82
10.7%
66
69
71
74
77
11.2%
63
65
68
70
73
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
3.0%
58
61
66
70
75
3.4%
62
66
70
75
80
3.7%
65
70
75
80
86
4.1%
69
74
80
86
92
4.5%
73
79
84
91
97
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.0%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$42.56
Median$75.16
90th percentile$115.35
$50.00$100.00$150.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$57.16</b> and <b>$94.49</b>; one in ten below $42.56, one in ten above $115.35.
Does the long run make sense?
6.6×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 6.6 times that year's EBITDA.
10%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 24% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 10% on the new capital — it has earned 22% on average over the last five years.
49%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
What lenders charge, after the tax saving on interest: 13.24% × (1 − 22.3%) = <strong>10.29%</strong>.
Weighted by how much of each the company uses (book value (no price given)): <strong>10.24%</strong>, the rate every future cash flow is discounted at.
What it has filed lately
The last twelve months at the SEC, most important first: annual and quarterly reports, events, large holders and insiders.
Every Form 4 filed in the last twelve months, read line by line: 6 filings by 6 people. Open-market purchases and sales are counted apart from awards, option exercises and shares withheld for taxes.
Bought on the open market$699,3913 purchase(s) by 3 insider(s)
Sold on the open market—none in the period
Under pre-arranged plans—of the sales followed a 10b5-1 plan set months earlier
A Form 4 says what happened, when, how many shares and at what price. It does not say why: a sale can be diversification, a tax bill or a plan fixed months earlier, and an award is pay, not a purchase. Nothing here is a reason to buy or sell anything.
Which large funds report holding it
From the Form 13F of the 28 institutions followed on this site, as of the end of their last reported quarter. A 13F is filed up to 45 days later and shows only long positions in US-listed shares.
Accounts from the company's own SEC filings; lines some companies do not report are shown as a dash rather than estimated. The risk-free rate is the 10-year US Treasury yield. A DCF is a way of making assumptions explicit, not a forecast: it states what the company would be worth if the assumptions held. The scores are screens that point where to look, not verdicts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.