HLF · Health care(wholesale-drugs, proprietaries & druggists' sundries) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
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Herbalife Ltd. reported revenue of $5.0 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 1.3% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin held steady at about 9.5% from 2016, and it earned 27.0% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $4.5 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 83.3% went to buybacks and 26.5% back into the business; the share count fell 39.8%. On the accounting screens, it passes 5 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 0.63 is in the distress zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 2 of the six cross-checks between its statements fire.
Revenue, fiscal 20255.0B+1.3% a year over 9 years
Operating margin9.5%gross margin 77.9%
Return on invested capital27.0%25.7% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay208.8M4.1% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA2.7×net debt 1.6B
Piotroski F-score5/9tests 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
02.0B4.0B6.0B
2016Revenue 4.5BOperating income 458.1M
2017Revenue 4.4BOperating income 617.1M
2018Revenue 4.9BOperating income 683.1M
2019Revenue 4.9BOperating income 568.1M
2020Revenue 5.5BOperating income 640.6M
2021Revenue 5.8BOperating income 734.1M
2022Revenue 5.2BOperating income 545.2M
2023Revenue 5.1BOperating income 356.4M
2024Revenue 5.0BOperating income 385.9M
2025Revenue 5.0BOperating income 481.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-1.1%
-1.9%
+1.3%
Operating income
-4.1%
-5.6%
+0.5%
Net income
-10.8%
-9.3%
-1.4%
Earnings per share
-12.0%
-4.5%
+4.3%
Free cash flow per share
+7.4%
-8.7%
+7.2%
Shares
+1.4%
-5.1%
-5.5%
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 · 8.9%
0.0%20.0%40.0%60.0%
2016Return on invested capital 19.9%
2017Return on invested capital 14.5%
2018Return on invested capital 25.2%
2019Return on invested capital 27.7%
2020Return on invested capital 29.4%
2021Return on invested capital 42.7%
2022Return on invested capital 28.9%
2023Return on invested capital 16.6%
2024Return on invested capital 13.2%
2025Return on invested capital 27.0%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
0200.0M400.0M600.0M
2016Economic profit 180.1M
2017Economic profit 107.9M
2018Economic profit 282.3M
2019Economic profit 265.5M
2020Economic profit 322.1M
2021Economic profit 463.2M
2022Economic profit 285.3M
2023Economic profit 115.8M
2024Economic profit 62.5M
2025Economic profit 266.7M
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
—
Return on assets
8.2%
Asset turnover
1.81×
Overheads (SG&A)
33.0% 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
0200.0M400.0M600.0M
2016Net income 260.0MFree cash flow 223.9MAfter stock-based pay 183.7M
2017Net income 213.9MFree cash flow 495.3MAfter stock-based pay 453.2M
2018Net income 296.6MFree cash flow 564.4MAfter stock-based pay 528.9M
2019Net income 311.0MFree cash flow 351.4MAfter stock-based pay 312.8M
2020Net income 372.6MFree cash flow 516.6MAfter stock-based pay 465.6M
2021Net income 447.2MFree cash flow 308.9MAfter stock-based pay 254.8M
2022Net income 321.3MFree cash flow 196.1MAfter stock-based pay 151.7M
2023Net income 142.2MFree cash flow 222.5MAfter stock-based pay 174.5M
2024Net income 254.3MFree cash flow 163.4MAfter stock-based pay 113.4M
2025Net income 228.3MFree cash flow 252.9MAfter stock-based pay 208.8M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
4.5B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 26%1.2B
Acquisitions 1%25.5M
Dividends 0%0
Share buybacks 83%3.7B
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -10%-463.5M
Over the same years it paid 448.0M in stock. The share count fell 39.8%. 3.3B 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
2016Earnings per share $1.51Free cash flow per share $1.30Dividend per share $0.00
2017Earnings per share $1.29Free cash flow per share $2.99Dividend per share $0.00
2018Earnings per share $1.98Free cash flow per share $3.78Dividend per share $0.00
2019Earnings per share $2.20Free cash flow per share $2.48
2020Earnings per share $2.77Free cash flow per share $3.84
2021Earnings per share $4.13Free cash flow per share $2.85
2022Earnings per share $3.23Free cash flow per share $1.97
2023Earnings per share $1.42Free cash flow per share $2.22
2024Earnings per share $2.50Free cash flow per share $1.61
2025Earnings per share $2.20Free cash flow per share $2.44
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
80.0M100.0M120.0M140.0M160.0M180.0M
2016Diluted shares 172.2M
2017Diluted shares 165.7M
2018Diluted shares 149.5M
2019Diluted shares 141.6M
2020Diluted shares 134.5M
2021Diluted shares 108.3M
2022Diluted shares 99.5M
2023Diluted shares 100.2M
2024Diluted shares 101.6M
2025Diluted shares 103.6M
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 603.9M
2017Net debt 989.3M
2018Net debt 1.3B
2019Net debt 963.6M
2020Net debt 1.4B
2021Net debt 2.2B
2022Net debt 2.2B
2023Net debt 2.0B
2024Net debt 1.8B
2025Net debt 1.6B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
2.7×
Interest coverage
2× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.13 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
142 days collects in 7d, stock 168d, pays in 33d
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 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 beforepassed
✕No new sharesShare count did not growfailed
✕Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year beforefailed
✕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?
