MeritValue

Koppers Holdings Inc.

KOPdata completeness 100%18 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Koppers Holdings Inc. earns about 5% on invested capital, and has bought back 7% of its shares over 5 years. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $32.2 a share.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$1.68B1$1.98B2$2.15B3$2.09B3$1.88B3
Net income$85.2M4$63.4M5$89.2M6$52.4M6$56M6
Operating cash flow$103M7$102.3M8$146.1M9$119.4M9$122.5M9
Capital expenditure$125M10$105.3M11$120.5M12$77.4M12$55M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$22M7−$3M8$25.6M9$42M9$67.5M9
Total debt$1.57B13$1.64B14$1.69B15$1.87B16$1.85B16
Cash & equivalents$45.5M17$33.3M18$66.5M18$43.9M18$38M18
Diluted shares21.9M21.3M21.5M21.3M20.4M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
$281.3
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$27.44
Free cash flow it threw off
$33.08
Debt you’d be carrying
$905.42

10 shares is a claim on $281.3 of net worth that earned you $27.44 and generated $33.08 of cash last year, against $905.42 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
5% avg · 5y
FY21 6%FY22 5%FY23 7%FY24 4%FY25 2%

It earned an average 5% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−7% shares · 5y

Share count is down 7% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has risen 17% over the same window.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears10
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$42M
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
negative equity value — refusing to publish per-share figure
assumptions (10)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • terminalGrowth2.5%
  • projectionYears5
  • fcfGrowth5.0%
  • fcfBase$42M
Earnings Power Value
$32.2
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$63.4M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
$41.64
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021787 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-028542 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001315257-26-000012 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021787 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-028542 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001315257-26-000012 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021787 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-028542 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001315257-26-000012 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021787 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-028542 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001315257-26-000012 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-004546 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-021787 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0000950170-25-028542 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001315257-26-000012 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0001564590-22-006039 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001315257-26-000012 (CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents)