Illinois Tool Works (ITW)
Industrials · $76.5B market cap · SEC CIK 0000049826
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Oct 22, 2026, before the open, with analysts expecting $3.00 in earnings per share.
The case for ITW
- Generated $2.7B of free cash flow in FY2025, 17% of revenue.
- Earns 102% on shareholder equity, a figure flattered by a small equity base.
- Pays a modest 2.3% dividend.
The case against
- Priced at 24.0× earnings while earnings per share are shrinking (-3.2%).
- Priced at 27× book value. Very little hard asset backing here.
- Growth is weak (34/100): revenue +4.3%, EPS -3.2%, +5.0% a year over five years.
- Long-term debt of $6.7B against $851M of cash.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Industrials companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 37 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 34 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 85 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 50 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 81 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 79 Industrials companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 24.0× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | 26.89× |
| Price / sales | 4.6× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +4.3% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -3.2% |
| Gross margin | 44% |
| Operating margin | 27% |
| Net margin | 19% |
| Return on equity | 102% |
| Debt / equity | 3.35× |
| Current ratio | 1.11 |
| Dividend yield | 2.32% |
| Beta | 0.95 |
| 52-week range | $238.82 – $303.16 |
| Position in that range | 49% of the way up |
| 3-month return | +1.3% |
| 1-year return | +2.2% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Illinois Tool Works's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $16.0B | $15.9B | $16.1B | $15.9B | $14.5B |
| Operating income | $4.2B | $4.3B | $4.0B | $3.8B | $3.5B |
| Operating cash flow | $3.1B | $3.3B | $3.5B | $2.3B | $2.6B |
| Capital expenditure | $419M | $437M | $455M | $412M | $296M |
| Total assets | $16.1B | $15.1B | $15.5B | $15.4B | $16.1B |
| Cash | $851M | $948M | $1.1B | $708M | $1.5B |
| Long-term debt | $6.7B | $6.3B | $6.3B | $6.2B | $6.9B |
| Free cash flow | $2.7B | $2.8B | $3.1B | $1.9B | $2.3B |
| Operating margin | 26.3% | 26.8% | 25.1% | 23.8% | 24.1% |
| Diluted shares | 292M | 298M | 304M | 311M | 316M |
Share count is down 7.6% over 4 years. Buybacks have been shrinking the pie.
What Illinois Tool Works says it does
of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and under the caption "Proposal 1 – Election of Directors" in the Company's definitive Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders expected to be held on May 8, 2026 (the "2026 Proxy Statement"), which is incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Information regarding the Company's Insider Trading Policy and related policies and procedures is incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K from the information under the caption "Other Governance Policies and Practices" in the Company's 2026 Proxy Statement. Information regarding the Company's Code of Ethics that applies to the Company's President & Chief Executive Officer, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and Vice President & Chief Accounting Officer is incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K from the information under the caption "Other Governance Policies and…
Risk factors ITW lists in its 10-K
- Information About Our Executive Officers
- Other Positions Held During 2021-2025
- The Company's results are impacted by global economic conditions. Downturns in the markets served by the Company could adversely affect its businesses, results of operations or financial condition
- The global nature of the Company's operations subjects it to political, economic and social risks that could adversely affect its business, results of operations or financial condition
- A significant fluctuation between the U.S. Dollar and other currencies could adversely impact the Company's operating income
- The benefits from the Company's enterprise strategy may not be as expected and the Company's financial results could be adversely impacted, or the Company may not meet its long-term financial performance targets
- The timing and amount of the Company's share repurchases are subject to a number of uncertainties
- If the Company is unable to successfully introduce new products, its future growth may be adversely affected
- If the Company is unable to adequately protect its intellectual property, its competitive position and results of operations may be adversely impacted
- The Company has significant goodwill and other intangible assets, and future impairment of these assets could have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial results
- Raw material price increases and supply shortages could adversely affect results
- The Company's defined benefit pension plans are subject to financial market risks that could adversely affect its results of operations and cash flows
- The Company's acquisition of businesses could negatively impact its profitability and returns
- Divestitures pose the risk of retained liabilities that could adversely affect the Company's financial results