QualityDipStocks / Industrials · Steel
Worthington Steel WS
Outside our quality screen, so we don’t track its dips. It’s 14% below its 52-week high.
Outside our quality screen, 7% over its Market Value. No fair value estimate for now: a capital-spending surge is squeezing its free cash flow.
Worth knowing
- Revenue up 69% in a year, top 5% of the 1820 we measure
From the data on this page, as of the last close. How we pick these
- Fair value est.
- n/a
- Market Value
- $39.14price +7%
- Off 52-wk high
- −14%
- Risk vs market
- Highbeta 1.61
4 bullish · 5 bearish See why
Repriced or dip?
Mixed signals
The price is 14% below its 52-week high (Feb 9), but the business held up: revenue +62.2%, revenue growth rate +69.9 pts, shares outstanding fewer shares, each owns more.
Some numbers held up (revenue +62.2%, revenue growth rate +69.9 pts, shares outstanding fewer shares, each owns more), others slipped (earnings per share turned to a loss, free cash flow −35.6%, operating margin −4.6 pts). The price is 14% below its 52-week high.
The price is 14% below its 52-week high, and the business changed too: earnings per share turned to a loss, free cash flow −35.6%, operating margin −4.6 pts.
Within 10% of its 52-week high, so there is no dip to judge yet.
The evidence 10 numbers, high vs now
- Revenue, last 12 months$3.3B → $5.3B (+62.2%)held up
- Revenue growth rate−0.8% → +69.1% a year (+69.9 pts)held up
- Earnings per share, 12 monthsturned to a losschanged
- Free cash flow, 12 months$72M → $47M (−35.6%)changed
- Operating margin4.7% → 0.1% (−4.6 pts)changed
- Shares outstanding−0.9% (fewer shares, each owns more)held up
- Net cash (cash minus debt)−90.0% of market cap since the highchanged
- Stock vs its sector (Industrials)stock −14%, sector median −5% since Feb 9held up
- Price fall vs business numbersprice −14%, revenue/EPS/FCF median +13% (shown, not scored)
- Valuation multipleP/FCF 34.0× at the high → 45.0× now (shown, not scored)
Business numbers as reported at the high (12 months to Nov 30, 2025) vs the latest filing (12 months to Aug 31, 2026). Each measure is scored from −1 (business changed) to +1 (business intact) and weighted: revenue, earnings per share, free cash flow, operating margin, revenue growth rate, share count, net cash and the move vs its sector. 60 or more reads as a dip, 40 or less as a repricing. Analyst estimates are not in our data, so they are not used. How to read it
Data-based read, not advice.
Priced in
How much growth the market assumed at the 52-week high, the low and today (a reverse DCF).
At the high ($48.69, Feb 9) the price assumed about 17%/yr free-cash-flow growth; at the low ($28.10, Mar 27) about 7%; today about 22%. The last 3 years delivered −33%/yr (free cash flow).
Dashed line: what the last 3 years delivered, −33%/yr (free cash flow)
| High | Low | Now | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $48.69Feb 9 | $28.10Mar 27 | $41.81 |
| Implied growth | +17% | +7% | +22% |
| P/E | 19.7× | 11.4× | n/a |
| P/FCF | 34.0× | 19.7× | 45.0× |
| EV/Sales | 0.8× | 0.5× | 0.8× |
What this means: the higher the implied growth, the more the price already counts on. If today's number sits well below what the business has delivered, the market expects less than its track record.
How it’s computed
Reverse DCF: the same 10-year free-cash-flow model as our fair value estimate (9.5% discount rate, growth for years 1–5 fading to 3% by year 10, 3% after), solved for the growth that makes it equal the market value at each price. For the high and the low we use only the filings that were public on that day, so nothing from a later report leaks back. Market value = that close × diluted shares. P/E = market value / 12-month net income; Price / FCF = market value / 12-month free cash flow; EV / Sales = (market value + debt − cash) / 12-month revenue. Hidden when the share count moved over 20% (split, merger), free cash flow is negative, or the company reports in another currency.
Valuation
What we estimate it's worth, and how it ranks on value vs every stock we cover.
Fair value estimate
Estimate unreliable for WS: free cash flow is squeezed by a capital-spending surge (capex is 77% of operating cash flow over the last 12 months, vs 14% in FY2023), so a DCF on today's free cash flow would understate the business. We’d rather show nothing than a made-up number.
Risk vs market
How risk vs market is measured
One year of daily returns (Oct 31 to Nov 2, 252 sessions). Beta = how much WS moved for each 1% move in the S&P 500 (SPY); 1.0 moves with the market. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Past behavior, not a forecast.
Swings much more than the market, and its own price swings are 3.6× the S&P 500’s.
- Beta vs S&P 500
- 1.61
- Volatility
- 47% vs 13% SPY
- Correlation SPY
- 0.44
- Correlation QQQ
- 0.35
How it ranks
Where WS stands vs every one of the 1,996 stocks we cover that has the number. Longer bar = better.
Top quarter on 1 of 5 measures
- Free cash flow yield2.2% · free cash flow vs market capLowest 29%of 1,391
- Dividends + buybacks yield1.6% · cash paid out or used to retire shares, vs market capLowest 36%of 1,836
- Revenue growth, last 12 months+69% · vs the 12 months beforeTop 4%of 1,814
- Operating margin0.1% · of sales kept as operating profitLowest 13%of 1,288
- Return on invested capital0.2% · profit per dollar of capitalLowest 9%of 838
From SEC filings and our fair value estimate model. A ranking, not advice.
Valuation details
MV $39.14
Fundamentals
The business itself: sales, profits, cash and debt, from SEC filings.
Bull vs bear
Rule-based from the data on this page, strongest first. Not advice.
Top bullish points 4 of 5
GrowthSales grew 69% to $5.3B over the last 12 months vs the 12 months before (SEC filings).
Cash returnsFree cash flow grew 50% over the last 12 months vs the 12 months before.
ValuationPrice / book of 2.0×, below the 3.4× median for the 237 Industrials companies we cover.
Cash returnsDividend yield of 1.6%, above the 1.1% median for the 188 Industrials companies we cover.
Top bearish points 5 of 5
Balance sheetOperating income covers interest only 0.1× over the last 12 months.
GrowthDiluted EPS fell 92% to $0.17 in FY2026.
ProfitabilityLost $38M over the last 12 months (net income, SEC filings).
Balance sheetNet debt of $2.0B, 94% of the market cap (Aug 31, 2026).
QualityDoesn’t pass our quality screen: no positive free cash flow; ROE under 12% and ROIC under 10%; net debt 9.0× EBITDA (limit 3×).
All fundamentals
FCF yield 2.2% · ROE -4% · Sales +69%
Valuation
- P/E
- n/aloss over the last 12 months
- Price / FCF
- 45.0×
- FCF yield
- 2.2%
- EV / EBITDA
- 41.6×
- Price / sales
- 0.40×
- Price / book
- 2.03×
- Market cap
- $2.1Blisted
- Enterprise value
- $4.1B
Growth
- Revenue, 12 months
- $5.3B
- Sales growth, 12 months
- +69.1%vs the 12 months before
- Sales growth, 3 yrs
- −1.5%/yrfrom FY2023
- Diluted EPS, 12 months
- −$0.76
- EPS growth, last FY
- −92.2%
- Net income, 12 months
- −$38M
- Net income growth
- n/anot reported in its SEC filings
Profitability
- Gross margin
- 10.4%
- Operating margin
- 0.1%
- Net margin
- −0.7%
- FCF margin
- 0.9%
- Return on equity
- −4%
- Return on invested capital
- 0%
Balance sheet
- Cash & short-term inv.
- $248M
- Total debt
- $2.2B
- Net cash
- −$2.0B
- Debt / equity
- 2.16×
- Interest coverage
- 0.1×operating income / interest
Cash flow & returns
- Free cash flow, 12 months
- $47M
- FCF growth, 12 months
- +50%
- Dividend yield
- 1.56%$33M paid
- Payout ratio
- n/anot reported in its SEC filings
- Buybacks, 12 months
- n/anot reported in its SEC filings
- Share count, 1 year
- −1.2%diluted shares vs a year ago
- Stock-based comp
- $9M
Trailing 12 months to Aug 31, 2026; balance sheet at Aug 31, 2026. From Worthington Steel’s SEC filings. Sparklines show up to six fiscal years. n/a means we don’t hold that number, with the reason. How each is computed.
The business
FCF $-1.5B · Sales +212%
- Free cash flow, 12 months−$1.5B
- Free-cash-flow yield2.2%
- Free-cash-flow margin−28%
- Gross margin10%
- Operating margin3%
- Return on invested capital3%
- Return on equity−3%
- Sales growth (latest quarter vs year-ago quarter)+212%
- Net debt / EBITDA9.0×
Chart & levels
Where the price is vs its key levels and trends.
Key levels
Every level vs today’s $41.81
- 52-wk lowlowest close, 1 year$28.10−32.8%
- Market Valueavg paid since Oct 7$39.14−6.4%
- PriceMon Nov 2 close$41.81you are here
- 52-wk highhighest close, 1 year$48.69+16.5%
Momentum & 52-week range
RSI 61 · 5 days −1.0%
Signals
Reversal signal setups, the public ledger and the next earnings date.
Setup & signals
No setup armed
No setup armed, so there’s no trigger or stop to track yet. Reversal signal rules only run on companies that pass our quality screen.
WS is outside our quality screen
One text when a published rule fires on one of the 332 quality companies we track: the ticker, the price, the stop and a link to the numbers. Nothing else.
Voices & buzz
Who is talking about it, and how it compares with peers.
Who’s talking about it
Notable investors, executives, analysts and public figures on Worthington Steel in the last 48 hours. Headlines as published, each linked. Their words, not ours.
No notable mentions in the last 48 hours. Checked Nov 3, 1:01 PM ET.
Compare with peers
Closest in size in Steel
Information only, not investment advice. Fair value estimates and talking points are rule-based model output from public data and can be wrong; stop levels are reference points, not orders. How every number is computed.