C · Financials(national commercial banks) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
Citigroup Inc reported revenue of $85.2 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 2.1% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 48.0% in 2016 to 93.4%, and it earned 10.0% on its invested capital in the latest year. On the accounting screens, it passes 3 of 7 Piotroski tests; 1 of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 202585.2B+2.1% a year over 9 years
Operating margin93.4%gross margin —
Return on invested capital10.0%9.0% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow-74.2B-87.0% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA0.2×net debt 18.1B
Piotroski F-score3/7tests 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
025.0B50.0B75.0B100.0B
2016Revenue 70.8BOperating income 34.0B
2017Revenue 72.4BOperating income 39.3B
2018Revenue 72.9BOperating income 47.7B
2019Revenue 75.1BOperating income 52.3B
2020Revenue 75.5BOperating income 27.0B
2021Revenue 71.9BOperating income 35.5B
2022Revenue 75.3BOperating income 44.5B
2023Revenue 78.1BOperating income 91.3B
2024Revenue 80.7BOperating income 71.1B
2025Revenue 85.2BOperating income 79.6B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+4.2%
+2.5%
+2.1%
Operating income
+21.4%
+24.2%
+9.9%
Net income
-1.2%
+5.3%
-0.5%
Earnings per share
+0.4%
+7.7%
+4.4%
Dividend per share
+4.0%
+2.4%
+15.4%
Shares
-1.6%
-2.3%
-4.7%
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 · 9.8%
-5.0%0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%
2016Return on invested capital 5.1%
2017Return on invested capital -2.4%
2018Return on invested capital 8.0%
2019Return on invested capital 8.7%
2020Return on invested capital 4.4%
2021Return on invested capital 5.9%
2022Return on invested capital 6.9%
2023Return on invested capital 12.5%
2024Return on invested capital 9.8%
2025Return on invested capital 10.0%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-60.0B-40.0B-20.0B020.0B
2016Economic profit -21.6B
2017Economic profit -58.7B
2018Economic profit -8.4B
2019Economic profit -5.2B
2020Economic profit -27.2B
2021Economic profit -19.1B
2022Economic profit -15.1B
2023Economic profit 14.3B
2024Economic profit 118.8M
2025Economic profit 1.1B
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
6.7%
Return on assets
0.5%
Asset turnover
0.03×
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
-100.0B-50.0B050.0B100.0B
2016Net income 14.9BFree cash flow 51.0B
2017Net income -6.8BFree cash flow -12.1B
2018Net income 18.0BFree cash flow 33.2B
2019Net income 19.4BFree cash flow -18.2B
2020Net income 11.0BFree cash flow -26.9B
2021Net income 22.0BFree cash flow 43.0B
2022Net income 14.8BFree cash flow 19.4B
2023Net income 9.2BFree cash flow -80.0B
2024Net income 12.7BFree cash flow -26.2B
2025Net income 14.3BFree cash flow -74.2B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-60.00$-40.00$-20.00$0.00$20.00$40.00
2016Earnings per share $5.16Free cash flow per share $17.65Dividend per share $0.79
2017Earnings per share $-2.52Free cash flow per share $-4.50Dividend per share $1.41
2018Earnings per share $7.23Free cash flow per share $13.30Dividend per share $2.01
2019Earnings per share $8.56Free cash flow per share $-8.02Dividend per share $2.40
2020Earnings per share $5.26Free cash flow per share $-12.83Dividend per share $2.55
2021Earnings per share $10.71Free cash flow per share $20.97Dividend per share $2.54
2022Earnings per share $7.56Free cash flow per share $9.90Dividend per share $2.55
2023Earnings per share $4.72Free cash flow per share $-40.90Dividend per share $2.66
2024Earnings per share $6.54Free cash flow per share $-13.49Dividend per share $2.68
2025Earnings per share $7.64Free cash flow per share $-39.59Dividend per share $2.87
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
1.5B2.0B2.5B3.0B
2016Diluted shares 2.9B
2017Diluted shares 2.7B
2018Diluted shares 2.5B
2019Diluted shares 2.3B
2020Diluted shares 2.1B
2021Diluted shares 2.0B
2022Diluted shares 2.0B
2023Diluted shares 2.0B
2024Diluted shares 1.9B
2025Diluted shares 1.9B
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
-50.0B050.0B100.0B150.0B
2016Net debt 76.4B
2017Net debt 100.6B
2018Net debt 76.2B
2019Net debt 99.9B
2020Net debt -8.4B
2021Net debt 20.3B
2022Net debt -23.3B
2023Net debt 63.1B
2024Net debt 59.3B
2025Net debt 18.1B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
0.2×
Interest coverage
1× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
— current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
—
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.
3of 7 tests passed
✓ProfitableReturn on assets above zeropassed
✕Cash from operationsOperating cash flow above zerofailed
✕Profitability improvedReturn on assets higher than a year beforefailed
✕Profit backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income (low accruals)failed
✓Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellpassed
–More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year before — not reportedno data
✓No new sharesShare count did not growpassed
–Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year before — not reportedno data
✕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?
The accounts lack a line it needs (retained earnings, current assets or liabilities).
Beneish M-score
Do the accounts resemble those of companies that manipulated their earnings?
The accounts lack too many of the lines it needs.
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.
Reported profit comfortably exceeds the cash generated (14,306M against -67,632M).
Benign
Growth consuming working capital, or the seasonality of the year-end.
Worrying
Profit held up by accounting entries that do not turn into money.
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$438.46discounted at 9.8% a year · 50% 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
57.4×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
10.0×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
9.8×
Free cash flow yield
-9.0%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today418.2B
Everything after, today421.2B
The whole business839.4B
Minus net debt-18.1B
What belongs to shareholders821.3B
Divided among 1.9B shares: <strong>$438.46</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
-100.0B-50.0B050.0B100.0B
2016Reported 51.0B
2017Reported -12.1B
2018Reported 33.2B
2019Reported -18.2B
2020Reported -26.9B
2021Reported 43.0B
2022Reported 19.4B
2023Reported -80.0B
2024Reported -26.2B
2025Reported -74.2B
2026Projected 61.4B
2027Projected 63.0B
2028Projected 64.5B
2029Projected 66.1B
2030Projected 67.8B
2031Projected 69.5B
2032Projected 71.2B
2033Projected 73.0B
2034Projected 74.8B
2035Projected 76.7B
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
87.4B
89.5B
91.8B
94.1B
96.4B
98.8B
101.3B
103.8B
106.4B
109.1B
Growth
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
Cash margin
70.3%
70.3%
70.3%
70.3%
70.3%
70.3%
70.3%
70.3%
70.3%
70.3%
Free cash flow
61.4B
63.0B
64.5B
66.1B
67.8B
69.5B
71.2B
73.0B
74.8B
76.7B
Worth today
55.9B
52.2B
48.7B
45.5B
42.4B
39.6B
37.0B
34.5B
32.2B
30.1B
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%
8.8%
453
479
509
545
587
9.3%
423
445
471
501
536
9.8%
397
416
438
464
493
10.3%
374
391
410
431
456
10.8%
353
368
384
403
425
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
-1.5%
0.5%
2.5%
4.5%
6.5%
56.2%
315
342
371
403
437
63.3%
342
372
405
440
478
70.3%
370
403
438
477
518
77.3%
398
434
472
513
558
84.4%
426
464
505
550
598
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%, 10.5%, 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$332.37
Median$436.35
90th percentile$582.26
$400.00$600.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$377.24</b> and <b>$505.39</b>; one in ten below $332.37, one in ten above $582.26.
Does the long run make sense?
10.0×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 10.0 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.
50%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.