AME · Technology(industrial instruments for measurement, display, and control) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
Ametek INC/ reported revenue of $7.4 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 7.6% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 20.6% in 2016 to 25.8%, and it earned 12.2% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $12.6 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 71.0% went to acquisitions and 13.9% to dividends. On the accounting screens, it passes 6 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 5.41 is in the safe zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 1 of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 20257.4B+7.6% a year over 9 years
Operating margin25.8%gross margin 36.0%
Return on invested capital12.2%12.0% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay1.6B21.9% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA0.8×net debt 1.8B
Piotroski F-score6/9tests 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
02.0B4.0B6.0B8.0B
2016Revenue 3.8BOperating income 791.0M
2017Revenue 4.3BOperating income 903.6M
2018Revenue 4.8BOperating income 1.1B
2019Revenue 5.2BOperating income 1.2B
2020Revenue 4.5BOperating income 1.0B
2021Revenue 5.5BOperating income 1.3B
2022Revenue 6.2BOperating income 1.5B
2023Revenue 6.6BOperating income 1.7B
2024Revenue 6.9BOperating income 1.8B
2025Revenue 7.4BOperating income 1.9B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+6.4%
+10.3%
+7.6%
Operating income
+8.4%
+13.2%
+10.3%
Net income
+8.5%
+11.2%
+12.5%
Earnings per share
+8.5%
+11.1%
+12.6%
Free cash flow per share
+18.3%
+6.7%
+10.4%
Dividend per share
+12.2%
+11.6%
+14.8%
Shares
-0.0%
+0.0%
-0.1%
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 · 9.1%
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%
2016Return on invested capital 10.4%
2017Return on invested capital 12.5%
2018Return on invested capital 12.3%
2019Return on invested capital 12.0%
2020Return on invested capital 9.9%
2021Return on invested capital 11.2%
2022Return on invested capital 12.4%
2023Return on invested capital 11.6%
2024Return on invested capital 12.6%
2025Return on invested capital 12.2%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
0200.0M400.0M600.0M
2016Economic profit 73.2M
2017Economic profit 206.4M
2018Economic profit 219.2M
2019Economic profit 227.8M
2020Economic profit 64.7M
2021Economic profit 199.2M
2022Economic profit 317.3M
2023Economic profit 295.8M
2024Economic profit 402.0M
2025Economic profit 392.9M
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
13.9%
Return on assets
9.2%
Asset turnover
0.46×
Research & development
3.2% of revenue
Overheads (SG&A)
10.2% 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
0500.0M1.0B1.5B2.0B
2016Net income 512.2MFree cash flow 693.6MAfter stock-based pay 671.5M
2017Net income 681.5MFree cash flow 758.2MAfter stock-based pay 733.1M
2018Net income 777.9MFree cash flow 843.4MAfter stock-based pay 816.1M
2019Net income 861.3MFree cash flow 1.0BAfter stock-based pay 971.7M
2020Net income 872.4MFree cash flow 1.2BAfter stock-based pay 1.2B
2021Net income 990.1MFree cash flow 1.0BAfter stock-based pay 1.0B
2022Net income 1.2BFree cash flow 1.0BAfter stock-based pay 963.0M
2023Net income 1.3BFree cash flow 1.6BAfter stock-based pay 1.6B
2024Net income 1.4BFree cash flow 1.7BAfter stock-based pay 1.7B
2025Net income 1.5BFree cash flow 1.7BAfter stock-based pay 1.6B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
12.6B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 8%1.0B
Acquisitions 71%8.9B
Dividends 14%1.7B
Share buybacks 14%1.7B
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -7%-864.2M
Over the same years it paid 391.7M in stock. The share count fell 1.1%. 1.3B of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$0.00$2.00$4.00$6.00$8.00
2016Earnings per share $2.19Free cash flow per share $2.97Dividend per share $0.36
2017Earnings per share $2.94Free cash flow per share $3.27Dividend per share $0.36
2018Earnings per share $3.34Free cash flow per share $3.62Dividend per share $0.55
2019Earnings per share $3.75Free cash flow per share $4.41Dividend per share $0.56
2020Earnings per share $3.77Free cash flow per share $5.22Dividend per share $0.71
2021Earnings per share $4.25Free cash flow per share $4.51Dividend per share $0.79
2022Earnings per share $5.01Free cash flow per share $4.36Dividend per share $0.87
2023Earnings per share $5.67Free cash flow per share $6.91Dividend per share $0.99
2024Earnings per share $5.93Free cash flow per share $7.33Dividend per share $1.11
2025Earnings per share $6.40Free cash flow per share $7.23Dividend per share $1.23
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
228.0M230.0M232.0M234.0M
2016Diluted shares 233.7M
2017Diluted shares 231.8M
2018Diluted shares 232.7M
2019Diluted shares 229.4M
2020Diluted shares 231.2M
2021Diluted shares 232.8M
2022Diluted shares 231.5M
2023Diluted shares 231.5M
2024Diluted shares 232.2M
2025Diluted shares 231.3M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
How strong is the balance sheet?
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
01.0B2.0B3.0B
2016Net debt 1.6B
2017Net debt 1.5B
2018Net debt 2.3B
2019Net debt 2.4B
2020Net debt 1.2B
2021Net debt 2.2B
2022Net debt 2.0B
2023Net debt 2.9B
2024Net debt 1.7B
2025Net debt 1.8B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
0.8×
Interest coverage
24× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.06 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
93 days collects in 55d, stock 85d, pays in 48d
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.
6of 9 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✓Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zeropassed
✕Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforefailed
✓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 beforefailed
✓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?
5.41safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.01 × 6.56+0.07
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.76 × 3.26+2.49
Operating income ÷ assets 0.12 × 6.72+0.80
Equity ÷ liabilities 1.95 × 1.05+2.05
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?
-2.44below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.11+1.02
Gross margin slipping 0.99+0.52
Soft assets 0.99+0.40
Sales growth 1.07+0.95
Slower depreciation 0.96+0.11
Overheads vs sales 1.02-0.18
Profit not in cash -0.02-0.09
Leverage rising 1.01-0.33
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.
Capital spending (130M) is well below depreciation (423M).
Benign
Mature assets, or a business that has become less capital-intensive.
Worrying
Under-investing: today's profit is being held up by consuming tomorrow's capacity.
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$153.07discounted at 9.1% a year · 56% 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
23.9×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
16.0×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
5.0×
Free cash flow yield
4.6%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today16.3B
Everything after, today20.9B
The whole business37.2B
Minus net debt-1.8B
What belongs to shareholders35.4B
Divided among 231.3M shares: <strong>$153.07</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
01.0B2.0B3.0B4.0B
2016Reported 671.5M
2017Reported 733.1M
2018Reported 816.1M
2019Reported 971.7M
2020Reported 1.2B
2021Reported 1.0B
2022Reported 963.0M
2023Reported 1.6B
2024Reported 1.7B
2025Reported 1.6B
2026Projected 1.9B
2027Projected 2.1B
2028Projected 2.3B
2029Projected 2.5B
2030Projected 2.6B
2031Projected 2.8B
2032Projected 2.9B
2033Projected 3.1B
2034Projected 3.2B
2035Projected 3.2B
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
8.2B
9.0B
9.7B
10.5B
11.2B
11.9B
12.5B
13.1B
13.5B
13.9B
Growth
10.5%
9.6%
8.7%
7.8%
6.9%
6.1%
5.2%
4.3%
3.4%
2.5%
Cash margin
23.4%
23.4%
23.4%
23.4%
23.4%
23.4%
23.4%
23.4%
23.4%
23.4%
Free cash flow
1.9B
2.1B
2.3B
2.5B
2.6B
2.8B
2.9B
3.1B
3.2B
3.2B
Worth today
1.8B
1.8B
1.8B
1.7B
1.7B
1.7B
1.6B
1.5B
1.4B
1.4B
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%
8.1%
159
170
183
199
218
8.6%
146
156
167
180
195
9.1%
136
144
153
164
177
9.6%
126
133
141
151
161
10.1%
118
124
131
139
148
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
6.5%
8.5%
10.5%
12.5%
14.5%
18.8%
108
117
128
139
151
21.1%
118
129
140
153
166
23.4%
129
141
153
167
181
25.8%
140
152
166
181
196
28.1%
150
164
179
194
211
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%, 3.5%, 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$112.84
Median$153.22
90th percentile$214.81
$100.00$200.00$300.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$129.89</b> and <b>$181.96</b>; one in ten below $112.84, one in ten above $214.81.
Does the long run make sense?
11.5×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 11.5 times that year's EBITDA.
Free growthIn year 10 free cash flow is at or above after-tax operating profit, yet the model grows 2.5% forever. Growth needs reinvestment; this assumes it comes for free, which flatters the terminal value.
56%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
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.