TRGP · Energy(natural gas transmission) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
Targa Resources Corp. reported revenue of $17.0 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 10.9% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin widened from 0.8% in 2016 to 19.6%, and it earned 12.8% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $21.5 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 89.8% went back into the business and 19.5% to acquisitions; the share count rose 40.5%. On the accounting screens, it passes 7 of 9 Piotroski tests, its Altman Z'' of 1.02 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 202517.0B+10.9% a year over 9 years
Operating margin19.6%gross margin 38.3%
Return on invested capital12.8%12.0% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay514.6M3.0% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA3.6×net debt 17.3B
Piotroski F-score7/9tests 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
-10.0B010.0B20.0B
2016Revenue 6.7BOperating income 55.8M
2017Revenue 7.8BOperating income -122.4M
2018Revenue 9.4BOperating income 237.5M
2019Revenue 7.4BOperating income 192.9M
2020Revenue 6.9BOperating income -1.3B
2021Revenue 16.1BOperating income 864.8M
2022Revenue 19.8BOperating income 1.7B
2023Revenue 13.5BOperating income 2.6B
2024Revenue 14.1BOperating income 2.7B
2025Revenue 17.0BOperating income 3.3B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
-4.9%
+19.9%
+10.9%
Operating income
+24.4%
—
+57.5%
Net income
+17.2%
—
—
Earnings per share
+19.7%
—
—
Free cash flow per share
-15.9%
-4.6%
+4.7%
Shares
-2.1%
-1.4%
+3.8%
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 · 6.0%
-20.0%-10.0%0.0%10.0%20.0%
2016Return on invested capital 0.8%
2017Return on invested capital -2.6%
2018Return on invested capital 1.7%
2019Return on invested capital 4.2%
2020Return on invested capital -14.0%
2021Return on invested capital 9.5%
2022Return on invested capital 11.2%
2023Return on invested capital 13.6%
2024Return on invested capital 12.9%
2025Return on invested capital 12.8%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-3.0B-2.0B-1.0B01.0B2.0B
2016Economic profit -513.2M
2017Economic profit -960.4M
2018Economic profit -546.0M
2019Economic profit -230.0M
2020Economic profit -2.2B
2021Economic profit 310.5M
2022Economic profit 740.8M
2023Economic profit 1.2B
2024Economic profit 1.2B
2025Economic profit 1.4B
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
62.7%
Return on assets
7.6%
Asset turnover
0.68×
Overheads (SG&A)
2.4% 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
-3.0B-2.0B-1.0B01.0B2.0B
2016Net income -187.3MFree cash flow 275.3MAfter stock-based pay 245.6M
2017Net income 54.0MFree cash flow -358.0MAfter stock-based pay -400.3M
2018Net income 1.6MFree cash flow -2.0BAfter stock-based pay -2.0B
2019Net income -209.2MFree cash flow -1.5BAfter stock-based pay -1.5B
2020Net income -1.6BFree cash flow 792.9MAfter stock-based pay 726.7M
2021Net income 71.2MFree cash flow 1.8BAfter stock-based pay 1.7B
2022Net income 1.2BFree cash flow 1.0BAfter stock-based pay 989.0M
2023Net income 1.3BFree cash flow 826.2MAfter stock-based pay 763.8M
2024Net income 1.3BFree cash flow 683.9MAfter stock-based pay 620.7M
2025Net income 1.9BFree cash flow 584.1MAfter stock-based pay 514.6M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
21.5B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 90%19.3B
Acquisitions 20%4.2B
Dividends 11%2.3B
Share buybacks 0%0
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -20%-4.3B
Over the same years it paid 566.6M in stock. The share count rose 40.5%.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-10.00$-5.00$0.00$5.00$10.00
2016Earnings per share $-1.21Free cash flow per share $1.78Dividend per share $3.67
2017Earnings per share $0.26Free cash flow per share $-1.73Dividend per share $4.08
2018Earnings per share $0.01Free cash flow per share $-8.79Dividend per share $4.05
2019Earnings per share $-0.90Free cash flow per share $-6.40
2020Earnings per share $-6.69Free cash flow per share $3.41
2021Earnings per share $0.31Free cash flow per share $7.86
2022Earnings per share $5.17Free cash flow per share $4.53
2023Earnings per share $5.96Free cash flow per share $3.66
2024Earnings per share $5.93Free cash flow per share $3.09
2025Earnings per share $8.87Free cash flow per share $2.69
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
140.0M160.0M180.0M200.0M220.0M240.0M
2016Diluted shares 154.4M
2017Diluted shares 206.9M
2018Diluted shares 224.2M
2019Diluted shares 232.5M
2020Diluted shares 232.2M
2021Diluted shares 228.6M
2022Diluted shares 231.1M
2023Diluted shares 226.0M
2024Diluted shares 221.3M
2025Diluted shares 216.9M
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
05.0B10.0B15.0B20.0B
2016Net debt 4.5B
2017Net debt 4.9B
2018Net debt 6.4B
2019Net debt 7.9B
2020Net debt 7.9B
2021Net debt 6.6B
2022Net debt 11.3B
2023Net debt 12.8B
2024Net debt 14.0B
2025Net debt 17.3B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
3.6×
Interest coverage
— operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
0.67 current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
-19 days collects in 32d, stock 15d, pays in 65d
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.
