Quality Investor

WD-40 Company

Rank #21Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

WDFC · Nasdaq · Basic Materials

WD-40 Company (WDFC) — Rank #21 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.77) · ROE 30.2% · Piotroski F-Score 7 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-31 · CIK 0000105132 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

WD-40 Company engages in the provision of maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in North America, Central and South America, Asia, Australia, Europe, India, the Middle East, and Africa.

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The company offers multi-purpose maintenance products and specialty maintenance products, including WD-40 Multi-Use Product, an aerosol spray with various unique delivery systems, a non-aerosol trigger spray, a precision pen, and in liquid-bulk used for household, marine, automotive, construction, repair, sporting goods, and gardening applications; and WD-40 Specialist product line which includes penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers. It also provides multi-purpose drip and specialty oil lubricant; professional-grade aerosol specialty maintenance products, such as 3-IN-ONE RVcare products, 3-IN-ONE garage door lubricant, and 3-IN-ONE lock dry lube; and spray maintenance products and lubricants under the GT85 brand. In addition, the company offers automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the 2000 Flushes brand; aerosol and a liquid trigger carpet stain and odor eliminator under the Spot Shot brand; room and rug deodorizers sold as powder and aerosol quick-dry foam products under the Carpet Fresh brand; and heavy-duty hand cleaner, automatic toilet bowl cleaners, aerosol foaming carpet, fabric sanitizers, deodorizers, spot stain cleaners, and hand cleaner products under the Lava, X-14, no vac, and Solvol brands. It sells its products primarily through hardware stores, automotive parts outlets, industrial distributors and suppliers, mass retail and home center stores, value retailers, grocery stores, online retailers, warehouse club stores, farm supply stores, sport retailers, and independent bike dealers.

WD-40 Company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Industry
Specialty Chemicals
Sector
Basic Materials
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
August 31

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

753

Industry

Specialty Chemicals

Exchange

Nasdaq

11/12

Flags passed

WDFC fails 1 critical flag

Passes 11 of 12 quality flags

  • FAIL
    Operating margin declining

    Operating margin lower than prior year

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Deferred revenue growing

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.77
Return on equity
30.2%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.81
Current ratio
2.57×
Net cash
-$15.44M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
1.1%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
11.0%
Piotroski F-Score
7 / 9
Share dilution
-0.5%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

Warning: Operating margin declining · GP/assets 89th percentile of 39 SIC 28 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.77

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

89th pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Return on equity

30.2%

Gross margin

55.3%

58th pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

11.0%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2023202420252026
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

8.6%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

7.1%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

7.7%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

2.2%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 18% above net income

Free cash flow

$97.57M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

18.5%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

1.1%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $15.44M, F-Score 7/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.81

41st pctl of 35 SIC 28 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

2.57×

61st pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Quick ratio

1.68×

Net cash

-$15.44M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

7 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

3.0 / 5

Good
Payout ratio
65.6%2/5 Fair
FCF coverage
1.81×3/5 Good
Dividend growth streak
10 yr5/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.81 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

4.0 / 5

Strong
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-0.5%3/5 Good
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
10 yr5/5 Strong
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
2.7%4/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20212026
Capital Return