BHE · Technology(printed circuit boards) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
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Benchmark Electronics Inc reported revenue of $2.7 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 1.9% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin held steady at about 2.8% from 2016, and it earned 2.3% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $1.0 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 50.4% went to buybacks and 42.7% back into the business; the share count fell 27.1%. On the accounting screens, it passes 6 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 4.90 is in the safe zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; none of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 20252.7B+1.9% a year over 9 years
Operating margin2.8%gross margin 13.1%
Return on invested capital2.3%4.8% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay71.2M2.6% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDANet cash111.5M more cash than debt
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
01.0B2.0B3.0B4.0B
2016Revenue 2.3BOperating income 76.9M
2017Revenue 2.5BOperating income 76.8M
2018Revenue 2.6BOperating income 58.5M
2019Revenue 2.3BOperating income 28.5M
2020Revenue 2.1BOperating income 25.1M
2021Revenue 2.3BOperating income 53.1M
2022Revenue 3.0BOperating income 90.1M
2023Revenue 3.0BOperating income 109.7M
2024Revenue 2.8BOperating income 109.4M
2025Revenue 2.7BOperating income 76.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-3.0%
+5.2%
+1.9%
Operating income
-5.5%
+24.8%
-0.1%
Net income
-28.6%
+12.1%
-10.0%
Earnings per share
-29.0%
+12.4%
-6.7%
Free cash flow per share
—
+0.9%
-7.4%
Dividend per share
+1.2%
+1.5%
—
Shares
+0.5%
-0.3%
-3.5%
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 · 9.5%
0.0%2.5%5.0%7.5%10.0%
2016
2017
2018Return on invested capital 1.9%
2019Return on invested capital 2.1%
2020Return on invested capital 1.8%
2021Return on invested capital 3.8%
2022Return on invested capital 5.4%
2023Return on invested capital 6.6%
2024Return on invested capital 5.9%
2025Return on invested capital 2.3%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-100.0M-75.0M-50.0M-25.0M0
2016
2017
2018Economic profit -98.0M
2019Economic profit -85.9M
2020Economic profit -86.9M
2021Economic profit -63.4M
2022Economic profit -55.9M
2023Economic profit -41.3M
2024Economic profit -50.1M
2025Economic profit -94.2M
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
2.3%
Return on assets
1.2%
Asset turnover
1.33×
Overheads (SG&A)
5.8% 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
-400.0M-200.0M0200.0M400.0M
2016Net income 63.9MFree cash flow 242.6MAfter stock-based pay 237.3M
2017Net income -31.9MFree cash flow 95.1MAfter stock-based pay 87.2M
2018Net income 22.8MFree cash flow 13.9MAfter stock-based pay 3.8M
2019Net income 23.4MFree cash flow 60.6MAfter stock-based pay 50.4M
2020Net income 14.1MFree cash flow 85.9MAfter stock-based pay 75.5M
2021Net income 35.8MFree cash flow -41.4MAfter stock-based pay -56.7M
2022Net income 68.2MFree cash flow -220.8MAfter stock-based pay -239.3M
2023Net income 68.9MFree cash flow 100.8MAfter stock-based pay 85.5M
2024Net income 61.1MFree cash flow 157.9MAfter stock-based pay 144.6M
2025Net income 24.9MFree cash flow 88.4MAfter stock-based pay 71.2M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
1.0B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 43%433.8M
Acquisitions 0%2.7M
Dividends 18%185.5M
Share buybacks 50%512.0M
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -12%-117.5M
Over the same years it paid 123.4M in stock. The share count fell 27.1%. 388.6M of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-10.00$-5.00$0.00$5.00
2016Earnings per share $1.28Free cash flow per share $4.87Dividend per share $0.00
2017Earnings per share $-0.64Free cash flow per share $1.91Dividend per share $0.00
2018Earnings per share $0.49Free cash flow per share $0.30Dividend per share $0.45
2019Earnings per share $0.60Free cash flow per share $1.56Dividend per share $0.60
2020Earnings per share $0.38Free cash flow per share $2.33Dividend per share $0.63
2021Earnings per share $0.99Free cash flow per share $-1.15Dividend per share $0.64
2022Earnings per share $1.91Free cash flow per share $-6.18Dividend per share $0.65
2023Earnings per share $1.92Free cash flow per share $2.80Dividend per share $0.65
2024Earnings per share $1.66Free cash flow per share $4.30Dividend per share $0.65
2025Earnings per share $0.68Free cash flow per share $2.43Dividend per share $0.67
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
35.0M40.0M45.0M50.0M
2016Diluted shares 49.8M
2017Diluted shares 49.7M
2018Diluted shares 46.7M
2019Diluted shares 38.8M
2020Diluted shares 36.8M
2021Diluted shares 36.1M
2022Diluted shares 35.7M
2023Diluted shares 36.0M
2024Diluted shares 36.8M
2025Diluted shares 36.3M
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
-400.0M-200.0M0200.0M
2016
2017
2018Net debt -310.2M
2019Net debt -204.8M
2020Net debt -255.1M
2021Net debt -142.2M
2022Net debt 117.0M
2023Net debt 53.2M
2024Net debt -58.1M
2025Net debt -111.5M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
-0.9×
Interest coverage
4× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
2.28 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
64 days collects in 52d, stock 74d, pays in 62d
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 beforefailed
✓Sells more per assetAsset turnover higher than a year beforepassed
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?
