NWL · Materials(plastics products, nec) · 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 ›
Newell Brands Inc. reported revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal 2025, after shrinking 2.7% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin narrowed from 3.2% in 2016 to 0.5%, and it earned 0.6% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $8.3 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 112.2% went to acquisitions and 38.4% to dividends. On the accounting screens, it passes 3 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of -0.54 is in the distress zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 3 of the six cross-checks between its statements fire.
Revenue, fiscal 20257.2B-2.7% a year over 9 years
Operating margin0.5%gross margin 33.8%
Return on invested capital0.6%2.4% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay-51.0M-0.7% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA12.8×net debt 4.5B
Piotroski F-score3/9tests 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
-10.0B-5.0B05.0B10.0B15.0B
2016Revenue 9.2BOperating income 298.1M
2017Revenue 11.2BOperating income 706.8M
2018Revenue 10.2BOperating income -7.6B
2019Revenue 9.7BOperating income -482.0M
2020Revenue 9.4BOperating income -629.0M
2021Revenue 10.6BOperating income 1.0B
2022Revenue 9.5BOperating income 312.0M
2023Revenue 8.1BOperating income -85.0M
2024Revenue 7.6BOperating income 67.0M
2025Revenue 7.2BOperating income 39.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-8.7%
-5.2%
-2.7%
Operating income
-50.0%
—
-20.2%
Free cash flow per share
—
-57.0%
-38.7%
Dividend per share
-32.2%
-20.9%
-10.5%
Shares
+0.1%
-0.3%
-0.1%
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 · 7.9%
-75.0%-50.0%-25.0%0.0%25.0%
2016Return on invested capital -2.6%
2017Return on invested capital -1.9%
2018Return on invested capital -72.2%
2019Return on invested capital -10.0%
2020Return on invested capital -8.2%
2021Return on invested capital 9.2%
2022Return on invested capital 2.6%
2023Return on invested capital -1.4%
2024Return on invested capital 1.1%
2025Return on invested capital 0.6%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-10.0B-7.5B-5.0B-2.5B02.5B
2016Economic profit -2.4B
2017Economic profit -2.4B
2018Economic profit -9.8B
2019Economic profit -1.9B
2020Economic profit -1.5B
2021Economic profit 118.7M
2022Economic profit -466.2M
2023Economic profit -738.9M
2024Economic profit -498.7M
2025Economic profit -513.8M
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
-11.9%
Return on assets
-2.7%
Asset turnover
0.67×
Research & development
1.6% of revenue
Overheads (SG&A)
27.6% 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
-7.5B-5.0B-2.5B02.5B5.0B
2016Net income 527.8MFree cash flow 1.4BAfter stock-based pay 1.3B
2017Net income 2.7BFree cash flow 560.0MAfter stock-based pay 489.1M
2018Net income -6.9BFree cash flow 296.0MAfter stock-based pay 220.0M
2019Net income 107.0MFree cash flow 779.0MAfter stock-based pay 737.0M
2020Net income -766.0MFree cash flow 1.2BAfter stock-based pay 1.1B
2021Net income 622.0MFree cash flow 595.0MAfter stock-based pay 543.0M
2022Net income 197.0MFree cash flow -584.0MAfter stock-based pay -596.0M
2023Net income -388.0MFree cash flow 646.0MAfter stock-based pay 596.0M
2024Net income -216.0MFree cash flow 237.0MAfter stock-based pay 163.0M
2025Net income -285.0MFree cash flow 17.0MAfter stock-based pay -51.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
8.3B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 38%3.1B
Acquisitions 112%9.3B
Dividends 38%3.2B
Share buybacks 24%2.0B
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -113%-9.3B
Over the same years it paid 549.8M in stock. The share count fell 0.7%. 1.4B of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-20.00$-10.00$0.00$10.00
2016Earnings per share $1.25Free cash flow per share $3.32Dividend per share $0.78
2017Earnings per share $5.63Free cash flow per share $1.15Dividend per share $0.88
2018Earnings per share $-14.65Free cash flow per share $0.62Dividend per share $0.92
2019Earnings per share $0.25Free cash flow per share $1.84Dividend per share $0.92
2020Earnings per share $-1.81Free cash flow per share $2.77Dividend per share $0.92
2021Earnings per share $1.45Free cash flow per share $1.39Dividend per share $0.92
2022Earnings per share $0.47Free cash flow per share $-1.40Dividend per share $0.92
2023Earnings per share $-0.94Free cash flow per share $1.56Dividend per share $0.44
2024Earnings per share $-0.52Free cash flow per share $0.57Dividend per share $0.28
2025Earnings per share $-0.68Free cash flow per share $0.04Dividend per share $0.29
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
400.0M420.0M440.0M460.0M480.0M500.0M
2016Diluted shares 421.3M
2017Diluted shares 488.0M
2018Diluted shares 473.7M
2019Diluted shares 423.9M
2020Diluted shares 424.1M
2021Diluted shares 428.0M
2022Diluted shares 417.4M
2023Diluted shares 414.1M
2024Diluted shares 415.5M
2025Diluted shares 418.2M
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
05.0B10.0B15.0B
2016Net debt 11.3B
2017Net debt 10.1B
2018Net debt 6.5B
2019Net debt 5.4B
2020Net debt 4.6B
2021Net debt 4.4B
2022Net debt 5.1B
2023Net debt 4.6B
2024Net debt 4.4B
2025Net debt 4.5B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
12.8×
Interest coverage
— operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
1.07 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
77 days collects in 50d, stock 98d, pays in 71d
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 9 tests passed
✕ProfitableReturn on assets above zerofailed
✓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 growfailed
✓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?
