TDG · Industrials(aircraft parts & auxiliary equipment, nec) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-09-30
TransDigm Group Inc reported revenue of $8.8 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 10.8% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 42.3% in 2017 to 47.2%, and it earned 16.7% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $11.4 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 86.2% went to acquisitions and 85.2% to dividends. On the accounting screens, it passes 6 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 0.78 is in the distress zone and its Beneish M-score is below the -1.78 line; 2 of the six cross-checks between its statements fire.
Revenue, fiscal 20258.8B+10.8% a year over 9 years
Operating margin47.2%gross margin 60.1%
Return on invested capital16.7%12.9% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay1.7B18.8% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA5.9×net debt 26.6B
Piotroski F-score6/9tests 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
02.5B5.0B7.5B10.0B
2017Revenue 3.5BOperating income 1.5B
2018Revenue 3.8BOperating income 1.7B
2018
2019Revenue 5.2BOperating income 1.9B
2020Revenue 5.1BOperating income 1.8B
2021Revenue 4.8BOperating income 1.7B
2022Revenue 5.4BOperating income 2.2B
2023Revenue 6.6BOperating income 2.9B
2024Revenue 7.9BOperating income 3.5B
2025Revenue 8.8BOperating income 4.2B
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+17.6%
+11.6%
+10.8%
Operating income
+23.4%
+18.9%
+12.2%
Net income
+33.8%
+24.3%
+14.8%
Earnings per share
+33.8%
+23.9%
—
Free cash flow per share
+29.9%
+10.0%
—
Dividend per share
-47.4%
-39.5%
—
Shares
+0.0%
+0.3%
—
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 · 4.2%
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%
2017Return on invested capital 13.1%
2018Return on invested capital 15.0%
2018
2019Return on invested capital 11.2%
2020Return on invested capital 9.8%
2021Return on invested capital 9.5%
2022Return on invested capital 10.8%
2023Return on invested capital 12.7%
2024Return on invested capital 15.0%
2025Return on invested capital 16.7%
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
01.0B2.0B3.0B
2017Economic profit 754.1M
2018Economic profit 1.2B
2018
2019Economic profit 948.1M
2020Economic profit 883.7M
2021Economic profit 893.4M
2022Economic profit 1.0B
2023Economic profit 1.5B
2024Economic profit 2.0B
2025Economic profit 2.5B
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
—
Return on assets
9.1%
Asset turnover
0.39×
Research & development
1.3% of revenue
Overheads (SG&A)
10.7% 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
01.0B2.0B3.0B
2017Net income 596.9MFree cash flow 717.7MAfter stock-based pay 672.2M
2018Net income 957.0MFree cash flow 949.0MAfter stock-based pay 890.5M
2018
2019Net income 890.0MFree cash flow 913.0MAfter stock-based pay 820.0M
2020Net income 699.0MFree cash flow 1.1BAfter stock-based pay 1.0B
2021Net income 680.0MFree cash flow 808.0MAfter stock-based pay 679.0M
2022Net income 866.0MFree cash flow 829.0MAfter stock-based pay 676.0M
2023Net income 1.3BFree cash flow 1.2BAfter stock-based pay 1.1B
2024Net income 1.7BFree cash flow 1.9BAfter stock-based pay 1.7B
2025Net income 2.1BFree cash flow 1.8BAfter stock-based pay 1.7B
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2017–2025
11.4B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 10%1.1B
Acquisitions 86%9.8B
Dividends 85%9.7B
Share buybacks 16%1.8B
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -97%-11.0B
Over the same years it paid 1.0B in stock. 773.8M of the buybacks went beyond offsetting that dilution.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$0.00$10.00$20.00$30.00$40.00
2017
2018
2018
2019
2020Earnings per share $12.20Free cash flow per share $19.34Dividend per share $33.65
2021Earnings per share $11.64Free cash flow per share $13.84Dividend per share $1.25
2022Earnings per share $14.88Free cash flow per share $14.24Dividend per share $18.75
2023Earnings per share $22.69Free cash flow per share $21.61Dividend per share $0.66
2024Earnings per share $29.65Free cash flow per share $32.53Dividend per share $35.26
2025Earnings per share $35.64Free cash flow per share $31.20Dividend per share $2.73
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
57.0M57.5M58.0M58.5M
2017
2018
2018
2019
2020Diluted shares 57.3M
2021Diluted shares 58.4M
2022Diluted shares 58.2M
2023Diluted shares 57.2M
2024Diluted shares 57.8M
2025Diluted shares 58.2M
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
010.0B20.0B30.0B
2017Net debt 10.8B
2018Net debt 10.5B
2018
2019Net debt 15.1B
2020Net debt 14.9B
2021Net debt 15.1B
2022Net debt 16.5B
2023Net debt 16.0B
2024Net debt 18.2B
2025Net debt 26.6B
2017201820182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
5.9×
Interest coverage
3× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
3.21 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
246 days collects in 67d, stock 217d, pays in 38d
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)failed
✕Less long-term debtLong-term debt as a share of assets fellfailed
✓More liquidCurrent ratio higher than a year beforepassed
✕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 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?
