RTX RTX Corporation

Capital-structure-agnostic valuation multiple. Useful for comparing levered companies because it adds debt and removes cash from the numerator and uses pre-interest, pre-tax, pre-depreciation earnings in the denominator.

Valuation expressed against the cash actually available to all capital providers. Often more honest than EV/EBITDA when capex is meaningful relative to D&A.

The multiple equity analysts most commonly quote because it reflects expected earnings rather than the trailing window. Same caveats as trailing P/E - a depressed multiple may be a value trap if forward earnings are too optimistic.

Capital-structure-agnostic earnings yield. Pairs with Greenblatt ROC to compute the Magic Formula rank (the universe-rank of EY plus universe-rank of ROC). Pre-tax operating earnings divided by the full claim on the firm.

Multiple of trailing-twelve-month earnings the market has assigned to the company. Lower means cheaper relative to current earnings power, but a single low P/E can also mean the market expects earnings to fall.

Productivity of the asset base. Combined with net margin, this is the DuPont decomposition of ROA: ROA = net_margin * asset_turnover.

Easier to compare than operating_margin across firms with very different leverage / depreciation profiles. Software platforms commonly run above 30%; capital-light service businesses cluster around 20%.

End-to-end conversion ratio: of every dollar of revenue, how much falls through to genuine free cash flow available to capital providers? More honest than net margin because it accounts for capex needed to maintain the business.

FCF the business throws off relative to what you pay for the equity. Treats the equity as a perpetual claim on cash. Cyclicals can swing below zero in a downturn.

First-line profitability measure - how much revenue is left after the direct cost of producing it. Stable gross margin suggests pricing power and low input-cost exposure.

Operating margin minus interest, tax, and below-the-line items. Useful but noisy because tax rate and debt service distort year-to-year comparability.

Pre-capex version of cash conversion. Numbers persistently below 1 suggest accruals are doing the work; numbers persistently above 1 are a (mild) positive sign.

Captures the leverage between revenue and operating profit. Core test of whether a business converts sales into income at the operating level.

Capital-efficiency measure that ignores how the assets are financed. Useful for comparing within a sector but biased low for asset-heavy businesses (banks, utilities) and high for asset-light ones.

Pre-tax cousin of ROIC using operating capital employed (long-term debt + equity ≈ total assets less current liabilities). Damodaran publishes ROCE by industry, so it benchmarks cleanly.

Headline profitability metric. High ROE compounds book value if the business can reinvest at the same return. Beware of buybacks artificially inflating ROE by shrinking the denominator.

Measures how productive the actual operating capital base is, independent of capital structure. The benchmark is the company's cost of capital - sustained ROIC above WACC creates value, below WACC destroys it.

Top-line growth - the cleanest way to see whether the franchise is expanding. Best read alongside margin trend; revenue rising while margin compresses is often discount-driven volume rather than real growth.

Strips out receivables and inventory, leaving only cash and equivalents over current liabilities. Stress-tests whether the business can meet obligations even if collections seize up.

Whether the company can cover near-term obligations from near-term assets. Below 1.0 doesn't mean insolvent (cash flow can cover the gap) but is worth a closer look.

Solvency-under-stress measure. A ratio of 1x means EBIT exactly covers interest with nothing left over; 5x is comfortable for an industrial; below 2x is a credit-watch level. Especially important when leverage is rising or profits are cyclical.

DuPont productivity measure. Combined with margin it tells the asset-light vs asset-heavy story. Very high turnover in retail can flag stockouts — the metric reads best industry-relative.

Direct income from holding the share. Stable dividend yield often signals capital discipline; abnormally high yield can be a warning that the dividend isn't covered by FCF and may be cut.

Lets you compare equity earning power directly to bond yields. A 6% earnings yield is the equity-side analog to a 6% coupon, with the difference being earnings can grow (or contract).

Captures the full cash return to shareholders. Buyback-heavy issuers (AAPL, GOOGL) hide their real cash return inside a low dividend yield; total yield surfaces it.