Quality Investor

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

Rank #240Capital Return

WST · NYSE · Healthcare

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) — Rank #240 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.27) · ROE 16.5% · Piotroski F-Score 7 / 9.

As-of 2026-09-28 · CIK 0000105770 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.

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It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging products. This segment also provides drug containment solutions in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices; and a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. This segment primarily serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It sells and distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, contract sales agents, and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

Industry
Medical Instruments & Supplies
Sector
Healthcare
State
PA
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 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

10,800

Industry

Medical Instruments & Supplies

Exchange

NYSE

Signal Flags

3 green1 red
Revenue growth acceleratingGrowth rate increasing year over year
Deferred revenue growingRevenue and deferred revenue both growing — retention signal
Sequential beat (rev + EPS)Both revenue and EPS exceeded prior quarter — 2-quarter streak
Operating margin decliningOperating margin lower than prior year

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.27
Return on equity
16.5%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.36
Current ratio
2.82×
Net cash
$232.90M

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.8%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
6.3%
Piotroski F-Score
7 / 9
Share dilution
-1.4%

Terry Smith quality gate

Passes 1/5 Terry Smith thresholds

1 of 5 threshold not computable from filed data.

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

Profitability

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.27

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

16th pctl of 20 SIC 3841 peers

Return on equity

16.5%

Gross margin

35.9%

0th pctl of 20 SIC 3841 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

6.3%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

2.1%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

7.4%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

-5.5%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

2.2%

Anti-fragile safety

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.36

7th of 19 SIC 3841 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

2.82×

47th pctl of 20 SIC 3841 peers

Quick ratio

1.79×

Net cash

$232.90M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Recession resistance

Revenue through recessions

Worst single-year YoY revenue decline, 18 years of history

Strong
2008-2009 (GFC)
0.4%Grew through it
2020 (COVID)
16.7%Grew through it
Worst year on record(any fiscal year, not recession-limited)
-1.9%Mild decline

Cash-flow health

Free cash flow

$468.90M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF / net income

-0.05

Cash-backing of earnings.

FCF/NI divergence

Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.8%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Dividend safety

Composite score

4.2 / 5

Strong
Payout ratio
12.4%5/5 Strong
FCF coverage
7.66×5/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
10 yr5/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.36 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Piotroski F-Score

F-Score

7 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Capital Return
Hypergrowth
Value