-0.54distress zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.02 × 6.56+0.11
Retained earnings ÷ assets -0.30 × 3.26-0.98
Operating income ÷ assets 0.00 × 6.72+0.02
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.29 × 1.05+0.30
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?
-2.61below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.18+1.09
Gross margin slipping 1.00+0.53
Soft assets 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.40
Sales growth 0.95+0.85
Slower depreciation 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)+0.12
Overheads vs sales 1.00-0.17
Profit not in cash -0.05-0.24
Leverage rising 1.05-0.34
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 12% against revenue growing -5%.
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.
The effective tax rate is -5.3%.
Benign
A favourable geographic mix, or legitimate tax credits.
Worrying
Not sustainable; projecting it forward inflates the valuation.
Net debt is 12.8 times EBITDA.
Benign
A stable sector with predictable cash flows and comfortable maturities.
Worrying
Little room if earnings fall; the maturity schedule is what to check.
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$0.21discounted at 7.9% a year · 57% 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
—
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
13.0×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
0.6×
Free cash flow yield
-57.5%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today2.0B
Everything after, today2.6B
The whole business4.6B
Minus net debt-4.5B
What belongs to shareholders88.7M
Divided among 418.2M shares: <strong>$0.21</strong> each.
The projection next to its history
Reported free cash flow after stock pay, then the model's. A projection that looks nothing like the past needs a reason.
ReportedProjected
-1.0B-500.0M0500.0M1.0B1.5B
2016Reported 1.3B
2017Reported 489.1M
2018Reported 220.0M
2019Reported 737.0M
2020Reported 1.1B
2021Reported 543.0M
2022Reported -596.0M
2023Reported 596.0M
2024Reported 163.0M
2025Reported -51.0M
2026Projected 313.6M
2027Projected 300.5M
2028Projected 290.5M
2029Projected 283.2M
2030Projected 278.5M
2031Projected 276.2M
2032Projected 276.2M
2033Projected 278.5M
2034Projected 283.1M
2035Projected 290.2M
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
6.8B
6.6B
6.3B
6.2B
6.1B
6.0B
6.0B
6.1B
6.2B
6.3B
Growth
-5.0%
-4.2%
-3.3%
-2.5%
-1.7%
-0.8%
0.0%
0.8%
1.7%
2.5%
Cash margin
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
Free cash flow
313.6M
300.5M
290.5M
283.2M
278.5M
276.2M
276.2M
278.5M
283.1M
290.2M
Worth today
290.7M
258.3M
231.5M
209.3M
190.8M
175.5M
162.7M
152.1M
143.4M
136.2M
If the least-known inputs move
Value per share as two inputs change at a time. Neighbouring cells that differ a lot are the conclusion: the value depends on numbers nobody knows to a point.
The discount rate and growth forever
discount ↓ · forever →
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
6.9%
1
1
3
4
6
7.3%
-0
0
1
2
4
7.9%
-1
-1
0
1
2
8.3%
-2
-1
-1
0
1
8.8%
-2
-2
-1
-1
-0
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
-9.0%
-7.0%
-5.0%
-3.0%
-1.0%
3.7%
-3
-2
-1
-1
0
4.1%
-2
-1
-1
0
1
4.6%
-2
-1
0
1
2
5.0%
-1
0
1
2
3
5.5%
-0
1
2
3
4
All the inputs moving at once
5,000 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.0%, 1.0% and 0.5%). Not a probability — the spreads are assumptions too — but an honest picture of how wide the answer is.
10th percentile$-4.73
Median$0.20
90th percentile$7.34
$0.00$10.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$-2.53</b> and <b>$3.51</b>; one in ten below $-4.73, one in ten above $7.34.
Does the long run make sense?
18.1×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 18.1 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.
57%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$616,0001 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.