VTR · Real estate(real estate investment trusts) · 10 years of annual accounts filed with the SEC · latest fiscal year ended 2025-12-31
Ventas, Inc. reported revenue of $5.8 billion in fiscal 2025, after growing 6.0% a year over the previous 9 years. Its operating margin narrowed from 27.2% in 2016 to 14.0%, and it earned 3.0% on its invested capital in the latest year. Of the $13.3 billion its operations generated over 10 years, 74.9% went back into the business and 66.2% to dividends; the share count rose 32.8%. On the accounting screens, it passes 6 of 7 Piotroski tests; 2 of the six cross-checks between its statements fire.
Revenue, fiscal 20255.8B+6.0% a year over 9 years
Operating margin14.0%gross margin —
Return on invested capital3.0%4.5% on average over 5 years
Free cash flow after stock pay-1.3B-22.6% of revenue
Net debt ÷ EBITDA5.6×net debt 12.3B
Piotroski F-score6/7tests 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
02.0B4.0B6.0B
2016Revenue 3.4BOperating income 938.2M
2017Revenue 3.6BOperating income 1.0B
2018Revenue 3.7BOperating income 827.3M
2019Revenue 3.9BOperating income 811.1M
2020Revenue 3.8BOperating income 550.1M
2021Revenue 3.8BOperating income 277.7M
2022Revenue 4.1BOperating income 373.4M
2023Revenue 4.5BOperating income 458.5M
2024Revenue 4.9BOperating income 594.8M
2025Revenue 5.8BOperating income 816.6M
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Compound growth a year
3 yrs
5 yrs
9 yrs
Revenue
+12.2%
+9.0%
+6.0%
Operating income
+29.8%
+8.2%
-1.5%
Net income
—
-9.9%
-9.6%
Earnings per share
—
-13.6%
-12.4%
Dividend per share
+1.4%
-5.5%
-5.0%
Shares
+4.7%
+4.2%
+3.2%
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.
GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow
-40.0%-20.0%0.0%20.0%40.0%
2016Operating 27.2%Net 18.9%Free cash flow 35.9%
2017Operating 28.9%Net 38.1%Free cash flow 36.3%
2018Operating 22.1%Net 11.1%Free cash flow 33.4%
2019Operating 20.9%Net 11.3%Free cash flow 33.1%
2020Operating 14.5%Net 11.6%Free cash flow 22.2%
2021Operating 7.3%Net 1.5%Free cash flow -20.3%
2022Operating 9.0%Net -1.0%Free cash flow 5.3%
2023Operating 10.2%Net -0.7%Free cash flow 10.5%
2024Operating 12.1%Net 1.8%Free cash flow -24.4%
2025Operating 14.0%Net 4.5%Free cash flow -22.0%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Return on invested capital
Return on invested capitalCost of capital today · 7.4%
-5.0%0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%
2016Return on invested capital 4.1%
2017Return on invested capital 4.2%
2018Return on invested capital 3.5%
2019Return on invested capital 3.0%
2020Return on invested capital -0.5%
2021Return on invested capital 1.2%
2022Return on invested capital 2.0%
2023Return on invested capital 2.2%
2024Return on invested capital 14.0%
2025Return on invested capital 3.0%
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Economic profit
Economic profit
-2.0B-1.0B01.0B2.0B
2016Economic profit -726.7M
2017Economic profit -722.3M
2018Economic profit -819.3M
2019Economic profit -1.0B
2020Economic profit -1.8B
2021Economic profit -1.4B
2022Economic profit -1.2B
2023Economic profit -1.2B
2024Economic profit 1.6B
2025Economic profit -1.1B
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
2.1%
Return on assets
0.9%
Asset turnover
0.21×
Overheads (SG&A)
3.0% 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
-2.0B-1.0B01.0B2.0B
2016Net income 651.5MFree cash flow 1.2BAfter stock-based pay 1.2B
2017Net income 1.4BFree cash flow 1.3BAfter stock-based pay 1.3B
2018Net income 416.0MFree cash flow 1.2BAfter stock-based pay 1.2B
2019Net income 439.3MFree cash flow 1.3BAfter stock-based pay 1.2B
2020Net income 441.2MFree cash flow 842.9MAfter stock-based pay 821.4M
2021Net income 56.6MFree cash flow -775.9MAfter stock-based pay -807.9M
2022Net income -40.9MFree cash flow 219.5MAfter stock-based pay 188.8M
2023Net income -30.3MFree cash flow 470.4MAfter stock-based pay 439.4M
2024Net income 88.4MFree cash flow -1.2BAfter stock-based pay -1.2B
2025Net income 261.5MFree cash flow -1.3BAfter stock-based pay -1.3B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Where 10 years of operating cash went, 2016–2025
13.3B generated by the business. Each band is its share of that total.
Reinvested in the business 75%10.0B
Acquisitions 0%0
Dividends 66%8.8B
Share buybacks 0%0
More than it generated: funded with cash or new debt -41%-5.5B
Over the same years it paid 296.3M in stock. The share count rose 32.8%.
