KEYS · Technology(industrial instruments for measurement, display, and control) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-10-31
Keysight Technologies, Inc. reported revenue of $5.4 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 6.0% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 4.6% in 2017 to 16.3%, and it earned 8.4% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $9.2 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 55.8% went to acquisitions and 40.4% to buybacks; the share count fell 4.9%. On the accounting screens, it passes 5 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 5.15 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 20255.4B+6.0% a year over 9 years
Operating margin16.3%gross margin 62.1%
Return on invested capital8.4%14.0% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay1.1B20.8% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA0.7×net debt 661.0M
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
-2.0B02.0B4.0B6.0B
2017Revenue 3.2BOperating income 148.0M
2018Revenue 3.9BOperating income -394.0M
2018
2019Revenue 4.3BOperating income 711.0M
2020Revenue 4.2BOperating income 765.0M
2021Revenue 4.9BOperating income 1.1B
2022Revenue 5.4BOperating income 1.3B
2023Revenue 5.5BOperating income 1.4B
2024Revenue 5.0BOperating income 833.0M
2025Revenue 5.4BOperating income 876.0M
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-0.3%
+5.0%
+6.0%
Operating income
-13.1%
+2.7%
+21.8%
Net income
-8.9%
+6.3%
+26.6%
Earnings per share
-7.3%
+8.2%
+27.3%
Free cash flow per share
+12.0%
+9.3%
+20.3%
Shares
-1.7%
-1.8%
-0.6%
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%
-10.0%0.0%10.0%20.0%
2017Return on invested capital 3.0%
2018Return on invested capital -2.0%
2018
2019Return on invested capital 12.9%
2020Return on invested capital 12.4%
2021Return on invested capital 17.1%
2022Return on invested capital 19.6%
2023Return on invested capital 16.4%
2024Return on invested capital 8.6%
2025Return on invested capital 8.4%
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-500.0M0500.0M1.0B
2017Economic profit -235.7M
2018Economic profit -438.6M
2018
2019Economic profit 216.6M
2020Economic profit 204.7M
2021Economic profit 489.5M
2022Economic profit 668.7M
2023Economic profit 518.3M
2024Economic profit 14.4M
2025Economic profit -554,546
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
14.5%
Return on assets
7.5%
Asset turnover
0.48×
Research & development
18.7% of revenue
Overheads (SG&A)
27.4% 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
0500.0M1.0B1.5B
2017Net income 102.0MFree cash flow 256.0MAfter stock-based pay 200.0M
2018Net income 165.0MFree cash flow 423.0MAfter stock-based pay 364.0M
2018
2019Net income 621.0MFree cash flow 878.0MAfter stock-based pay 796.0M
2020Net income 627.0MFree cash flow 899.0MAfter stock-based pay 807.0M
2021Net income 894.0MFree cash flow 1.1BAfter stock-based pay 1.0B
2022Net income 1.1BFree cash flow 959.0MAfter stock-based pay 834.0M
2023Net income 1.1BFree cash flow 1.2BAfter stock-based pay 1.1B
2024Net income 614.0MFree cash flow 898.0MAfter stock-based pay 761.0M
2025Net income 850.0MFree cash flow 1.3BAfter stock-based pay 1.1B
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2017–2025
9.2B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 14%1.3B
Acquisitions 56%5.2B
Dividends 0%0
Share buybacks 40%3.7B
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -10%-926.0M
Over the same years it paid 951.0M in stock. The share count fell 4.9%. 2.8B 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
2017Earnings per share $0.56Free cash flow per share $1.41
2018Earnings per share $0.86Free cash flow per share $2.21
2018
2019Earnings per share $3.25Free cash flow per share $4.60
2020Earnings per share $3.32Free cash flow per share $4.76
2021Earnings per share $4.78Free cash flow per share $6.14
2022Earnings per share $6.18Free cash flow per share $5.27
2023Earnings per share $5.91Free cash flow per share $6.77
2024Earnings per share $3.51Free cash flow per share $5.13
2025Earnings per share $4.91Free cash flow per share $7.40
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
170.0M175.0M180.0M185.0M190.0M195.0M
2017Diluted shares 182.0M
2018Diluted shares 191.0M
2018
2019Diluted shares 191.0M
2020Diluted shares 189.0M
2021Diluted shares 187.0M
2022Diluted shares 182.0M
2023Diluted shares 179.0M
2024Diluted shares 175.0M
2025Diluted shares 173.0M
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
-1.0B-500.0M0500.0M1.0B1.5B
2017Net debt 1.2B
2018Net debt 877.0M
2018
2019Net debt 190.0M
2020Net debt 33.0M
2021Net debt -261.0M
2022Net debt -249.0M
2023Net debt -678.0M
2024Net debt -6.0M
2025Net debt 661.0M
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
0.7×
Interest coverage
9× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
2.35 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
188 days collects in 64d, stock 188d, pays in 64d
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 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 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 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?
