CHRW · Industrials(arrangement of transportation of freight & cargo) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
Signed in, this page also says what this company is inside your own portfolio: its weight, its share of your risk, and what buying or selling some of it would change. Sign in ›
C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. reported revenue of $16.2 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 1.0% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin held steady at about 4.9% from 2017, and it earned 22.0% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $6.4 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 53.5% went to buybacks and 38.4% to dividends; the share count fell 14.1%. On the accounting screens, it passes 5 of 8 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 6.83 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 202516.2B+1.0% a year over 9 years
Operating margin4.9%gross margin —
Return on invested capital22.0%21.3% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay814.8M5.0% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA1.0×net debt 928.6M
Piotroski F-score5/8tests 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
010.0B20.0B30.0B
2017Revenue 14.9BOperating income 775.1M
2018
2018Revenue 16.6BOperating income 912.1M
2019Revenue 15.3BOperating income 790.0M
2020Revenue 16.2BOperating income 673.3M
2021Revenue 23.1BOperating income 1.1B
2022Revenue 24.7BOperating income 1.3B
2023Revenue 17.6BOperating income 514.6M
2024Revenue 17.7BOperating income 669.1M
2025Revenue 16.2BOperating income 795.0M
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-13.1%
+0.0%
+1.0%
Operating income
-14.4%
+3.4%
+0.3%
Net income
-14.5%
+3.0%
+1.7%
Earnings per share
-13.2%
+5.4%
+3.4%
Free cash flow per share
-16.1%
+16.1%
+13.1%
Dividend per share
+3.4%
+10.0%
+3.5%
Shares
-1.5%
-2.3%
-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 · 8.4%
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%
2017Return on invested capital 18.6%
2018
2018Return on invested capital 23.4%
2019Return on invested capital 21.1%
2020Return on invested capital 18.3%
2021Return on invested capital 22.7%
2022Return on invested capital 30.7%
2023Return on invested capital 13.6%
2024Return on invested capital 17.4%
2025Return on invested capital 22.0%
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
0200.0M400.0M600.0M800.0M
2017Economic profit 294.2M
2018
2018Economic profit 441.2M
2019Economic profit 369.7M
2020Economic profit 292.7M
2021Economic profit 562.4M
2022Economic profit 741.4M
2023Economic profit 156.8M
2024Economic profit 277.4M
2025Economic profit 399.2M
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
(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
31.8%
Return on assets
11.6%
Asset turnover
3.21×
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
-500.0M0500.0M1.0B1.5B2.0B
2017Net income 504.9MFree cash flow 343.9MAfter stock-based pay 302.1M
2018
2018Net income 664.5MFree cash flow 747.9MAfter stock-based pay 660.1M
2019Net income 577.0MFree cash flow 799.1MAfter stock-based pay 760.0M
2020Net income 506.4MFree cash flow 476.1MAfter stock-based pay 432.1M
2021Net income 844.2MFree cash flow 60.8MAfter stock-based pay -69.2M
2022Net income 940.5MFree cash flow 1.6BAfter stock-based pay 1.5B
2023Net income 325.1MFree cash flow 702.0MAfter stock-based pay 643.8M
2024Net income 465.7MFree cash flow 486.4MAfter stock-based pay 401.8M
2025Net income 587.1MFree cash flow 894.9MAfter stock-based pay 814.8M
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2017–2025
6.4B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 5%312.9M
Acquisitions 6%363.4M
Dividends 38%2.5B
Share buybacks 54%3.4B
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -2%-159.3M
Over the same years it paid 656.2M in stock. The share count fell 14.1%. 2.8B of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$0.00$5.00$10.00$15.00
2017Earnings per share $3.57Free cash flow per share $2.43Dividend per share $1.83
2018
2018Earnings per share $4.73Free cash flow per share $5.33Dividend per share $1.89
2019Earnings per share $4.19Free cash flow per share $5.80Dividend per share $2.02
2020Earnings per share $3.72Free cash flow per share $3.50Dividend per share $1.54
2021Earnings per share $6.31Free cash flow per share $0.45Dividend per share $2.07
2022Earnings per share $7.40Free cash flow per share $12.49Dividend per share $2.24
2023Earnings per share $2.72Free cash flow per share $5.87Dividend per share $2.44
2024Earnings per share $3.86Free cash flow per share $4.03Dividend per share $2.44
2025Earnings per share $4.83Free cash flow per share $7.37Dividend per share $2.48
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
110.0M120.0M130.0M140.0M150.0M
2017Diluted shares 141.4M
2018
2018Diluted shares 140.4M
2019Diluted shares 137.7M
2020Diluted shares 136.2M
2021Diluted shares 133.8M
2022Diluted shares 127.2M
2023Diluted shares 119.7M
2024Diluted shares 120.7M
2025Diluted shares 121.5M
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
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
0500.0M1.0B1.5B2.0B
2017Net debt 1.1B
2018
2018Net debt 967.7M
2019Net debt 787.5M
2020Net debt 849.5M
2021Net debt 1.7B
2022Net debt 1.8B
2023Net debt 1.4B
2024Net debt 1.2B
2025Net debt 928.6M
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
1.0×
Interest coverage
— operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.53 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
— collects in 53d
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.
