The Filing Desk

Willis Towers Watson

WTW · Nasdaq · Financials · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

WTW · Last close · October 26, 2026
$324.67
Value Willis Towers Watson yourself

Willis Towers Watson's revenue fell 2.2% to $9.7 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 23.0%, up from 6.3% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $1.5 billion, up 22.0%. It paid out $2.0 billion in dividends and buybacks, 130% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 2.9%.

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PLC Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 25, 2026 · 0001193125-26-069307 Updated
Revenue
$9.7B
2.2%
Operating margin
23.0%
16.7 pts
Net income
$1.6B
 
Free cash flow
$1.5B
22.0%
Return on capital
12.8%
10.7 pts
Market cap
$30.5B
Oct 26 close
P/E
20.1x
On $16.16 EPS, 4 qtrs

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.

What Willis Towers Watson does

WTW (Willis Towers Watson) is an advisory and insurance broking firm that helps companies manage people, risk and capital. It has about 47,000 employees, which it calls colleagues, serving clients in more than 140 countries and markets. Its clients range from large multinationals to mid-sized companies, government agencies and not-for-profit groups, and no single client was more than 10% of revenue.

It reports two segments. Health, Wealth & Career, its larger segment by revenue, gives advice, broking and technology for employee benefit plans, investors, pay and career programs and the employee experience, including a private Medicare marketplace in the U.S. Risk & Broking helps clients assess and control risk and acts as an insurance broker: it is the go-between for clients and insurance companies, advising on risk and placing coverage with carriers through its global network.

WTW says it is not an insurance company and does not take on insurance risk for its own account. It places insurance with approximately 2,500 insurance carriers, and says none of them accounted for a significant share of the premiums it placed. It competes with other insurance brokers and with firms in human capital consulting.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

  • Its results depend on a strategy that may not work as planned, and on whether demand for its services holds up.
  • Heavy dependence on the insurance industry, and on good relations with insurance companies.
  • Losing key employees, which could also cost it client relationships.
  • Data breaches or improper release of confidential company or personal data.
  • Claims and lawsuits over its work, and investigations by regulators.
From Willis Towers Watson's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 25, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new 10-K.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Margins
Percent of revenue
GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 20.5% a year and net income 16.1% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 28%.

Net income
US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.
Diluted earnings per share
US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity
Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.
Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks
US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year
DividendsShare buybacks
Diluted share count
Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value Willis Towers Watson 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 Willis Towers Watson'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 Willis Towers Watson's fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $1.5B, net cash of −$6.5B at December 31, 2025 and 99 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Willis Towers Watson: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 3.1% 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 8%: 7% for a stable business (Insurance Brokers), plus 1 point for unsteady results (a loss in fiscal 2024); 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.

From the filings
Cash from operations minus capital spending in fiscal 2025.
Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at December 31, 2025. Negative means net debt.
Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2025.
Your assumptions
Start from
Fitted to Willis Towers Watson's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of 1% then 1.5% a year, 2% after year 10, a 9% discount rate. Base: growth of 3% then 3% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 8% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 5% then 4% a year, 3% after year 10, a 7% discount rate.
Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.
The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.
Value per share on these assumptions
—
—
Last close, October 26, 2026
$324.67
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
—
Projected free cash flow
US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.
Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.
How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

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 Willis Towers Watson's earnings per share of $16.16 (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: 20.1×, the middle of Willis Towers Watson's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (Willis Towers Watson's own P/E today) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 9%, 8% and 7%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to June 30, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.
P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: Arthur J. Gallagher, Brown & Brown, Aon.
Starts at Willis Towers Watson's revenue growth over the last 3 years, 3.1% a year, as the base scenario does.
Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$
Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.
Apply the multiple to earnings
A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.
The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.
Value per share today at this multiple
—
—
Last close, October 26, 2026
$324.67
Value at this multiple, against the last close
—
Willis Towers Watson's P/E at the last close
20.1×
CompanyLast closeEarnings per shareP/E today
Arthur J. GallagherAJG$266.79$6.0344.2×
Brown & BrownBRO$71.08$3.1622.5×
Willis Towers WatsonWTW$324.67$16.1620.1×
AonAON$302.06$18.1316.7×
How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year endFY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Cash and short-term investments4,6861,2621,4241,8903,157
Debt incl. finance leases6,6556,7727,4478,6189,687
Net debt (negative means net cash)1,9695,5106,0236,7286,530
Net debt to EBITDA0.7x3.2x3.2x6.2x2.5x
Debt to equity0.5x0.7x0.8x1.1x1.2x
Interest coverage10.4x5.7x5.8x2.4x8.6x
Current ratio1.3x1.1x1.1x1.2x1.2x
Quick ratio1.3x1.1x1.1x1.2x1.2x
US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, 3 insiders bought $2.1 million of Willis Towers Watson shares on the open market, and 2 insiders sold $1.2 million.

