MZTI · Consumer staples(canned, frozen & preservd fruit, veg & food specialties) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2026-06-30
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Marzetti Co reported revenue of $1.9 billion in fiscal 2026, after growing 5.4% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin narrowed from 14.5% in 2017 to 12.4%, and it earned 15.1% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $2.0 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 42.5% went to dividends and 36.7% back into the business. On the accounting screens, it passes 5 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 7.01 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 20261.9B+5.4% a year over 9 years
Operating margin12.4%gross margin 24.7%
Return on invested capital15.1%16.2% on average over 2 years
Free cash flow after stock pay196.0M10.2% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA0.6×net debt 174.2M
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
0500.0M1.0B1.5B2.0B
2017Revenue 1.2BOperating income 174.4M
2018Revenue 1.2BOperating income 171.5M
2019Revenue 1.3BOperating income 190.9M
2020Revenue 1.3BOperating income 175.9M
2021Revenue 1.5BOperating income 185.9M
2022Revenue 1.7BOperating income 111.9M
2023Revenue 1.8BOperating income 141.5M
2024Revenue 1.9BOperating income 199.4M
2025Revenue 1.9BOperating income 220.3M
2026Revenue 1.9BOperating income 238.7M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+1.9%
+5.6%
+5.4%
Operating income
+19.0%
+5.1%
+3.6%
Net income
+19.9%
+6.1%
+5.8%
Earnings per share
+20.0%
+6.2%
+5.8%
Free cash flow per share
+15.1%
+19.1%
+6.3%
Dividend per share
+5.7%
+6.1%
+7.1%
Shares
-0.1%
-0.1%
-0.0%
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 · 9.2%
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025Return on invested capital 17.3%
2026Return on invested capital 15.1%
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Economic profit
Economic profit
025.0M50.0M75.0M100.0M
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025Economic profit 80.8M
2026Economic profit 73.8M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
(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
18.2%
Return on assets
11.9%
Asset turnover
1.20×
Overheads (SG&A)
13.2% 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
-100.0M0100.0M200.0M300.0M
2017Net income 115.3MFree cash flow 119.4MAfter stock-based pay 115.1M
2018Net income 135.3MFree cash flow 129.7MAfter stock-based pay 124.7M
2019Net income 150.5MFree cash flow 126.7MAfter stock-based pay 120.7M
2020Net income 137.0MFree cash flow 88.1MAfter stock-based pay 82.0M
2021Net income 142.3MFree cash flow 86.3MAfter stock-based pay 79.2M
2022Net income 89.6MFree cash flow -30.2MAfter stock-based pay -39.7M
2023Net income 111.3MFree cash flow 135.7MAfter stock-based pay 126.6M
2024Net income 158.6MFree cash flow 184.0MAfter stock-based pay 172.6M
2025Net income 167.3MFree cash flow 203.5MAfter stock-based pay 194.5M
2026Net income 191.6MFree cash flow 206.1MAfter stock-based pay 196.0M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2017–2026
2.0B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 37%724.8M
Acquisitions 29%569.0M
Dividends 43%839.8M
Share buybacks 5%92.0M
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -13%-251.4M
Over the same years it paid 77.7M in stock. The share count barely moved. 14.4M of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-2.50$0.00$2.50$5.00$7.50$10.00
2017Earnings per share $4.20Free cash flow per share $4.35Dividend per share $2.15
2018Earnings per share $4.93Free cash flow per share $4.72Dividend per share $2.35
2019Earnings per share $5.47Free cash flow per share $4.60Dividend per share $2.55
2020Earnings per share $4.98Free cash flow per share $3.21Dividend per share $2.75
2021Earnings per share $5.17Free cash flow per share $3.14Dividend per share $2.95
2022Earnings per share $3.26Free cash flow per share $-1.10Dividend per share $3.16
2023Earnings per share $4.05Free cash flow per share $4.94Dividend per share $3.36
2024Earnings per share $5.78Free cash flow per share $6.70Dividend per share $3.57
2025Earnings per share $6.09Free cash flow per share $7.40Dividend per share $3.77
2026Earnings per share $6.99Free cash flow per share $7.52Dividend per share $3.97
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
27.4M27.4M27.5M27.6M
2017Diluted shares 27.4M
2018Diluted shares 27.5M
2019Diluted shares 27.5M
2020Diluted shares 27.5M
2021Diluted shares 27.5M
2022Diluted shares 27.5M
2023Diluted shares 27.5M
2024Diluted shares 27.5M
2025Diluted shares 27.5M
2026Diluted shares 27.4M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
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
-200.0M-100.0M0100.0M200.0M
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025Net debt -161.5M
2026Net debt 174.2M
2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
0.6×
Interest coverage
135× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.56 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
32 days collects in 20d, stock 52d, pays in 39d
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 fellfailed
✕More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforefailed
✓No new sharesShare count did not growpassed
✓Better gross marginGross margin higher than a year beforepassed
✕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?
