H.B. Fuller
H.B. Fuller's revenue fell 2.7% to $3.5 billion in fiscal 2025. Its net margin was 4.4%, up from 3.6% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $121 million, down 25.7%. It paid out $111 million in dividends and buybacks, 92% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 2.2%.
Net margin is net 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 1.7% a year and net income 2.5% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 8% and diluted each share's earnings.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Valuation
Two ways to value H.B. Fuller yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.
What H.B. Fuller says to expect
- Fiscal 2026: adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2026 is now expected to be in the range of $655 million to $670 million;
- Fiscal 2026: adjusted earnings per share
Adjusted EPS (diluted) is now expected to be in the range of $4.70 to $4.85;
- Fiscal 2026: cash flow from operations
Cash flow from operations for fiscal 2026, excluding the impact of AMS-related items, is still expected to be in the range of $300 million to $325 million.
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 H.B. Fuller'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 H.B. Fuller's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $121M, net cash of −$1.9B at November 29, 2025 and 55 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to H.B. Fuller: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, -2.5% a year, kept between 0% and 20%; 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 13%: 11% for a cyclical or higher-risk business (Specialty Chemicals), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $2.7B, plus 1 point for unsteady results (revenue fell in two of the last five years); 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. A negative value means H.B. Fuller's net debt is larger than what that scenario's cash flows are worth today.
- Last close, October 26, 2026
- $49.13
- Value on these assumptions, against the last close
- —
- Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today
- —
- Everything after year 10, valued today
- —
- Plus net cash
- —
- 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 H.B. Fuller's earnings per share of $3.59 (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: 20.5×, the middle of H.B. Fuller's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Materials median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 14%, 13% and 12%. 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
- $49.13
- Value at this multiple, against the last close
- —
- H.B. Fuller's P/E at the last close
- 13.7×
| Company | Last close | Earnings per share | P/E today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solstice Advanced MaterialsSOLS | $60.38 | $1.49 | 40.5× |
| Element SolutionsESI | $33.54 | $0.85 | 39.5× |
| AvientAVNT | $41.28 | $1.85 | 22.3× |
| NewMarketNEU | $878.03 | $46.49 | 18.9× |
| H.B. FullerFUL | $49.13 | $3.59 | 13.7× |
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | 62 | 80 | 180 | 169 | 107 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 1,600 | 1,745 | 1,859 | 2,020 | 2,025 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | 1,538 | 1,665 | 1,680 | 1,850 | 1,918 |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.9x | 3.5x | 3.3x | 3.5x | 3.6x |
| Debt to equity | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.0x |
| Interest coverage | 3.2x | 3.5x | 2.6x | 2.6x | 2.6x |
| Current ratio | 1.7x | 1.8x | 1.9x | 1.8x | 1.7x |
| Quick ratio | 1.1x | 1.1x | 1.3x | 1.2x | 1.1x |
Insider trades
Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 6 insiders bought $794,178 of H.B. Fuller shares on the open market, and 2 insiders sold $1.9 million.
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2026 | Charles T LauberDirector | Bought | 2,005 | $49.87 | $99,989 | Form 4 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | Srilata ZaheerDirector | Bought | 40 | $49.97 | $1,999 | Form 4 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Daniel L FlornessDirector | Bought | 2,030 | $49.34 | $100,160 | Form 4 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Trangsrud Teresa J RasmussenDirector | Bought | 2,042 | $48.96 | $99,986 | Form 4 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Thomas W HandleyDirector | Bought | 2,000 | $49.41 | $98,820 | Form 4 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | Srilata ZaheerDirector | Bought | 2,000 | $49.06 | $98,120 | Form 4 |
