A. O. Smith
A. O. Smith's revenue rose 0.3% to $3.8 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 19.0%, up from 18.5% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $546 million, up 15.2%. It paid out $596 million in dividends and buybacks, 109% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 3.5%.
Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.
Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 8.5% a year and net income 5.9% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 20%.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value A. O. Smith yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
Discounted cash flow (DCF)
A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from A. O. Smith's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from A. O. Smith's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $546M, net cash of $38M at December 31, 2025 and 142 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to A. O. Smith: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 0.7% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 10%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Building Products), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $8.5B; the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $61.91
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
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- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
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- Everything after year 10, valued today
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- Plus net cash
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- Share of value from after year 10
How the value changes with two assumptions
Price-to-earnings (P/E) method
Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.
Value per share on three example scenarios, from A. O. Smith's earnings per share of $3.60 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 26.7×, the middle of A. O. Smith's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Industrials median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 11%, 10% and 9%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $61.91
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- A. O. Smith's P/E at the last close
- 17.2×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Hardie IndustriesJHX | $26.02 | $0.19 | 136.9× |
| Fortune Brands InnovationsFBIN | $43.03 | $1.24 | 34.7× |
| Advanced Drainage SystemsWMS | $131.23 | $5.79 | 22.7× |
| AllegionALLE | $178.22 | $8.04 | 22.2× |
| A. O. SmithAOS | $61.91 | $3.60 | 17.2× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 631 | 482 | 363 | 276 | 193 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 197 | 344 | 127 | 193 | 155 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | −435 | −137 | −236 | −83 | −38 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −0.6x | −0.3x | −0.3x | −0.1x | −0.1x |
| Debt to equity | 0.1x | 0.2x | 0.1x | 0.1x | 0.1x |
| Interest coverage | 158.6x | 38.5x | 62.1x | 105.6x | 54.0x |
| Current ratio | 1.6x | 1.8x | 1.6x | 1.6x | 1.5x |
| Quick ratio | 1.2x | 1.2x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 0.9x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought A. O. Smith shares on the open market, and 1 insider sold $110,568.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 2026 | Darrell W. SchuhSVP; President & GM Lochinvar | Sold | 1,104 | $74.39 | $82,127 | Form 4 |
| Feb 13, 2026 | Darrell W. SchuhSVP; President & GM Lochinvar | Sold | 356 | $79.89 | $28,441 | Form 4 |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Share count didn't rise | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | Pass | Fail | Pass |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Pass | Pass | Fail |
| F-score | 8 of 9 | 5 of 9 | 7 of 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −3.5% | −1.5% | −2.2% |
Compare
Put A. O. Smith side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. O. Smith | FY25 | 0.3% | 19.0% | 14.3% | 30.7% | −0.1x | 7 | |
| Allegion | FY25 | 7.8% | 21.1% | 16.9% | 21.5% | 1.6x | 8 | Compare |
| Fortune Brands Innovations | FY25 | −3.2% | 11.6% | 8.2% | 7.7% | 3.2x | 6 | Compare |
| Advanced Drainage Systems | FY26 | 5.0% | 20.3% | 18.7% | 15.8% | 1.9x | 4 | Compare |
| James Hardie Industries | FY26 | 24.7% | 9.3% | 4.3% | 3.3% | 4.6x | 4 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 2,686 | 2,997 | 3,188 | 2,993 | 2,895 | 3,539 | 3,754 | 3,853 | 3,818 | 3,830 |
| Revenue growth | 5.9% | 11.6% | 6.4% | −6.1% | −3.2% | 22.2% | 6.1% | 2.6% | −0.9% | 0.3% |
| Gross profit | 1,114 | 1,232 | 1,306 | 1,181 | 1,108 | 1,311 | 1,330 | 1,485 | 1,456 | 1,487 |
| Research and development | 80 | 86 | 94 | 88 | 81 | 94 | 89 | 98 | 102 | 95 |
| Operating income | 515 | 578 | 613 | 529 | 503 | 682 | 362 | 746 | 708 | 729 |
| Net income | 326 | 296 | 444 | 370 | 345 | 487 | 236 | 557 | 534 | 546 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 1.85 | 1.70 | 2.58 | 2.22 | 2.12 | 3.02 | 1.51 | 3.69 | 3.63 | 3.85 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 177 | 175 | 172 | 167 | 163 | 161 | 156 | 151 | 147 | 142 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 447 | 326 | 449 | 456 | 562 | 641 | 391 | 670 | 582 | 617 |
| Capital expenditure | 81 | 94 | 85 | 64 | 57 | 75 | 70 | 73 | 108 | 71 |
| Free cash flow | 366 | 232 | 364 | 392 | 505 | 566 | 321 | 598 | 474 | 546 |
| Dividends paid | 84 | 97 | 130 | 149 | 159 | 170 | 177 | 184 | 190 | 196 |
| Share buybacks | 135 | 139 | 203 | 288 | 57 | 366 | 404 | 306 | 306 | 401 |
| Acquisitions | 91 | 43 | 0 | 107 | 0 | 208 | 8 | 17 | 146 | 0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 9 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 14 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 755 | 820 | 645 | 551 | 690 | 631 | 482 | 363 | 276 | 193 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 324 | 410 | 221 | 284 | 113 | 197 | 344 | 127 | 193 | 155 |
| Total assets | 2,891 | 3,197 | 3,072 | 3,058 | 3,161 | 3,474 | 3,332 | 3,214 | 3,240 | 3,143 |
| Total liabilities | 1,376 | 1,552 | 1,354 | 1,391 | 1,312 | 1,642 | 1,585 | 1,370 | 1,356 | 1,285 |
| Shareholders' equity | 1,511 | 1,645 | 1,717 | 1,667 | 1,848 | 1,832 | 1,748 | 1,844 | 1,884 | 1,858 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 41.5% | 41.1% | 41.0% | 39.5% | 38.3% | 37.0% | 35.4% | 38.5% | 38.1% | 38.8% |
| Operating margin | 19.2% | 19.3% | 19.2% | 17.7% | 17.4% | 19.3% | 9.6% | 19.4% | 18.5% | 19.0% |
| Net margin | 12.2% | 9.9% | 13.9% | 12.4% | 11.9% | 13.8% | 6.3% | 14.4% | 14.0% | 14.3% |
| Free cash flow margin | 13.6% | 7.8% | 11.4% | 13.1% | 17.4% | 16.0% | 8.6% | 15.5% | 12.4% | 14.3% |
| Return on capital | 34.2% | 28.4% | 38.6% | 30.8% | 29.3% | 39.8% | 24.1% | 35.1% | 31.6% | 30.7% |
| Return on equity | 22.1% | 18.8% | 26.4% | 21.9% | 19.6% | 26.5% | 13.2% | 31.0% | 28.6% | 29.2% |
| Return on assets | 11.8% | 9.7% | 14.2% | 12.1% | 11.1% | 14.7% | 6.9% | 17.0% | 16.5% | 17.1% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −0.7x | −0.6x | −0.6x | −0.4x | −1.0x | −0.6x | −0.3x | −0.3x | −0.1x | −0.1x |