Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 18.0x · EV/EBITDA 47.0x · ROE 21.7%. (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 | $372M | $385M | $341M | $433M | $625M | $293M | $299M | $224M | $189M | $170M | $160M |
| Enterprise Value | $341M | $355M | $342M | $432M | $603M | $285M | $306M | $218M | $183M | $163M | $147M |
| P/E Ratio → | 17.99 | 18.59 | 17.92 | 23.98 | 26.19 | 12.57 | 19.99 | 20.13 | 12.82 | 16.34 | 21.85 |
| P/S Ratio | 10.60 | 10.98 | 9.10 | 10.91 | 15.42 | 7.26 | 7.42 | 6.18 | 5.27 | 4.92 | 4.64 |
| P/B Ratio | 3.74 | 3.86 | 3.76 | 5.18 | 7.85 | 4.37 | 5.58 | 4.72 | 4.34 | 4.49 | 4.63 |
| P/FCF | 18.58 | 19.25 | 19.12 | 24.02 | 25.37 | 18.06 | 21.75 | 19.15 | 19.90 | 72.25 | 3817.11 |
| P/OCF | 18.36 | 19.03 | 19.03 | 23.83 | 25.35 | 17.86 | 21.74 | 18.95 | 19.08 | 42.11 | 80.00 |
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 | — | 10.11 | 9.12 | 10.88 | 14.87 | 7.05 | 7.58 | 6.00 | 5.10 | 4.73 | 4.26 |
| EV / EBITDA | 47.03 | 48.88 | 32.39 | 33.68 | 49.65 | 32.25 | 32.67 | 37.66 | 49.52 | 13.52 | 25.84 |
| EV / EBIT | 57.01 | 59.26 | 37.38 | 37.64 | 55.79 | 37.78 | 33.63 | 40.22 | 71.18 | — | 78.30 |
| EV / FCF | — | 17.73 | 19.14 | 23.94 | 24.46 | 17.54 | 22.24 | 18.59 | 19.27 | 69.47 | 3504.68 |
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 | 58.8% | 58.8% | 60.4% | 61.7% | 57.3% | 53.3% | 54.9% | 51.0% | 48.5% | 49.5% | 54.5% |
| Operating Margin | 17.1% | 17.1% | 24.4% | 28.9% | 26.7% | 18.7% | 22.6% | 14.9% | 7.2% | 21.6% | 5.4% |
| Net Profit Margin | 59.0% | 59.0% | 50.7% | 45.5% | 58.8% | 57.6% | 37.1% | 33.1% | 41.1% | 30.0% | 21.1% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 21.7% | 21.7% | 21.8% | 22.1% | 32.5% | 38.6% | 29.6% | 26.4% | 36.2% | 28.6% | 21.1% |
| ROA | 14.7% | 14.7% | 14.2% | 13.9% | 19.1% | 20.2% | 14.8% | 13.4% | 17.0% | 12.0% | 8.4% |
| ROIC | 4.5% | 4.5% | 7.4% | 9.7% | 9.8% | 7.9% | 12.1% | 8.9% | 4.7% | 15.4% | 4.1% |
| ROCE | 5.1% | 5.1% | 8.3% | 10.8% | 10.9% | 8.6% | 12.2% | 8.4% | 4.1% | 12.2% | 3.1% |
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 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.16 | 0.22 | — | — | — | — |
| Debt / EBITDA | 0.49 | 0.49 | 0.45 | 0.48 | 0.61 | 1.22 | 1.26 | — | — | — | — |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | -0.31 | 0.00 | -0.02 | -0.28 | -0.13 | 0.13 | -0.14 | -0.14 | -0.17 | -0.38 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | -4.20 | -4.20 | 0.04 | -0.11 | -1.84 | -0.95 | 0.73 | -1.12 | -1.61 | -0.54 | -2.30 |
| Debt / FCF | — | -1.52 | 0.02 | -0.08 | -0.91 | -0.52 | 0.49 | -0.55 | -0.63 | -2.79 | -312.43 |
| Interest Coverage | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Net cash position: cash ($34M) exceeds total debt ($4M)
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 | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.19 | 2.84 | 2.58 | 1.83 | 1.51 | 1.24 | 1.07 | 1.05 | 0.76 |
| Quick Ratio | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.19 | 2.84 | 2.58 | 1.83 | 1.51 | 1.24 | 1.07 | 1.05 | 0.76 |
| Cash Ratio | 1.44 | 1.44 | 0.20 | 0.33 | 1.25 | 0.69 | 0.18 | 0.26 | 0.24 | 0.27 | 0.50 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.24 | 0.28 | 0.30 | 0.31 | 0.33 | 0.37 | 0.40 | 0.41 | 0.40 | 0.40 |
| Inventory Turnover | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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 | 3.0% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Payout Ratio | 54.6% | 54.6% | 55.5% | 52.4% | 35.3% | 34.7% | 51.7% | 61.3% | 60.6% | 63.8% | 84.6% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 5.6% | 5.4% | 5.6% | 4.2% | 3.8% | 8.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% | 7.8% | 6.1% | 4.6% |
| FCF Yield | 5.4% | 5.2% | 5.2% | 4.2% | 3.9% | 5.5% | 4.6% | 5.2% | 5.0% | 1.4% | 0.0% |
