Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 20.2x · EV/EBITDA 4.5x · ROE 3.8%. (1996–2025 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $430M | $363M | $431M | $362M | $385M | $505M | $226M | $135M | $149M | $205M | $325M |
| Enterprise Value | $224M | $157M | $281M | $36M | $161M | $380M | $178M | $80M | $54M | $69M | $198M |
| P/E Ratio → | 20.23 | 17.00 | — | 6.76 | — | 2.69 | 2.66 | — | — | 9.20 | — |
| P/S Ratio | 1.51 | 1.27 | 3.52 | 2.90 | 6.51 | 5.74 | 7.60 | 12.04 | 1.13 | 3.14 | 2.13 |
| P/B Ratio | 0.74 | 0.62 | 0.78 | 0.61 | 1.43 | 1.17 | 0.78 | 0.77 | 0.77 | 0.69 | 1.21 |
| P/FCF | 7.34 | 6.21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7.14 | 8.39 | 9.91 |
| P/OCF | 5.71 | 4.83 | 8.59 | — | — | 37.91 | — | — | 7.13 | 8.39 | 9.56 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 0.55 | 2.30 | 0.29 | 2.73 | 4.32 | 5.98 | 7.09 | 0.41 | 1.05 | 1.30 |
| EV / EBITDA | 4.49 | 3.16 | 171.99 | 0.99 | — | 15.08 | — | — | 23.03 | — | — |
| EV / EBIT | 34.89 | 24.52 | — | 0.51 | — | 2.08 | 1.51 | — | 15.26 | — | — |
| EV / FCF | — | 2.68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.58 | 2.81 | 6.03 |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 82.5% | 82.5% | 24.2% | 57.8% | 36.9% | 59.0% | 16.6% | -62.6% | 18.9% | 3.4% | 27.1% |
| Operating Margin | 2.2% | 2.2% | -26.9% | 16.7% | -67.7% | 16.5% | -65.5% | -208.2% | -18.9% | -41.7% | -24.5% |
| Net Profit Margin | 7.6% | 7.6% | -29.5% | 53.6% | -211.2% | 169.5% | 366.8% | -152.2% | -79.9% | 33.9% | -35.4% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 3.8% | 3.8% | -6.3% | 15.6% | -35.7% | 41.5% | 47.2% | -9.3% | -42.9% | 7.8% | -18.4% |
| ROA | 2.8% | 2.8% | -5.2% | 12.0% | -19.5% | 22.8% | 29.9% | -7.7% | -39.4% | 7.3% | -16.8% |
| ROIC | 1.2% | 1.2% | -7.4% | 10.2% | -17.1% | 4.0% | -8.1% | -16.2% | -14.4% | -13.5% | -17.3% |
| ROCE | 0.9% | 0.9% | -5.0% | 4.2% | -8.1% | 3.0% | -6.6% | -11.7% | -10.1% | -9.6% | -12.8% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.22 | 0.02 | 0.24 | 0.43 | 0.41 | 0.01 | 0.17 | — | — |
| Debt / EBITDA | 2.02 | 2.02 | 76.09 | 0.38 | — | 7.30 | — | — | 14.41 | — | — |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | -0.35 | -0.27 | -0.55 | -0.83 | -0.29 | -0.17 | -0.32 | -0.49 | -0.46 | -0.47 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | -4.14 | -4.14 | -91.52 | -9.09 | — | -4.94 | — | — | -40.77 | — | — |
| Debt / FCF | — | -3.52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | -4.57 | -5.58 | -3.88 |
| Interest Coverage | 0.71 | 0.71 | -4.92 | 35.94 | -18.77 | 23.05 | 11.66 | — | — | — | — |
Net cash position: cash ($307M) exceeds total debt ($100M)
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 9.18 | 9.18 | 8.89 | 20.06 | 4.91 | 3.65 | 3.67 | 14.79 | 6.49 | 14.62 | 6.69 |
| Quick Ratio | 8.64 | 8.64 | 8.31 | 19.67 | 4.74 | 3.61 | 3.67 | 14.79 | 7.67 | 14.62 | 6.28 |
| Cash Ratio | 6.73 | 6.73 | 7.07 | 15.92 | 4.43 | 3.53 | 3.62 | 14.50 | 5.33 | 14.29 | 5.21 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.37 | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.59 | 0.21 | 0.52 |
| Inventory Turnover | 1.88 | 1.88 | 3.37 | 4.84 | 2.63 | 4.04 | — | — | — | — | 9.67 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | 33.48 | 80.30 | 235.03 | 50.73 | 39.45 | 6.20 | 16.59 | 91.27 | 0.85 | 63.94 |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | — | — | — | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.6% | — | — | — | — |
| Payout Ratio | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 4.9% | 5.9% | — | 14.8% | — | 37.2% | 37.6% | — | — | 10.9% | — |
| FCF Yield | 13.6% | 16.1% | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14.0% | 11.9% | 10.1% |
| Buyback Yield | 0.0% | 0.0% | 4.7% | 0.0% | 13.2% | 0.8% | 1.8% | 0.0% | 3.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 0.0% | 0.0% | 4.7% | 0.4% | 14.0% | 1.1% | 2.4% | 0.0% | 3.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $97M | $99M | $92M | $92M | $98M | $57M | $51M | $50M | $51M | $50M |
Litigation outcome dependency
Based on reported figures, Acacia trades at an EV/EBITDA of 4.96, which appears to reflect a significant conglomerate discount when compared to the higher multiples commanded by pure-play IP peers like InterDigital, suggesting the market remains skeptical of the company's transition into a hybrid industrial holding entity.
