CBTCabot Corporation
Is the business good?
The checks split: nothing decisive, though earnings fully cash-backed (1.9×).
Mixed fundamental signals. Nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year health from the filings.
Operating profit is fully backed by cash. Conversion is improving vs a year ago.
Margins have held roughly steady, a stable cost structure.
A balanced mix of margins, efficiency, and leverage. ROE 18% = margin × turnover × leverage.
Unless marked, from derived.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is CBT?
Cabot Corporation earns 15% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so the business is worth more the bigger it gets.
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 5.8 points above what the capital costs: growth creates value
- Operating margin
- 14%
Operating margin · Specialty Chemicals median 7.4% · 12 months to Q3 2026
- Cash conversion
- 1.88×
Cash conversion · 1.30× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
- Share count, year on year
- −3.4%
Share count, year on year · bought back, each share owns more of the company
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 0.80% |
| FY2021 | 13% |
| FY2022 | 9.0% |
| FY2023 | 13% |
| FY2024 | 15% |
| FY2025 | 17% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q3 2026
- 23%
- Operating margin12 months to Q3 2026
- 14%
- Net margin12 months to Q3 2026
- 5.2%
- Free cash flow margin
- 7.7%
- R&D as % of revenue
- 1.5%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $3.63B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- $281M
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $190M
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 15%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.