PBI · Technology(office machines, 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 ›
Pitney Bowes Inc reported revenue of $1.9 billion in fiscal 2025, after shrinking 4.9% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 9.8% in 2016 to 15.5%, and it earned 18.6% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $3.0 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 37.6% went back into the business and 22.5% to dividends; the share count fell 8.4%. On the accounting screens, it passes 6 of 8 Piotroski tests and its Altman Z'' of 2.22 is in the grey zone; 2 of the six cross-checks between its statements fire.
Revenue, fiscal 20251.9B-4.9% a year over 9 years
Operating margin15.5%gross margin —
Return on invested capital18.6%11.7% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay302.8M16.0% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA4.2×net debt 1.7B
Piotroski F-score6/8tests 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
-1.0B01.0B2.0B3.0B4.0B
2016Revenue 3.0BOperating income 290.8M
2017Revenue 2.8BOperating income 311.7M
2018Revenue 2.6BOperating income 327.7M
2019Revenue 3.2BOperating income 137.6M
2020Revenue 3.6BOperating income -77.6M
2021Revenue 3.7BOperating income 89.5M
2022Revenue 2.5BOperating income 278.6M
2023Revenue 2.1BOperating income 56.5M
2024Revenue 2.0BOperating income 57.8M
2025Revenue 1.9BOperating income 294.0M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-8.7%
-11.8%
-4.9%
Operating income
+1.8%
—
+0.1%
Net income
+57.6%
—
+5.1%
Earnings per share
+58.9%
—
+6.1%
Free cash flow per share
+52.0%
+9.8%
+0.3%
Dividend per share
+14.6%
+8.1%
-9.8%
Shares
-0.8%
+0.2%
-1.0%
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 · 3.9%
-10.0%0.0%10.0%20.0%
2016Return on invested capital 4.2%
2017Return on invested capital 7.5%
2018Return on invested capital 9.4%
2019Return on invested capital 2.3%
2020Return on invested capital -3.1%
2021Return on invested capital 9.1%
2022Return on invested capital 9.5%
2023Return on invested capital 4.4%
2024Return on invested capital 17.1%
2025Return on invested capital 18.6%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-200.0M-100.0M0100.0M200.0M
2016Economic profit 9.9M
2017Economic profit 139.7M
2018Economic profit 187.0M
2019Economic profit -47.6M
2020Economic profit -183.0M
2021Economic profit 126.6M
2022Economic profit 127.1M
2023Economic profit 9.8M
2024Economic profit 176.6M
2025Economic profit 174.7M
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
4.6%
Asset turnover
0.60×
Research & development
0.8% of revenue
Overheads (SG&A)
32.8% 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
-400.0M-200.0M0200.0M400.0M
2016Net income 92.8MFree cash flow 336.9MAfter stock-based pay 322.0M
2017Net income 243.5MFree cash flow 335.9MAfter stock-based pay 311.5M
2018Net income 241.8MFree cash flow 206.8MAfter stock-based pay 185.8M
2019Net income 194.3MFree cash flow 130.6MAfter stock-based pay 107.5M
2020Net income -180.4MFree cash flow 197.0MAfter stock-based pay 179.5M
2021Net income -1.4MFree cash flow 117.5MAfter stock-based pay 96.6M
2022Net income 36.9MFree cash flow 92.4MAfter stock-based pay 76.1M
2023Net income -385.6MFree cash flow 2.0MAfter stock-based pay -6.9M
2024Net income -203.6MFree cash flow 156.8MAfter stock-based pay 140.2M
2025Net income 144.7MFree cash flow 317.0MAfter stock-based pay 302.8M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
3.0B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 38%1.1B
Acquisitions 19%582.2M
Dividends 22%682.0M
Share buybacks 0%0
Kept, or used to pay down debt 21%628.7M
Over the same years it paid 177.6M in stock. The share count fell 8.4%.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-4.00$-2.00$0.00$2.00
2016Earnings per share $0.49Free cash flow per share $1.78Dividend per share $0.74
2017Earnings per share $1.30Free cash flow per share $1.79Dividend per share $0.74
2018Earnings per share $1.28Free cash flow per share $1.10Dividend per share $0.75
2019Earnings per share $1.10Free cash flow per share $0.74Dividend per share $0.20
2020Earnings per share $-1.05Free cash flow per share $1.15Dividend per share $0.20
2021Earnings per share $-0.01Free cash flow per share $0.66Dividend per share $0.19
2022Earnings per share $0.21Free cash flow per share $0.52Dividend per share $0.20
