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Stepan (SCL): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q3 2026, to Sep 30, 2026, filed Nov 4, 2026; rules v1.1
Stepan (SCL): 1 rule of 10 triggered on the filings to Sep 30, 2026: low net debt = no refinancing risk. 1 to review; 1 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
Low net debt = no refinancing risk Triggered · severity high · confidence medium
$286M of debt comes due within a year against $98M of cash and investments and $5M of free cash flow over the last twelve months: $183M short, to be refinanced or raised. Net debt of $536M says nothing about when the debt falls due.
Innocent reading: A committed, undrawn credit facility covers the gap (not visible in the balance sheet).
A precise DCF value = the true value To review · confidence high
The DCF's point value is -5.62 a share (price 66.94); 69% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving operating margin by ±3 pts alone takes it from -60.81 to 49.56; across every method the research ran the range is -187 to 456. 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 ($39M → $25M): the trap does not arise.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY2024 |
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $162M |
| Operating cash flow | $148M |
| Capex, year before | $123M |
| Capex | $123M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $39M |
| Free cash flow | $25M |
| Change in FCF | −$14M |
| Change in capex | −$262K |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | −$22M |
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: FY2025 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY2024 (cash flow statement, fiscal year before)
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Not triggered confidence high
Stock compensation is 0.3% of revenue: small enough that adding it back changes little.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Stock compensation | $6M |
| Revenue | $2.3B |
| SBC / revenue | +0.3% |
| Buybacks | 0 |
| Buybacks / SBC | 0.0 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 22.9M shares |
| Diluted shares | 22.9M 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: FY2025 (stock compensation, buybacks and the diluted share count, fiscal year)
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Not triggered confidence medium
Receivables grew 15% against revenue 17% in Q3 2026; DSO 66 against a median of 67: collections are keeping pace with sales.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Revenue, year over year | +17.3% |
| Receivables, year over year | +15.1% |
| Quarter before | Q2 2026 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | +15.0% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | +11.3% |
| Days sales outstanding | 66.1 |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 67.2 |
| Receivables | $502M |
| Revenue | $692M |
receivables and revenue against the same quarter a year earlier; DSO = receivables / quarterly revenue × days, against the median of the eight quarters before
Source: Q3 2026 (receivables and revenue) · Q3 2025 (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 Triggered severity high · confidence medium
$286M of debt comes due within a year against $98M of cash and investments and $5M of free cash flow over the last twelve months: $183M short, to be refinanced or raised. Net debt of $536M says nothing about when the debt falls due.
The figures and how they are read
| Cash and investments | $98M |
| Debt | $634M |
| Net debt | $536M |
| Due within a year | $286M |
| Read from | the debt maturity table |
| Free cash flow, twelve months | $5M |
| Cash plus free cash flow | $103M |
| Coverage of what is due | 0.4 |
| Due in the second year | $136M |
| 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: FY2025 (debt maturities, cash and investments)
What would explain it innocently
- A committed, undrawn credit facility covers the gap (not visible in the balance sheet)
- The notes are routinely rolled over in the commercial-paper or bond market at an investment-grade rating
- Cash held abroad or in subsidiaries can be moved to where the debt is
- A sale of a business or asset already agreed brings the cash
What to look for in the filing
- Undrawn committed facilities and their covenants
- The cost and rating of the refinancing
- Restricted cash and the operating minimum
What would show the trap does not apply
- The 10-K lists an undrawn credit facility that covers the debt due, or the maturity is refinanced before it falls due
- Cash plus FCF of the next quarter exceeds the debt due within a year
Look again: next filing.
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS rose 64% and net income rose 64% in Q3 2026; the share count rose 0.4%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 2026 |
| Quarter before | Q3 2025 |
| EPS, year before | $0.47 |
| EPS | $0.78 |
| Net income, year before | $11M |
| Net income | $18M |
| Diluted shares, year before | 22.9M shares |
| Diluted shares | 23.0M shares |
| EPS growth | +63.8% |
| Net income growth | +64.3% |
| Diluted shares: change | +0.4% |
| eps from profit | $0.30 |
| eps from share count | $0.00 |
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: Q3 2026 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q3 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Not triggered confidence medium
Net income of $4M is not at a cyclical high against the last eight years (median $113M, best $147M): the P/E of 355.9× is on a normal year.
The figures and how they are read
| market value | $1.5B |
| net income ttm | $4M |
| pe ttm | 355.90 |
| net income median fy | $113M |
| pe mid cycle | 13.60 |
| net income peak fy | $147M |
| years | FY2018 / 113.0; FY2019 / 103.0; FY2020 / 127.0; FY2021 / 138.0; FY2022 / 147.0; FY2023 / 40.0; FY2024 / 50.0; FY2025 / 47.0 |
| down years in window | 3 |
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: Q3 2026 (net income, trailing twelve months)
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is -5.62 a share (price 66.94); 69% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving operating margin by ±3 pts alone takes it from -60.81 to 49.56; across every method the research ran the range is -187 to 456. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | -5.62 |
| price | 66.94 |
| terminal value share | +69.5% |
| swing by input | Operating margin / ±3 pts / -60.81 / 49.56; Capex (share of revenue) / ±1 pt / -11.05 / -0.19; Working capital per $ of growth / ±10 pts / -9.19 / -2.06; WACC / ±1 pt / -7.99 / -2.34 |
| range all methods | -186.57; 455.74 |
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 → Stepan: 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.