Filing Flows › Companies › Dycom Industries › Analysis traps
Dycom Industries (DY): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q2 FY27, to Aug 1, 2026, filed Aug 27, 2026; rules v1.1
Dycom Industries (DY): 1 rule of 10 triggered on the filings to Aug 1, 2026: FCF growth = the business improved. 2 to review; 2 with insufficient data; 2 not applicable. Each is a question to verify, with the normal explanation that would produce the same figures.
Check these first
FCF growth = the business improved Triggered · severity medium · confidence medium
Free cash flow rose $303M (+307%), from $99M to $402M, but working capital released $194M more cash than the year before and capital expenditure fell by $10M: 67% of the increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital rose by $100M.
Innocent reading: An expansion programme finished, so capex fell back to maintenance levels for good.
Adjusted profit = economic profit To review · confidence low
Adjusted EPS was 10% or more above GAAP in 2 of the last 3 quarters: read the reconciliation before taking the adjusted figure.
Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued To review · confidence medium
Net income of $330M is at a high against a median of $142M over eight years; at 19.2× the market is not pricing it as cheap, but a multiple on this year's profit still understates the mid-cycle one (44.5×).
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Triggered severity medium · confidence medium
Free cash flow rose $303M (+307%), from $99M to $402M, but working capital released $194M more cash than the year before and capital expenditure fell by $10M: 67% of the increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital rose by $100M.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY25 |
| Fiscal year | FY26 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $349M |
| Operating cash flow | $643M |
| Capex, year before | $250M |
| Capex | $241M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $99M |
| Free cash flow | $402M |
| Change in FCF | $303M |
| Change in capex | −$10M |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | $194M |
| Of which: capex cut | $10M |
| Of which: working capital released | $194M |
| Share of the increase that need not repeat | +67.1% |
| Operating cash flow before working capital: change | 99588000.00 |
FCF = operating cash flow − cash capex; ΔFCF = ΔOCF − ΔCapEx; the working-capital part is the change in the cash-bridge items (receivables, inventory, payables, accruals), with the sign of the cash flow statement
Source: FY26 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY25 (cash flow statement, fiscal year before)
What would explain it innocently
- An expansion programme finished, so capex fell back to maintenance levels for good
- Suppliers agreed longer payment terms in a contract
- Inventory was brought down after a glut and will stay down
What to look for in the filing
- Maintenance capex (what it costs to keep the assets working)
- Supplier payment terms and any supply-chain financing
- Management's capex guidance for next year
What would show the trap does not apply
- Next year's FCF holds or rises with capex back at its earlier level and working capital no longer releasing cash
- The 10-K's capex guidance and the segment capex show the cut is a completed programme, not deferral
- The working-capital release matches a disclosed change in terms or a divestiture, not stretched payables or a collection push
Look again: next filing.
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 0.6% of revenue: small enough that adding it back changes little.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY26 |
| Stock compensation | $34M |
| Revenue | $5.5B |
| SBC / revenue | +0.6% |
| Buybacks | $30M |
| Buybacks / SBC | 0.9 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 29.5M shares |
| Diluted shares | 29.4M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | -0.2% |
SBC / revenue from the cash flow statement's add-back; the diluted weighted share count year over year; buybacks from the financing section
Source: FY26 (stock compensation, buybacks and the diluted share count, fiscal year)
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Not triggered confidence medium
Receivables grew 43% against revenue 46% in Q2 FY27; DSO 97 against a median of 105: collections are keeping pace with sales.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q2 FY27 |
| Revenue, year over year | +45.6% |
| Receivables, year over year | +43.4% |
| Quarter before | Q1 FY27 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | +56.1% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | +29.6% |
| Days sales outstanding | 96.6 |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 104.9 |
| Receivables | $2.3B |
| Revenue | $2.0B |
receivables and revenue against the same quarter a year earlier; DSO = receivables / quarterly revenue × days, against the median of the eight quarters before
Source: Q2 FY27 (receivables and revenue) · Q2 FY26 (the same quarter a year earlier)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit To review confidence low
Adjusted EPS was 10% or more above GAAP in 2 of the last 3 quarters: read the reconciliation before taking the adjusted figure.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter / adjusted EPS / GAAP EPS / gap | 2025-10-31 / 3.63 / 3.63 / 0.0; 2026-04-30 / 4.42 / 3.0 / 0.321; 2026-07-31 / 5.29 / 3.81 / 0.28 |
| Quarters with adjusted ≥ 10% above GAAP | 2 |
| Quarters compared | 3 |
| Latest gap | +28.0% |
the analysts' 'actual' (usually the company's adjusted EPS) against GAAP net income ÷ diluted shares for the matching quarter; a gap of 10% or more counts (the stand-in until three releases' reconciliation tables are on file)
Source: 2025-10-31 (adjusted 3.63 vs GAAP 3.63) · 2026-04-30 (adjusted 4.42 vs GAAP 3.00) · 2026-07-31 (adjusted 5.29 vs GAAP 3.81)
What would show the trap does not apply
- The reconciliation shows the excluded items ending (a restructuring with its final charge, a settlement paid) and the gap to GAAP closes in the next quarters
- The excluded items are only amortisation of acquired intangibles and the cash paid for the deals is in the investing cash flow
Look again: next filing.