7.01safe zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.08 × 6.56+0.53
Retained earnings ÷ assets 1.07 × 3.26+3.48
Operating income ÷ assets 0.15 × 6.72+1.00
Equity ÷ liabilities 1.91 × 1.05+2.00
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?
-2.62below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.09+1.00
Gross margin slipping 0.97+0.51
Soft assets 1.85+0.75
Sales growth 1.01+0.90
Slower depreciation 0.91+0.10
Overheads vs sales 1.09-0.19
Profit not in cash -0.06-0.27
Leverage rising 1.79-0.59
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.
Inventory is growing 21% against revenue growing 1%.
Benign
Stocking up for a launch, or securing supply.
Worrying
Demand is softening; discounts or write-downs tend to follow.
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$95.90discounted at 9.2% a year · 54% 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
13.7×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
9.0×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
1.5×
Free cash flow yield
7.5%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today1.3B
Everything after, today1.5B
The whole business2.8B
Minus net debt-174.2M
What belongs to shareholders2.6B
Divided among 27.4M shares: <strong>$95.90</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
-100.0M0100.0M200.0M300.0M
2017Reported 115.1M
2018Reported 124.7M
2019Reported 120.7M
2020Reported 82.0M
2021Reported 79.2M
2022Reported -39.7M
2023Reported 126.6M
2024Reported 172.6M
2025Reported 194.5M
2026Reported 196.0M
2027Projected 170.8M
2028Projected 179.6M
2029Projected 188.3M
2030Projected 196.8M
2031Projected 205.0M
2032Projected 212.8M
2033Projected 220.3M
2034Projected 227.3M
2035Projected 233.7M
2036Projected 239.5M
2017201920212023202520272029203120332035
Year by year
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
Revenue
2.0B
2.1B
2.2B
2.3B
2.4B
2.5B
2.6B
2.7B
2.8B
2.9B
Growth
5.5%
5.2%
4.8%
4.5%
4.2%
3.8%
3.5%
3.2%
2.8%
2.5%
Cash margin
8.4%
8.4%
8.4%
8.4%
8.4%
8.4%
8.4%
8.4%
8.4%
8.4%
Free cash flow
170.8M
179.6M
188.3M
196.8M
205.0M
212.8M
220.3M
227.3M
233.7M
239.5M
Worth today
156.4M
150.6M
144.6M
138.4M
132.0M
125.5M
118.9M
112.4M
105.8M
99.3M
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%
8.2%
99
106
114
124
135
8.7%
92
98
104
112
122
9.2%
85
90
96
102
110
9.7%
80
84
89
94
101
10.2%
75
78
82
87
93
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
1.5%
3.5%
5.5%
7.5%
9.5%
6.7%
67
73
80
87
95
7.5%
74
81
88
96
105
8.4%
80
88
96
105
114
9.2%
87
95
104
113
124
10.1%
93
102
112
122
133
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$65.49
Median$96.12
90th percentile$140.01
$50.00$100.00$150.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$78.68</b> and <b>$116.66</b>; one in ten below $65.49, one in ten above $140.01.
Does the long run make sense?
8.0×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 8.0 times that year's EBITDA.
17%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 14% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 17% on the new capital — it has earned 16% on average over the last five years.
54%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 4 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$100,5121 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.