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McGraw Hill (MH): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q2 FY27, to Sep 30, 2026, filed Nov 5, 2026; rules v1.1
McGraw Hill (MH): 0 rules of 10 triggered on the filings to Sep 30, 2026. 1 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
A precise DCF value = the true value To review · confidence high
The DCF's point value is 14.80 a share (price 10.86); 59% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving revenue growth (each year) by ±5 pts alone takes it from 9.98 to 20.56; across every method the research ran the range is -4 to 79. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
Innocent reading: A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary.
Every rule
A01 FCF growth = the business improved Not triggered confidence high
Free cash flow did not rise ($575M → $246M): the trap does not arise.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY25 |
| Fiscal year | FY26 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $646M |
| Operating cash flow | $331M |
| Capex, year before | $71M |
| Capex | $85M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $575M |
| Free cash flow | $246M |
| Change in FCF | −$329M |
| Change in capex | $14M |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | −$518M |
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)
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 1.6% of revenue: small enough that adding it back changes little.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY26 |
| Stock compensation | $34M |
| Revenue | $2.1B |
| SBC / revenue | +1.6% |
| Buybacks | 0 |
| Buybacks / SBC | 0.0 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 166.6M shares |
| Diluted shares | 183.7M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | +10.2% |
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 -3% against revenue -6% in Q2 FY27; DSO 74 against a median of 67: collections are keeping pace with sales.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q2 FY27 |
| Revenue, year over year | -5.5% |
| Receivables, year over year | -3.3% |
| Quarter before | Q1 FY27 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | +2.6% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | -15.0% |
| Days sales outstanding | 74.4 |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 66.5 |
| Receivables | $645M |
| Revenue | $632M |
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 Insufficient data
no reconciliation table read from the releases yet and fewer than three quarters with both an adjusted and a GAAP EPS
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Not triggered confidence medium
$13M comes due within a year, 37.1× covered by cash and investments of $233M plus $256M of free cash flow.
The figures and how they are read
| Cash and investments | $233M |
| Debt | $2.5B |
| Net debt | $2.3B |
| Due within a year | $13M |
| Read from | the debt maturity table |
| Free cash flow, twelve months | $256M |
| Cash plus free cash flow | $489M |
| Coverage of what is due | 37.1 |
| Due in the second year | $13M |
| Balance sheet date | 2026-09-30 |
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: FY26 (debt maturities, cash and investments)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS fell 20% and net income fell 18% in Q2 FY27; the share count rose 3.0%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q2 FY27 |
| Quarter before | Q2 FY26 |
| EPS, year before | $0.57 |
| EPS | $0.45 |
| Net income, year before | $105M |
| Net income | $86M |
| Diluted shares, year before | 185.8M shares |
| Diluted shares | 191.5M shares |
| EPS growth | -20.5% |
| Net income growth | -18.0% |
| Diluted shares: change | +3.0% |
| eps from profit | -$0.10 |
| eps from share count | -$0.01 |
EPS and net income against the same quarter a year earlier; the EPS bridge attributes the change to profit first, then to the share count (the order is fixed and disclosed)
Source: Q2 FY27 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q2 FY26 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Insufficient data
3 fiscal years of net income on file; a cycle needs five
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is 14.80 a share (price 10.86); 59% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving revenue growth (each year) by ±5 pts alone takes it from 9.98 to 20.56; across every method the research ran the range is -4 to 79. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | 14.80 |
| price | 10.86 |
| terminal value share | +58.9% |
| swing by input | Revenue growth (each year) / ±5 pts / 9.98 / 20.56; Operating margin / ±3 pts / 10.11 / 19.5; WACC / ±1 pt / 11.11 / 20.46; Tax rate / ±5 pts / 13.61 / 16.0 |
| range all methods | -3.94; 78.83 |
the DCF's point value against the share of it that is the terminal value and the value at each input moved by one step (growth ±5 pts, WACC ±1 pt, margin ±3 pts …); the range across every method the research ran
Source: 2026-11-08 (valuation research)
What would explain it innocently
- A stable, mature business with a narrow range of outcomes, where the point value is a fair summary
- The inputs that matter most are themselves well known (a regulated return, a long contract)
What to look for in the filing
- Which input you believe differs from the research's and why
- What the price implies for growth (the reverse DCF on the fair-value page)
What would show the trap does not apply
- The DCF's value is robust to the terminal growth and discount rate (the range's low end is still above the price)
- The company's cash flows over the next three years track the DCF's early years
Look again: next filing.
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 → McGraw Hill: cash flow →
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.