OKE · Energy(natural gas transmisison & distribution) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
Oneok Inc reported revenue of $33.6 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 15.9% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 14.5% in 2016 to 17.1%, and it earned 8.1% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $29.1 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 61.9% went back into the business and 54.4% to dividends; the share count rose 194.7%. On the accounting screens, it passes 6 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 1.04 is in the distress zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 1 of the six cross-checks between its statements fires.
Revenue, fiscal 202533.6B+15.9% a year over 9 years
Operating margin17.1%gross margin 30.5%
Return on invested capital8.1%8.9% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay2.4B7.0% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA4.4×net debt 31.9B
Piotroski F-score6/9tests of improvement passed
Share counts are in today's shares. The SEC's filings restate only recent years after a split, so these jumps were read as splits and the older years scaled to match — otherwise per-share figures would compare different units:
2-for-1 before fiscal 2017.
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
010.0B20.0B30.0B40.0B
2016Revenue 8.9BOperating income 1.3B
2017Revenue 12.2BOperating income 1.4B
2018Revenue 12.6BOperating income 1.8B
2019Revenue 10.2BOperating income 1.9B
2020Revenue 8.5BOperating income 1.4B
2021Revenue 16.5BOperating income 2.6B
2022Revenue 22.4BOperating income 2.8B
2023Revenue 17.7BOperating income 4.1B
2024Revenue 21.7BOperating income 5.0B
2025Revenue 33.6BOperating income 5.7B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+14.5%
+31.5%
+15.9%
Operating income
+26.9%
+33.4%
+18.0%
Net income
+25.4%
+40.8%
+28.6%
Earnings per share
+12.2%
+30.7%
+14.1%
Free cash flow per share
+1.0%
—
+1.5%
Dividend per share
+3.4%
+2.1%
+6.0%
Shares
+11.8%
+7.7%
+12.8%
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 · 6.7%
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%
2016Return on invested capital 11.8%
2017Return on invested capital 5.6%
2018Return on invested capital 8.8%
2019Return on invested capital 7.9%
2020Return on invested capital 5.1%
2021Return on invested capital 10.0%
2022Return on invested capital 10.7%
2023Return on invested capital 8.1%
2024Return on invested capital 7.7%
2025Return on invested capital 8.1%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-500.0M0500.0M1.0B
2016Economic profit 435.6M
2017Economic profit -151.3M
2018Economic profit 323.3M
2019Economic profit 224.1M
2020Economic profit -323.9M
2021Economic profit 640.6M
2022Economic profit 795.6M
2023Economic profit 530.6M
2024Economic profit 474.8M
2025Economic profit 762.8M
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
15.1%
Return on assets
5.1%
Asset turnover
0.50×
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
-2.0B02.0B4.0B
2016Net income 352.0MFree cash flow 728.6MAfter stock-based pay 688.0M
2017Net income 387.8MFree cash flow 803.0MAfter stock-based pay 776.8M
2018Net income 1.2BFree cash flow 45.2MAfter stock-based pay 13.6M
2019Net income 1.3BFree cash flow -1.9BAfter stock-based pay -1.9B
2020Net income 612.8MFree cash flow -296.3MAfter stock-based pay -325.7M
2021Net income 1.5BFree cash flow 1.8BAfter stock-based pay 1.8B
2022Net income 1.7BFree cash flow 1.7BAfter stock-based pay 1.7B
2023Net income 2.7BFree cash flow 2.8BAfter stock-based pay 2.8B
2024Net income 3.0BFree cash flow 2.9BAfter stock-based pay 2.8B
2025Net income 3.4BFree cash flow 2.4BAfter stock-based pay 2.4B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
29.1B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 62%18.0B
Acquisitions 37%10.9B
Dividends 54%15.8B
Share buybacks 1%234.0M
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -55%-15.9B
Over the same years it paid 529.0M in stock. The share count rose 194.7%. The buybacks did not even cover what was handed out in stock.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-5.00$0.00$5.00$10.00
2016Earnings per share $1.66Free cash flow per share $3.43Dividend per share $2.44
2017Earnings per share $1.29Free cash flow per share $2.68Dividend per share $2.77
2018Earnings per share $2.78Free cash flow per share $0.11Dividend per share $3.22
2019Earnings per share $3.08Free cash flow per share $-4.58Dividend per share $3.51
2020Earnings per share $1.42Free cash flow per share $-0.69Dividend per share $3.72
2021Earnings per share $3.35Free cash flow per share $4.13Dividend per share $3.73
2022Earnings per share $3.84Free cash flow per share $3.80Dividend per share $3.73
2023Earnings per share $5.48Free cash flow per share $5.82Dividend per share $3.79
2024Earnings per share $5.17Free cash flow per share $4.89Dividend per share $3.94
2025Earnings per share $5.42Free cash flow per share $3.91Dividend per share $4.13
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
200.0M400.0M600.0M800.0M
2016Diluted shares 212.4M
2017Diluted shares 299.8M
2018Diluted shares 414.2M
2019Diluted shares 415.4M
2020Diluted shares 431.8M
2021Diluted shares 447.4M
2022Diluted shares 448.4M
2023Diluted shares 485.4M
2024Diluted shares 586.5M
2025Diluted shares 625.9M
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
010.0B20.0B30.0B40.0B
2016Net debt 8.1B
2017Net debt 8.5B
2018Net debt 9.4B
2019Net debt 12.5B
2020Net debt 13.7B
2021Net debt 13.5B
2022Net debt 13.4B
2023Net debt 21.3B
2024Net debt 31.3B
2025Net debt 31.9B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
4.4×
Interest coverage
3× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
0.71 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
3 days collects in 33d, stock 15d, pays in 44d
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.