DateInsiderTradeSharesPriceValueFiling
Aug 10, 2026Alexis FaberChief Operating OfficerSold730$342.70$250,171Form 4
May 6, 2026Lucy ClarkePresident of Risk & BrokingBought1,896$263.37$499,350Form 4
May 4, 2026Carl Aaron HessChief Executive Officer, DirectorBought2,000$255.08$510,160Form 4
Mar 3, 2026Matthew FurmanGeneral CounselSold3,000$304.00$912,000Form 4
Feb 13, 2026Lucy ClarkePresident of Risk & BrokingBought3,500$284.84$996,940Form 4
Feb 12, 2026Michael P. HammondDirectorBought241$278.86$67,205Form 4
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

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.

TestFY23FY24FY25
Net income is positivePassFailPass
Cash from operations is positivePassPassPass
Return on assets rosePassFailPass
Cash from operations exceeds net incomePassPassPass
Debt fell relative to assetsFailFailFail
Current ratio roseFailPassPass
Share count didn't risePassPassPass
Gross margin rose———
Revenue rose relative to assetsPassPassPass
F-score6 of 85 of 87 of 8
Accruals ratio−0.9%−5.7%−0.6%
The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put Willis Towers Watson side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

CompanyYearRevenue growthOperating marginFree cash flow marginReturn on capitalNet debt to EBITDAF-scoreCompare
Willis Towers WatsonFY25−2.2%23.0%15.9%12.8%2.5x7
Arthur J. GallagherFY2520.7%—12.8%9.9%3.3x3Compare
Brown & BrownFY2522.8%—23.4%9.1%3.8x4Compare
AonFY259.4%25.3%18.7%15.6%2.8x4Compare
Erie IndemnityFY257.2%17.6%14.0%31.8%−0.5x—Compare
Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal yearFY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Income statement
Revenue7,8878,2028,5138,3708,6158,9988,8669,4839,9309,708
Revenue growth106.0%4.0%3.8%−1.7%2.9%4.5%−1.5%7.0%4.7%−2.2%
Gross profit——————————
Research and development——————————
Operating income3485168091,0548592,2021,1781,3656272,234
Net income4205686951,0449964,2221,0091,055−981,605
Diluted EPS (US$)3.044.185.278.027.6532.788.989.95−0.9616.26
Diluted shares (millions)13813613213013012911210610299
Cash flow
Cash from operations9338621,2881,0811,7742,0618121,3451,5121,775
Capital expenditure21830026859635366242245229
Free cash flow7155621,0201,0221,7112,0087461,1031,2671,546
Dividends paid199277306329346374369352354358
Share buybacks39653260215001,6273,5301,0009011,650
Acquisitions47613361,329694781610415
Stock-based compensation1236750749010199125121153
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments8701,0301,0338872,0394,6861,2621,4241,8903,157
Debt incl. finance leases—5,6386,4008,0427,9066,6556,7727,4478,6189,687
Total assets30,25332,45832,38535,42638,53134,97031,76929,09027,68129,530
Total liabilities20,01922,18122,38825,05727,59921,66221,67619,49719,66421,478
Shareholders' equity10,06510,1269,85210,24910,82013,26010,0169,5207,9407,976
Margins and ratios
Gross margin——————————
Operating margin4.4%6.3%9.5%12.6%10.0%24.5%13.3%14.4%6.3%23.0%
Net margin5.3%6.9%8.2%12.5%11.6%46.9%11.4%11.1%−1.0%16.5%
Free cash flow margin9.1%6.8%12.0%12.2%19.9%22.3%8.4%11.6%12.8%15.9%
Return on capital——4.5%5.2%3.8%11.0%6.5%7.3%2.1%12.8%
Return on equity6.8%5.6%7.0%10.4%9.4%35.1%8.7%10.8%−1.1%20.2%
Return on assets1.7%1.8%2.1%3.1%2.7%11.5%3.0%3.5%−0.3%5.6%
Net debt to EBITDA—3.4x3.5x4.0x3.6x0.7x3.2x3.2x6.2x2.5x
US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)
Source: Willis Towers Watson's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Willis Towers Watson.