5.15safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.22 × 6.56+1.45
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.63 × 3.26+2.04
Operating income ÷ assets 0.08 × 6.72+0.52
Equity ÷ liabilities 1.09 × 1.05+1.14
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?
-2.58below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.01+0.93
Gross margin slipping 1.01+0.54
Soft assets 1.19+0.48
Sales growth 1.08+0.96
Slower depreciation 0.99+0.11
Overheads vs sales 0.98-0.17
Profit not in cash -0.05-0.23
Leverage rising 1.12-0.37
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$57.09discounted at 8.4% a year · 58% 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
11.6×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
10.5×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
2.0×
Free cash flow yield
11.3%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today4.4B
Everything after, today6.1B
The whole business10.5B
Minus net debt-661.0M
What belongs to shareholders9.9B
Divided among 173.0M shares: <strong>$57.09</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
0500.0M1.0B1.5B
2017Reported 200.0M
2018Reported 364.0M
2018
2019Reported 796.0M
2020Reported 807.0M
2021Reported 1.0B
2022Reported 834.0M
2023Reported 1.1B
2024Reported 761.0M
2025Reported 1.1B
2026Projected 570.0M
2027Projected 596.9M
2028Projected 623.5M
2029Projected 649.4M
2030Projected 674.7M
2031Projected 699.1M
2032Projected 722.4M
2033Projected 744.4M
2034Projected 765.1M
2035Projected 784.2M
2017201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
5.6B
5.9B
6.2B
6.4B
6.7B
6.9B
7.2B
7.4B
7.6B
7.8B
Growth
5.0%
4.7%
4.4%
4.2%
3.9%
3.6%
3.3%
3.1%
2.8%
2.5%
Cash margin
10.1%
10.1%
10.1%
10.1%
10.1%
10.1%
10.1%
10.1%
10.1%
10.1%
Free cash flow
570.0M
596.9M
623.5M
649.4M
674.7M
699.1M
722.4M
744.4M
765.1M
784.2M
Worth today
526.0M
508.3M
489.9M
470.9M
451.5M
431.6M
411.6M
391.4M
371.2M
351.1M
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%
59
64
70
77
86
7.9%
54
58
63
69
75
8.4%
50
53
57
62
67
8.9%
46
49
52
56
61
9.4%
43
45
48
51
55
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
1.0%
3.0%
5.0%
7.0%
9.0%
8.1%
40
43
47
52
56
9.1%
44
48
52
57
62
10.1%
48
52
57
62
68
11.1%
52
57
62
68
74
12.1%
56
61
67
73
80
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$39.61
Median$57.14
90th percentile$84.39
$50.00$75.00$100.00$125.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$47.14</b> and <b>$69.80</b>; one in ten below $39.61, one in ten above $84.39.
Does the long run make sense?
9.4×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 9.4 times that year's EBITDA.
11%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 23% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 11% on the new capital — it has earned 14% on average over the last five years.
58%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.