The current valuation multiple suggests that investors are heavily discounting the industrial segment's contribution while simultaneously applying a high risk premium to the volatile IP licensing revenue. This pricing gap warrants further investigation into whether the market is failing to account for the potential floor value provided by the company's substantial cash reserves and tangible industrial assets.
As reported in financial statements, gross margins have fluctuated between 10.1% and 160.5% over the last ten quarters, illustrating the inherent difficulty in reconciling the high-margin, event-driven nature of intellectual property settlements with the lower-margin, recurring revenue profile of the Printronix industrial manufacturing operations.
The persistent oscillation in operating margins suggests that the company has yet to achieve a stable cost structure capable of absorbing the fixed expenses associated with its legal and engineering staff. Investors should monitor whether future margin expansion can be sustained through operational efficiencies in the industrial segment rather than relying on the unpredictable timing of one-time licensing wins.
According to recent SEC filings, the company's ROIC has struggled to maintain positive territory, with a notable dip to -1.7% in 2026Q1, indicating that the firm is currently failing to generate adequate returns on its invested capital despite the recent strategic pivot toward industrial asset ownership.
The drag on ROIC appears largely driven by the underutilization of the company's $306 million cash balance, which remains a significant weight on overall capital efficiency. Unless management can deploy this capital into accretive acquisitions that exceed the company's cost of capital, the return profile will likely remain suppressed relative to historical performance.
Based on the provided data, the cash conversion cycle has shown extreme variance, peaking at 287 days in 2026Q1, which highlights the operational challenges of managing a hybrid business model that combines long-duration litigation cycles with the inventory-heavy requirements of industrial hardware manufacturing.
The sharp increase in DIO and DPO suggests that the company is experiencing friction in its supply chain or inventory management, which may be tying up liquidity unnecessarily. This inefficiency warrants further investigation into whether the current working capital management practices are optimized for the specific needs of the Printronix subsidiary.
As reported in financial statements, the P/E ratio is a fundamentally flawed metric for evaluating Acacia, as it obscures the massive impact of non-recurring litigation settlements and the significant earnings leakage associated with the company's complex capital structure and non-controlling interests.
Investors should instead focus on EV/EBITDA or a sum-of-the-parts valuation to better capture the underlying cash-generative capacity of the industrial segment and the option value of the IP portfolio. Relying on P/E ratios in this context may lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the company's true earning power and long-term valuation floor.
Includes 30+ ratios · 30 years · Updated daily
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying ACTG stock.
Acacia Research Corporation's current P/E ratio is 20.2x. The historical average is 19.9x. This places it at the 63th percentile of its historical range.
Acacia Research Corporation's current EV/EBITDA is 4.5x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 13.9x.
Acacia Research Corporation's return on equity (ROE) is 3.8%. The historical average is -12.0%.
Based on historical data, Acacia Research Corporation is trading at a P/E of 20.2x. This is at the 63th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
Acacia Research Corporation has 82.5% gross margin and 2.2% operating margin.
Acacia Research Corporation's Debt/EBITDA ratio is 2.0x, indicating moderate leverage. A ratio between 2-4x is manageable but warrants monitoring.