4.90safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.39 × 6.56+2.57
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.27 × 3.26+0.89
Operating income ÷ assets 0.04 × 6.72+0.25
Equity ÷ liabilities 1.13 × 1.05+1.19
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?
-2.73below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 0.95+0.88
Gross margin slipping 1.04+0.55
Soft assets 1.02+0.41
Sales growth 1.00+0.89
Slower depreciation 0.97+0.11
Overheads vs sales 1.07-0.18
Profit not in cash -0.05-0.22
Leverage rising 0.96-0.31
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$72.51discounted at 9.5% a year · 52% 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
105.9×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
20.4×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
0.9×
Free cash flow yield
2.7%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today1.2B
Everything after, today1.3B
The whole business2.5B
Plus net cash111.5M
What belongs to shareholders2.6B
Divided among 36.3M shares: <strong>$72.51</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
-400.0M-200.0M0200.0M400.0M
2016Reported 237.3M
2017Reported 87.2M
2018Reported 3.8M
2019Reported 50.4M
2020Reported 75.5M
2021Reported -56.7M
2022Reported -239.3M
2023Reported 85.5M
2024Reported 144.6M
2025Reported 71.2M
2026Projected 163.9M
2027Projected 171.7M
2028Projected 179.3M
2029Projected 186.8M
2030Projected 194.0M
2031Projected 201.0M
2032Projected 207.7M
2033Projected 214.1M
2034Projected 220.0M
2035Projected 225.5M
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
2.9B
3.0B
3.2B
3.3B
3.4B
3.5B
3.7B
3.8B
3.9B
4.0B
Growth
5.0%
4.7%
4.4%
4.2%
3.9%
3.6%
3.3%
3.1%
2.8%
2.5%
Cash margin
5.7%
5.7%
5.7%
5.7%
5.7%
5.7%
5.7%
5.7%
5.7%
5.7%
Free cash flow
163.9M
171.7M
179.3M
186.8M
194.0M
201.0M
207.7M
214.1M
220.0M
225.5M
Worth today
149.7M
143.1M
136.4M
129.7M
123.1M
116.4M
109.8M
103.3M
96.9M
90.7M
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%
8.5%
75
79
84
90
97
9.0%
70
74
78
83
89
9.5%
66
69
73
77
82
10.0%
62
65
68
71
75
10.5%
59
61
64
67
70
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
1.0%
3.0%
5.0%
7.0%
9.0%
4.5%
53
57
62
67
72
5.1%
58
62
67
73
78
5.7%
62
67
73
78
85
6.2%
66
72
78
84
91
6.8%
71
77
83
90
98
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$46.53
Median$72.40
90th percentile$107.48
$50.00$100.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$58.26</b> and <b>$89.13</b>; one in ten below $46.53, one in ten above $107.48.
Does the long run make sense?
18.4×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 18.4 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.
52%of the value comes from after year 10. The more of it, the more the answer depends on the part nobody can see.
Every Form 4 filed in the last twelve months, read line by line: 6 filings by 5 people. Open-market purchases and sales are counted apart from awards, option exercises and shares withheld for taxes.
Bought on the open market—none in the period
Sold on the open market$2.2M3 sale(s) by 2 insider(s)
Under pre-arranged plans33%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.