5of 8 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 fellfailed
✓More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforepassed
✕No new sharesShare count did not growfailed
–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?
6.83safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.19 × 6.56+1.25
Retained earnings ÷ assets 1.20 × 3.26+3.91
Operating income ÷ assets 0.16 × 6.72+1.06
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.57 × 1.05+0.60
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?
-2.76below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.08+0.99
Gross margin slipping 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.53
Soft assets 1.02+0.41
Sales growth 0.92+0.82
Slower depreciation 0.92+0.11
Overheads vs sales 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)-0.17
Profit not in cash -0.06-0.30
Leverage rising 0.94-0.31
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.
Capital spending (20M) is well below depreciation (103M).
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$72.05discounted at 8.4% 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
14.9×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
10.8×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
0.6×
Free cash flow yield
9.3%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today4.2B
Everything after, today5.4B
The whole business9.7B
Minus net debt-928.6M
What belongs to shareholders8.8B
Divided among 121.5M shares: <strong>$72.05</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
-500.0M0500.0M1.0B1.5B
2017Reported 302.1M
2018
2018Reported 660.1M
2019Reported 760.0M
2020Reported 432.1M
2021Reported -69.2M
2022Reported 1.5B
2023Reported 643.8M
2024Reported 401.8M
2025Reported 814.8M
2026Projected 620.6M
2027Projected 622.3M
2028Projected 625.8M
2029Projected 631.0M
2030Projected 638.0M
2031Projected 646.9M
2032Projected 657.6M
2033Projected 670.4M
2034Projected 685.3M
2035Projected 702.5M
2017201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
16.2B
16.3B
16.4B
16.5B
16.7B
16.9B
17.2B
17.5B
17.9B
18.4B
Growth
0.0%
0.3%
0.6%
0.8%
1.1%
1.4%
1.7%
1.9%
2.2%
2.5%
Cash margin
3.8%
3.8%
3.8%
3.8%
3.8%
3.8%
3.8%
3.8%
3.8%
3.8%
Free cash flow
620.6M
622.3M
625.8M
631.0M
638.0M
646.9M
657.6M
670.4M
685.3M
702.5M
Worth today
572.5M
529.5M
491.2M
456.9M
426.1M
398.5M
373.8M
351.5M
331.4M
313.4M
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%
7.4%
75
81
88
97
108
7.9%
68
73
79
86
95
8.4%
63
67
72
78
85
8.9%
58
62
66
71
76
9.4%
54
57
61
65
70
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
-4.0%
-2.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
3.1%
49
54
60
66
72
3.4%
54
60
66
72
79
3.8%
59
65
72
79
87
4.2%
65
71
78
86
94
4.6%
70
77
84
93
102
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$30.04
Median$71.89
90th percentile$128.18
$0.00$50.00$100.00$150.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$48.69</b> and <b>$98.24</b>; one in ten below $30.04, one in ten above $128.18.
Does the long run make sense?
12.0×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 12.0 times that year's EBITDA.
64%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 4% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 64% on the new capital — it has earned 21% on average over the last five years.
56%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 6 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—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.