Per share
Earnings per shareFree cash flow per shareDividend per share
$-4.00$-2.00$0.00$2.00$4.00
2016Earnings per share $1.87Free cash flow per share $3.55Dividend per share $2.94
2017Earnings per share $3.80Free cash flow per share $3.61Dividend per share $2.31
2018Earnings per share $1.16Free cash flow per share $3.48Dividend per share $3.14
2019Earnings per share $1.19Free cash flow per share $3.46Dividend per share $3.13
2020Earnings per share $1.17Free cash flow per share $2.24Dividend per share $2.47
2021Earnings per share $0.15Free cash flow per share $-2.01Dividend per share $1.78
2022Earnings per share $-0.10Free cash flow per share $0.54Dividend per share $1.79
2023Earnings per share $-0.07Free cash flow per share $1.16Dividend per share $1.78
2024Earnings per share $0.21Free cash flow per share $-2.88Dividend per share $1.78
2025Earnings per share $0.57Free cash flow per share $-2.77Dividend per share $1.86
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Shares outstanding
Diluted shares
300.0M350.0M400.0M450.0M500.0M
2016Diluted shares 348.4M
2017Diluted shares 358.6M
2018Diluted shares 359.3M
2019Diluted shares 369.9M
2020Diluted shares 376.5M
2021Diluted shares 386.3M
2022Diluted shares 403.5M
2023Diluted shares 405.7M
2024Diluted shares 416.4M
2025Diluted shares 462.6M
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 10.8B
2017Net debt 11.2B
2018Net debt 10.7B
2019Net debt 12.1B
2020Net debt 11.5B
2021Net debt 11.9B
2022Net debt 12.2B
2023Net debt 13.0B
2024Net debt 12.6B
2025Net debt 12.3B
2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Net debt ÷ EBITDA
5.6×
Interest coverage
1× operating income ÷ interest
Current ratio
— current assets ÷ current liabilities
Cash conversion cycle
— collects in 6d
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 7 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 before — not reportedno data
✕No new sharesShare count did not growfailed
–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?
The accounts lack a line it needs (retained earnings, current assets or liabilities).
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.
The effective tax rate is 6.9%.
Benign
A favourable geographic mix, or legitimate tax credits.
Worrying
Not sustainable; projecting it forward inflates the valuation.
Net debt is 5.6 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.
Value per share, with these assumptions$28.90discounted at 7.4% a year · 64% 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
11.7×
Enterprise value ÷ revenue
4.4×
Free cash flow yield
-9.9%
From cash flows to a value per share
10 years of cash flow, today9.1B
Everything after, today16.5B
The whole business25.6B
Minus net debt-12.3B
What belongs to shareholders13.4B
Divided among 462.6M shares: <strong>$28.90</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
-2.0B-1.0B01.0B2.0B
2016Reported 1.2B
2017Reported 1.3B
2018Reported 1.2B
2019Reported 1.2B
2020Reported 821.4M
2021Reported -807.9M
2022Reported 188.8M
2023Reported 439.4M
2024Reported -1.2B
2025Reported -1.3B
2026Projected 1.0B
2027Projected 1.1B
2028Projected 1.2B
2029Projected 1.3B
2030Projected 1.4B
2031Projected 1.4B
2032Projected 1.5B
2033Projected 1.5B
2034Projected 1.6B
2035Projected 1.6B
2016201820202022202420262028203020322034
Year by year
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
Revenue
6.4B
6.9B
7.4B
7.9B
8.4B
8.8B
9.3B
9.6B
9.9B
10.2B
Growth
9.0%
8.3%
7.6%
6.8%
6.1%
5.4%
4.7%
3.9%
3.2%
2.5%
Cash margin
16.1%
16.1%
16.1%
16.1%
16.1%
16.1%
16.1%
16.1%
16.1%
16.1%
Free cash flow
1.0B
1.1B
1.2B
1.3B
1.4B
1.4B
1.5B
1.5B
1.6B
1.6B
Worth today
952.1M
959.4M
960.4M
954.8M
942.9M
924.9M
900.9M
871.5M
837.2M
798.7M
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%
6.5%
31
36
43
52
64
7.0%
25
30
35
42
51
7.4%
21
25
29
34
41
8.0%
17
20
24
28
33
8.5%
14
16
19
23
27
Year-one growth and the final margin
margin ↓ · growth →
5.0%
7.0%
9.0%
11.0%
13.0%
12.9%
13
16
20
24
28
14.5%
16
20
24
29
33
16.1%
20
24
29
34
39
17.7%
24
29
34
39
44
19.3%
28
33
38
44
50
All the inputs moving at once
4,998 valuations, each with growth, final margin, discount rate and growth forever drawn at random around the values on the left (spreads of 3.0%, 2.4%, 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$13.20
Median$28.93
90th percentile$56.73
$50.00$100.00
Half of the simulations land between <b>$19.81</b> and <b>$41.28</b>; one in ten below $13.20, one in ten above $56.73.
Does the long run make sense?
8.9×The terminal value prices the business in year 10 at 8.9 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.
64%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.