| Buyback Yield | 0.1% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 3.2% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $9M | $9M | $9M | $10M | $10M | $10M | $10M | $10M | $10M | $10M |
Secular revenue base erosion
According to current market data, VALU trades at an EV/EBITDA of 44.94, a valuation that appears disconnected from its contracting revenue base and suggests investors are pricing in a terminal value that may not be supported by the firm's underlying operational performance or growth prospects.
The elevated P/S ratio of 10.17 relative to peers like FactSet indicates that the market may be mispricing the company as a high-growth SaaS entity rather than a legacy publisher. This valuation appears to rely heavily on the company's cash-rich balance sheet and dividend yield, potentially ignoring the structural decline in core subscription revenue.
Based on reported financial figures, VALU's ROIC has trended downward from 2.2% in 2024Q2 to 0.7% in 2026Q3, indicating that the company is struggling to generate meaningful returns on its invested capital as the core publishing business faces persistent secular headwinds and margin compression.
The low ROIC suggests that the company's capital allocation strategy is failing to drive value creation, likely due to the high fixed-cost nature of its legacy operations. Investors should monitor whether management can pivot toward higher-margin digital licensing to improve these returns, as current levels remain well below the cost of capital.
As reported in quarterly filings, the company's asset turnover ratio has remained stagnant at 0.06, which suggests that the firm is not effectively utilizing its asset base to generate revenue, further highlighting the operational stagnation inherent in its current business model and distribution strategy.
The lack of reported data for DIO and DPO makes it difficult to assess the full cash conversion cycle, but the low asset turnover is a clear indicator of inefficient capital deployment. This inefficiency appears to be a structural issue rather than a temporary hurdle, as the company continues to carry legacy assets that contribute little to top-line growth.
Investors frequently misapply the net margin metric to VALU, which, at 71.4% in 2026Q3, obscures the reality that a significant portion of earnings is derived from non-operating equity in affiliates rather than the core publishing business, warranting a more granular look at operating margins.
Relying on net margin as a proxy for operational success is misleading because it conflates the performance of the EAB Investment Group with the core Value Line publishing business. Analysts should instead focus on operating margins to gauge the true health of the company's primary revenue streams, as the current headline profitability is heavily distorted by non-core income.
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying VALU stock.
Value Line, Inc.'s current P/E ratio is 18.0x. The historical average is 15.9x. This places it at the 62th percentile of its historical range.
Value Line, Inc.'s current EV/EBITDA is 47.0x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 20.3x.
Value Line, Inc.'s return on equity (ROE) is 21.7%. This is above the typical threshold of 15-20% considered good for most companies. The historical average is 27.1%.
Based on historical data, Value Line, Inc. is trading at a P/E of 18.0x. This is at the 62th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
Value Line, Inc.'s current dividend yield is 3.03% with a payout ratio of 54.6%.
Value Line, Inc. has 58.8% gross margin and 17.1% operating margin. Operating margin between 10-20% is typical for established companies.
Value Line, Inc.'s Debt/EBITDA ratio is 0.5x, indicating low leverage. A ratio below 2x is generally considered financially healthy.