| Aug 11, 2026 | Nathan D. WeaverExec VP, Business Transform. | Sold | 9,561 | $62.06 | $593,356 | Form 4 |
| Apr 7, 2026 | Celeste Beeks MastinPresident and CEO, Director | Bought | 5,170 | $57.08 | $295,104 | Form 4 |
| Nov 13, 2025 | Nathan D. WeaverExec VP, Business Transform. | Sold | 7,075 | $58.38 | $413,038 | Form 4 |
| Oct 27, 2025 | John J CorkreanExecutive VP and CFO | Sold | 14,222 | $60.31 | $857,729 | 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 | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Share count didn't rise | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Gross margin rose | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| F-score | 5 of 9 | 4 of 9 | 7 of 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −5.1% | −3.6% | −2.2% |
Compare
Put H.B. Fuller 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H.B. Fuller | FY25 | −2.7% | — | 3.5% | 6.3% | 3.6x | 7 | |
| Avient | FY25 | 0.6% | 6.2% | 6.0% | 4.0% | 3.6x | 6 | Compare |
| Solstice Advanced Materials | FY25 | 3.1% | — | 3.1% | 12.2% | 2.3x | — | Compare |
| NewMarket | FY25 | −2.2% | 19.9% | 18.0% | 16.3% | 1.2x | 5 | Compare |
| Element Solutions | FY25 | 3.8% | 13.4% | 8.9% | 6.5% | 2.0x | 7 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 2,095 | 2,306 | 3,041 | 2,897 | 2,790 | 3,278 | 3,749 | 3,511 | 3,569 | 3,474 |
| Revenue growth | 0.5% | 10.1% | 31.9% | −4.7% | −3.7% | 17.5% | 14.4% | −6.3% | 1.6% | −2.7% |
| Gross profit | 606 | 599 | 828 | 807 | 757 | 845 | 964 | 1,009 | 1,062 | 1,081 |
| Research and development | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | 198 | 120 | 238 | 226 | 218 | 253 | 323 | 355 | 348 | — |
| Net income | 122 | 59 | 171 | 131 | 124 | 161 | 180 | 145 | 130 | 152 |
| Diluted EPS (US$) | 2.37 | 1.15 | 3.29 | 2.52 | 2.36 | 2.97 | 3.26 | 2.59 | 2.30 | 2.75 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 51 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 55 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 196 | 166 | 253 | 269 | 332 | 213 | 256 | 378 | 302 | 264 |
| Capital expenditure | 63 | 55 | 68 | 62 | 87 | 96 | 130 | 119 | 139 | 142 |
| Free cash flow | 132 | 111 | 185 | 207 | 244 | 117 | 127 | 259 | 163 | 121 |
| Dividends paid | 28 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 34 | 35 | 39 | 43 | 48 | 50 |
| Share buybacks | 23 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 40 | 61 |
| Acquisitions | 52 | 1,745 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 251 | 205 | 274 | 167 |
| Stock-based compensation | 13 | 18 | 17 | 24 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 20 | 22 | 22 |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | 142 | 194 | 151 | 112 | 100 | 62 | 80 | 180 | 169 | 107 |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 666 | 2,420 | 2,233 | 1,963 | 1,757 | 1,600 | 1,745 | 1,859 | 2,020 | 2,025 |
| Total assets | 2,056 | 4,373 | 4,176 | 3,986 | 4,037 | 4,274 | 4,464 | 4,724 | 4,933 | 5,183 |
| Total liabilities | 1,113 | 3,321 | 3,023 | 2,763 | 2,655 | 2,677 | 2,853 | 2,968 | 3,103 | 3,180 |
| Shareholders' equity | 938 | 1,051 | 1,153 | 1,222 | 1,381 | 1,597 | 1,610 | 1,755 | 1,829 | 2,003 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 28.9% | 26.0% | 27.2% | 27.9% | 27.1% | 25.8% | 25.7% | 28.7% | 29.8% | 31.1% |
| Operating margin | 9.5% | 5.2% | 7.8% | 7.8% | 7.8% | 7.7% | 8.6% | 10.1% | 9.8% | — |
| Net margin | 5.8% | 2.6% | 5.6% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.9% | 4.8% | 4.1% | 3.6% | 4.4% |
| Free cash flow margin | 6.3% | 4.8% | 6.1% | 7.2% | 8.8% | 3.6% | 3.4% | 7.4% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
| Return on capital | 9.5% | 4.2% | 7.3% | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5.6% | 7.0% | 6.4% | 6.8% | 6.3% |
| Return on equity | 13.4% | 6.0% | 15.5% | 11.0% | 9.5% | 10.8% | 11.2% | 8.6% | 7.3% | 7.9% |
| Return on assets | 5.9% | 1.9% | 4.0% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.9% | 4.1% | 3.1% | 2.7% | 3.0% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 1.9x | 10.8x | 5.4x | 5.0x | 4.6x | 3.9x | 3.5x | 3.3x | 3.5x | 3.6x |