7of 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 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 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?
1.02distress zone
1.12.6
Working capital ÷ assets -0.05 × 6.56-0.31
Retained earnings ÷ assets 0.09 × 3.26+0.30
Operating income ÷ assets 0.13 × 6.72+0.89
Equity ÷ liabilities 0.14 × 1.05+0.15
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?
-3.13below the -1.78 line
-1.78
Receivables vs sales 0.76+0.70
Gross margin slipping 0.63+0.33
Soft assets 0.88+0.36
Sales growth 1.20+1.07
Slower depreciation 1.06+0.12
Overheads vs sales 0.88-0.15
Profit not in cash -0.08-0.37
Leverage rising 1.09-0.36
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 3.6 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.
76% 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$207.12discounted at 6.0% a year · 76% 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
23.4×
Enterprise value ÷ EBITDA
12.8×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
3.7×
Free cash flow yield
1.1%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today15.1B
Everything after, today47.1B
The whole business62.2B
Minus net debt-17.3B
What belongs to shareholders44.9B
Divided among 216.9M shares: <strong>$207.12</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
-4.0B-2.0B02.0B4.0B
2016Reported 245.6M
2017Reported -400.3M
2018Reported -2.0B
2019Reported -1.5B
2020Reported 726.7M
2021Reported 1.7B
2022Reported 989.0M
2023Reported 763.8M
2024Reported 620.7M
2025Reported 514.6M
2026Projected 1.2B
2027Projected 1.4B
2028Projected 1.6B
2029Projected 1.9B
2030Projected 2.1B
2031Projected 2.3B
2032Projected 2.5B
2033Projected 2.7B
2034Projected 2.8B
2035Projected 2.9B
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
20.4B
24.1B
28.0B
32.0B
35.9B
39.6B
42.9B
45.6B
47.6B
48.8B
Growth
20.0%
18.1%
16.1%
14.2%
12.2%
10.3%
8.3%
6.4%
4.4%
2.5%
Cash margin
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
Free cash flow
1.2B
1.4B
1.6B
1.9B
2.1B
2.3B
2.5B
2.7B
2.8B
2.9B
Worth today
1.1B
1.3B
1.4B
1.5B
1.6B
1.6B
1.7B
1.7B
1.7B
1.6B
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%
5.0%
219
265
329
426
587
5.5%
179
213
258
321
416
6.0%
148
174
207
251
313
6.5%
124
144
170
202
245
7.0%
104
120
140
165
197
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
16.0%
18.0%
20.0%
22.0%
24.0%
4.7%
120
137
155
175
196
5.3%
142
161
181
203
227
5.9%
163
184
207
232
258
6.5%
185
208
233
260
288
7.1%
207
232
259
288
319
All the inputs moving at once
4,923 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$73.98
Median$203.71
90th percentile$448.62
$0.00$250.00$500.00$750.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$129.31</b> and <b>$311.36</b>; one in ten below $73.98, one in ten above $448.62.
Does the long run make sense?
6.1×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 6.1 times that year's EBITDA.
4%To grow 2.5% forever while reinvesting 62% of its after-tax operating profit, the business must earn 4% on the new capital — it has earned 12% on average over the last five years.
76%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.