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Not triggered confidence medium
$28M comes due within a year, 28.5× covered by cash and investments of $340M plus $469M of free cash flow.
The figures and how they are read
| Cash and investments | $340M |
| Debt | $2.8B |
| Net debt | $2.5B |
| Due within a year | $28M |
| Read from | the current portion of debt on the balance sheet |
| Free cash flow, twelve months | $469M |
| Cash plus free cash flow | $809M |
| Coverage of what is due | 28.5 |
| Due in the second year | — |
| Balance sheet date | 2026-08-01 |
due within a year from the maturity table (else the current portion of debt), against cash and investments plus free cash flow over the last twelve months (zero if negative); no credit lines assumed
Source: 2026-08-01 (debt maturities, cash and investments)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Insufficient data
no quarter with EPS, net income and diluted shares for both this year and last
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued To review confidence medium
Net income of $330M is at a high against a median of $142M over eight years; at 19.2× the market is not pricing it as cheap, but a multiple on this year's profit still understates the mid-cycle one (44.5×).
The figures and how they are read
| market value | $6.3B |
| net income ttm | $330M |
| pe ttm | 19.20 |
| net income median fy | $142M |
| pe mid cycle | 44.50 |
| net income peak fy | $281M |
| years | FY19 / 63.0; FY20 / 57.0; FY21 / 34.0; FY22 / 49.0; FY23 / 142.0; FY24 / 219.0; FY25 / 233.0; FY26 / 281.0 |
| down years in window | 2 |
P/E on the trailing twelve months' net income against the P/E on the median net income of the last eight fiscal years (a mid-cycle stand-in); 'at a peak' = this year's profit at or above 90% of the best year and at least 1.3× the median
Source: Q2 FY27 (net income, trailing twelve months)
What would show the trap does not apply
- Profit holds at this level through the next two years (the eight-year peak was a new base, not a top)
- The industry's capacity and prices stay where they are rather than reverting
Look again: next filing.
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value Insufficient data
no DCF in the valuation research for this company
J06 A bank's low P/E and high profit = safe Not applicable
not a bank
J08 A REIT's low net income = the dividend is unsafe Not applicable
not a REIT
What the statuses mean
Triggered: the filings show the pattern; read the normal explanations and the missing evidence before concluding anything. To review: one quarter or a weak signal; a reader's judgement, not a pattern. Not triggered: the pattern is absent on these figures. Insufficient data: the filings read so far do not hold what the rule needs; this is not a clean bill. Not applicable: the rule is not meant for this kind of company (a bank's working capital, a loss-making quarter's EPS growth). Out of date: the latest filing is more than fifteen months old.
Severity is what the pattern could mean for cash, value or solvency; confidence is how reliable the inputs and the reading are. The two are kept apart.
Record a view
A reader's judgement, grounds, what would change it and the next review; kept in the browser (needs JavaScript).
Every rule and the companies it triggers on → Dycom Industries: cash flow → Earnings quality score →
Each rule reads the company's own filings by a fixed formula and says what would explain the same figures innocently. A triggered rule is a question to verify, not a finding of manipulation, and not a view on the stock. Missing data is shown as missing, never as clear. Not investment advice.