Core & Main, Inc. (CNM) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

Core & Main's P/E of 19.0 is below its own 5-year median of 21.3.

P/E below the industry

Core & Main's P/E of 19.0 is below the Wholesale Trade-durable Goods median of 20.3.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Core & Main's EV/EBITDA of 11.8 is below its 5-year median of 12.9.

P/B above the industry

Core & Main's price-to-book of 4.31 is above the Wholesale Trade-durable Goods median of 2.15.

Trading below fair value

The share price of $46.00 is below our fair value estimate of $47.22.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 2.6% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 4.8% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew 2.7% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew 6.5% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 64.2% a year.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew -0.5% over the last twelve months; the Wholesale Trade-durable Goods median is 4.6%.

Guidance unchanged

The latest outlook (full-year fiscal 2026 Net sales, Sep 9, 2026) was maintained, so it neither adds nor takes away points.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 27.0% over the last twelve months, against 26.7% a year earlier.

Return on equity over 15%

Return on equity was 23.4% over the last twelve months and averaged 21.9% over five years.

Return on capital over 10%

Return on invested capital was 13.7%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Core & Main's return on equity of 23.4% is above the Wholesale Trade-durable Goods median of 18.5%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 64.2% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 6.0% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 5.1%.

Net margin above the industry

Core & Main's net margin of 6.0% is above the Wholesale Trade-durable Goods median of 5.8%.

High debt

Debt is 121% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt trend

Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 27.9% of total debt.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 6.3 times.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 2.47 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 3.13; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

No dividend

Core & Main has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.

Yield against Treasuries

No dividend.

Yield against the market

No dividend.

Dividend stability

No dividend.

Earnings cover

No dividend.

Cash-flow cover

No dividend.