6of 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 fellpassed
✕More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforefailed
✕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 beforepassed
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?
1.04distress zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets -0.03 × 6.56-0.18
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.04 × 3.26+0.12
Operating income ÷ assets 0.09 × 6.72+0.58
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.51 × 1.05+0.53
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?
-2.18below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 0.83+0.77
Gross margin slipping 1.27+0.67
Soft assets 0.99+0.40
Sales growth 1.55+1.38
Slower depreciation 0.79+0.09
Overheads vs sales 1.00 (not reported, set to 1)-0.17
Profit not in cash -0.03-0.15
Leverage rising 1.00-0.33
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.
Net debt is 4.4 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$276.82discounted at 6.7% a year · 72% 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
51.1×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
28.3×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
6.1×
Free cash flow yield
1.4%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today56.4B
Everything after, today148.7B
The whole business205.2B
Minus net debt-31.9B
What belongs to shareholders173.3B
Divided among 625.9M shares: <strong>$276.82</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
-5.0B05.0B10.0B15.0B
2016Reported 688.0M
2017Reported 776.8M
2018Reported 13.6M
2019Reported -1.9B
2020Reported -325.7M
2021Reported 1.8B
2022Reported 1.7B
2023Reported 2.8B
2024Reported 2.8B
2025Reported 2.4B
2026Projected 4.1B
2027Projected 5.1B
2028Projected 6.1B
2029Projected 7.1B
2030Projected 8.2B
2031Projected 9.2B
2032Projected 10.2B
2033Projected 10.9B
2034Projected 11.5B
2035Projected 11.8B
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
42.0B
51.5B
61.8B
72.6B
83.5B
93.9B
103.3B
111.1B
116.6B
119.5B
Growth
25.0%
22.5%
20.0%
17.5%
15.0%
12.5%
10.0%
7.5%
5.0%
2.5%
Cash margin
9.8%
9.8%
9.8%
9.8%
9.8%
9.8%
9.8%
9.8%
9.8%
9.8%
Free cash flow
4.1B
5.1B
6.1B
7.1B
8.2B
9.2B
10.2B
10.9B
11.5B
11.8B
Worth today
3.9B
4.4B
5.0B
5.5B
5.9B
6.2B
6.4B
6.5B
6.4B
6.1B
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%
5.7%
290
332
387
462
572
6.2%
251
284
325
379
453
6.7%
219
245
277
317
370
7.2%
194
215
240
271
311
7.7%
172
189
210
234
265
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
21.0%
23.0%
25.0%
27.0%
29.0%
7.9%
179
198
219
241
264
8.8%
204
225
248
272
298
9.8%
228
252
277
304
333
10.8%
253
278
306
335
367
11.8%
278
305
335
367
401
All the inputs moving at once
4,980 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$164.62
Median$275.77
90th percentile$487.87
$200.00$400.00$600.00$800.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$211.91</b> and <b>$369.93</b>; one in ten below $164.62, one in ten above $487.87.
Does the long run make sense?
11.1×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 11.1 times that year's EBITDA.
10%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 25% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 10% on the new capital — it has earned 9% on average over the last five years.
72%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.