2023Earnings per share $-2.20Free cash flow per share $0.01Dividend per share $0.20
2024Earnings per share $-1.12Free cash flow per share $0.86Dividend per share $0.20
2025Earnings per share $0.84Free cash flow per share $1.83Dividend per share $0.30
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
170.0M175.0M180.0M185.0M190.0M
2016Diluted shares 189.0M
2017Diluted shares 187.4M
2018Diluted shares 188.4M
2019Diluted shares 177.4M
2020Diluted shares 171.5M
2021Diluted shares 179.1M
2022Diluted shares 177.3M
2023Diluted shares 175.6M
2024Diluted shares 182.5M
2025Diluted shares 173.0M
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 2.6B
2017Net debt 2.8B
2018Net debt 2.4B
2019Net debt 1.8B
2020Net debt 1.6B
2021Net debt 1.6B
2022Net debt 1.5B
2023Net debt 1.5B
2024Net debt 1.4B
2025Net debt 1.7B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
4.2×
Interest coverage
3× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
0.71 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
— collects in 32d
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 8 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 before — not reportedno data
✓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?
2.22grey zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets -0.14 × 6.56-0.93
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.84 × 3.26+2.73
Operating income ÷ assets 0.09 × 6.72+0.62
Equity ÷ liabilities -0.20 × 1.05-0.21
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?
The accounts lack too many of the lines it needs.
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.
Capital spending (66M) is well below depreciation (112M).
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.
Net debt is 4.2 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.
86% of the value comes from after year 10: this valuation rests mostly on the long run, which is exactly what is least known.
Value per share, with these assumptions$65.68discounted at 3.9% a year · 86% 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
78.5×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
32.2×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
6.9×
Free cash flow yield
2.7%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today1.8B
Everything after, today11.3B
The whole business13.1B
Minus net debt-1.7B
What belongs to shareholders11.4B
Divided among 173.0M shares: <strong>$65.68</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
-100.0M0100.0M200.0M300.0M400.0M
2016Reported 322.0M
2017Reported 311.5M
2018Reported 185.8M
2019Reported 107.5M
2020Reported 179.5M
2021Reported 96.6M
2022Reported 76.1M
2023Reported -6.9M
2024Reported 140.2M
2025Reported 302.8M
2026Projected 241.0M
2027Projected 230.9M
2028Projected 223.2M
2029Projected 217.7M
2030Projected 214.0M
2031Projected 212.2M
2032Projected 212.2M
2033Projected 214.0M
2034Projected 217.6M
2035Projected 223.0M
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
1.8B
1.7B
1.7B
1.6B
1.6B
1.6B
1.6B
1.6B
1.6B
1.7B
Growth
-5.0%
-4.2%
-3.3%
-2.5%
-1.7%
-0.8%
0.0%
0.8%
1.7%
2.5%
Cash margin
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
13.4%
Free cash flow
241.0M
230.9M
223.2M
217.7M
214.0M
212.2M
212.2M
214.0M
217.6M
223.0M
Worth today
232.0M
214.0M
199.1M
186.9M
176.9M
168.9M
162.5M
157.8M
154.4M
152.3M
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%
2.9%
68
109
256
—
—
3.4%
48
67
107
251
—
3.9%
36
47
66
106
249
4.4%
28
35
46
64
103
4.9%
23
28
34
45
63
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
-9.0%
-7.0%
-5.0%
-3.0%
-1.0%
10.7%
41
46
52
58
65
12.1%
46
52
59
66
73
13.4%
52
59
66
73
82
14.7%
58
65
73
81
91
16.1%
63
71
80
89
99
All the inputs moving at once
3,270 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$23.24
Median$46.03
90th percentile$83.44
$50.00$100.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$32.49</b> and <b>$64.43</b>; one in ten below $23.24, one in ten above $83.44.
Does the long run make sense?
46.3×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 46.3 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.
86%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 5 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$4.0M12 sale(s) by 3 insider(s)
Under pre-arranged plans100%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.