0.78distress zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets 0.21 × 6.56+1.38
Retained earnings ÷ assets -0.46 × 3.26-1.51
Operating income ÷ assets 0.18 × 6.72+1.22
Equity ÷ liabilities -0.30 × 1.05-0.31
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?
-2.31below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 1.05+0.97
Gross margin slipping 0.98+0.52
Soft assets 1.14+0.46
Sales growth 1.11+0.99
Slower depreciation 0.92+0.11
Overheads vs sales 0.87-0.15
Profit not in cash 0.00+0.01
Leverage rising 1.14-0.37
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.
Capital spending (222M) is well below depreciation (367M).
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 5.9 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$3,548.89discounted at 4.2% 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
99.6×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
51.4×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
26.4×
Free cash flow yield
0.8%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today32.4B
Everything after, today200.8B
The whole business233.2B
Minus net debt-26.6B
What belongs to shareholders206.5B
Divided among 58.2M shares: <strong>$3,548.89</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
02.0B4.0B6.0B
2017Reported 672.2M
2018Reported 890.5M
2018
2019Reported 820.0M
2020Reported 1.0B
2021Reported 679.0M
2022Reported 676.0M
2023Reported 1.1B
2024Reported 1.7B
2025Reported 1.7B
2026Projected 2.9B
2027Projected 3.2B
2028Projected 3.5B
2029Projected 3.8B
2030Projected 4.1B
2031Projected 4.3B
2032Projected 4.6B
2033Projected 4.8B
2034Projected 5.0B
2035Projected 5.1B
2017201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
9.8B
10.9B
11.9B
12.9B
13.9B
14.8B
15.6B
16.3B
16.9B
17.3B
Growth
11.5%
10.5%
9.5%
8.5%
7.5%
6.5%
5.5%
4.5%
3.5%
2.5%
Cash margin
29.3%
29.3%
29.3%
29.3%
29.3%
29.3%
29.3%
29.3%
29.3%
29.3%
Free cash flow
2.9B
3.2B
3.5B
3.8B
4.1B
4.3B
4.6B
4.8B
5.0B
5.1B
Worth today
2.8B
2.9B
3.1B
3.2B
3.3B
3.4B
3.4B
3.4B
3.4B
3.4B
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%
3.2%
3,697
5,315
9,181
30,616
—
3.7%
2,745
3,617
5,204
8,994
30,007
4.2%
2,147
2,690
3,549
5,114
8,863
4.7%
1,729
2,095
2,625
3,464
4,989
5.2%
1,426
1,688
2,047
2,568
3,390
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
7.5%
9.5%
11.5%
13.5%
15.5%
23.5%
2,265
2,520
2,796
3,094
3,416
26.4%
2,577
2,863
3,172
3,506
3,866
29.3%
2,891
3,207
3,549
3,918
4,317
32.3%
3,204
3,550
3,925
4,330
4,767
35.2%
3,518
3,895
4,302
4,743
5,219
All the inputs moving at once
3,770 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 4.4%, 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$1,508.04
Median$2,894.53
90th percentile$5,305.79
$2,000.00$4,000.00$6,000.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$2,041.60</b> and <b>$4,054.46</b>; one in ten below $1,508.04, one in ten above $5,305.79.
Does the long run make sense?
34.2×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 34.2 times that year's EBITDA.
12%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 21% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 12% on the new capital — it has earned 13% on average over the last five years.
86%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.