0.63distress zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.05 × 6.56+0.31
Retained earnings ÷ assets -0.21 × 3.26-0.68
Operating income ÷ assets 0.17 × 6.72+1.16
Equity ÷ liabilities -0.16 × 1.05-0.16
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?
-2.29below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.32+1.22
Gross margin slipping 1.00+0.53
Soft assets 1.04+0.42
Sales growth 1.01+0.90
Slower depreciation 0.98+0.11
Overheads vs sales 0.88-0.15
Profit not in cash -0.04-0.18
Leverage rising 0.91-0.30
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.
Receivables are growing 33% against revenue growing 1%.
Benign
A shift towards larger customers on longer terms, or sales concentrated at the end of the period.
Worrying
Sales are being made on looser credit, or revenue has been booked that may never be collected.
Capital spending (80M) is well below depreciation (121M).
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$17.17discounted at 8.9% a year · 53% 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
7.8×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
5.7×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
0.7×
Free cash flow yield
11.7%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today1.6B
Everything after, today1.8B
The whole business3.4B
Minus net debt-1.6B
What belongs to shareholders1.8B
Divided among 103.6M shares: <strong>$17.17</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
0200.0M400.0M600.0M
2016Reported 183.7M
2017Reported 453.2M
2018Reported 528.9M
2019Reported 312.8M
2020Reported 465.6M
2021Reported 254.8M
2022Reported 151.7M
2023Reported 174.5M
2024Reported 113.4M
2025Reported 208.8M
2026Projected 253.3M
2027Projected 249.5M
2028Projected 247.1M
2029Projected 245.8M
2030Projected 245.8M
2031Projected 247.0M
2032Projected 249.5M
2033Projected 253.3M
2034Projected 258.3M
2035Projected 264.8M
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
4.9B
4.9B
4.8B
4.8B
4.8B
4.8B
4.9B
4.9B
5.0B
5.2B
Growth
-2.0%
-1.5%
-1.0%
-0.5%
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
Cash margin
5.1%
5.1%
5.1%
5.1%
5.1%
5.1%
5.1%
5.1%
5.1%
5.1%
Free cash flow
253.3M
249.5M
247.1M
245.8M
245.8M
247.0M
249.5M
253.3M
258.3M
264.8M
Worth today
232.6M
210.4M
191.2M
174.7M
160.4M
148.0M
137.3M
127.9M
119.8M
112.8M
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%
7.9%
18
20
23
26
30
8.4%
16
18
20
22
26
8.9%
14
15
17
19
22
9.4%
12
13
15
17
19
9.9%
10
11
13
14
16
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
-6.0%
-4.0%
-2.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.1%
8
10
12
15
17
4.6%
10
12
15
17
20
5.1%
12
14
17
20
23
5.7%
14
17
20
23
26
6.2%
16
19
22
26
29
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$3.88
Median$17.15
90th percentile$35.24
$0.00$20.00$40.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$9.91</b> and <b>$25.75</b>; one in ten below $3.88, one in ten above $35.24.
Does the long run make sense?
6.9×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 6.9 times that year's EBITDA.
7%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 35% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 7% on the new capital — it has earned 26% on average over the last five years.
53%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$13,5721 purchase(s) by 1 insider(s)
Sold on the open market$619,5562 sale(s) by 1 insider(s)
Under pre-arranged plans0%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.