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Suburban Propane Partners LP (SPH): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q3 FY26, to Jun 27, 2026, filed Aug 6, 2026; rules v1.1
Suburban Propane Partners LP (SPH): 0 rules of 10 triggered on the filings to Jun 27, 2026. 1 to review; 1 with insufficient data; 3 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 43.57 a share (price 17.09); 80% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving wacc by ±1 pt alone takes it from 31.36 to 64.08; across every method the research ran the range is -151 to 298. 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 medium
Free cash flow rose $13M to $114M; working capital and lower capex explain 0% of it, so most of the gain is in operating cash flow itself.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY24 |
| Fiscal year | FY25 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $161M |
| Operating cash flow | $186M |
| Capex, year before | $59M |
| Capex | $72M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $101M |
| Free cash flow | $114M |
| Change in FCF | $13M |
| Change in capex | $13M |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | −$25M |
| Of which: capex cut | 0.00 |
| Of which: working capital released | 0.00 |
| Share of the increase that need not repeat | +0.0% |
| Operating cash flow before working capital: change | 50637000.00 |
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: FY25 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY24 (cash flow statement, fiscal year before)
A07 Stock compensation added back = no economic cost Insufficient data
fewer than two fiscal years of stock compensation and share counts on file
B02 Receivables growing = future cash is certain Not triggered confidence medium
Receivables grew 6% against revenue 0% in Q3 FY26; DSO 41 against a median of 24: collections are keeping pace with sales.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q3 FY26 |
| Revenue, year over year | +0.5% |
| Receivables, year over year | +6.0% |
| Quarter before | Q2 FY26 |
| Revenue y/y, quarter before | -6.2% |
| Receivables y/y, quarter before | -1.6% |
| Days sales outstanding | 40.5 |
| DSO, median of eight quarters | 24.4 |
| Receivables | $85M |
| Revenue | $261M |
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 FY26 (receivables and revenue) · Q3 FY25 (the same quarter a year earlier)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit Not triggered confidence low
Adjusted and GAAP EPS were within 10% of each other in the last 3 quarters (adjusted below GAAP).
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter / adjusted EPS / GAAP EPS / gap | 2025-12-31 / 0.7003 / 0.69 / 0.015; 2026-03-31 / 2.0817 / 2.06 / 0.01; 2026-06-30 / -0.2653 / -0.26 / -0.02 |
| Quarters with adjusted ≥ 10% above GAAP | 0 |
| Quarters compared | 3 |
| Latest gap | -2.0% |
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: 2025-12-31 (adjusted 0.70 vs GAAP 0.69) · 2026-03-31 (adjusted 2.08 vs GAAP 2.06) · 2026-06-30 (adjusted -0.27 vs GAAP -0.26)
C02 Low net debt = no refinancing risk Not triggered confidence medium
Nothing comes due within a year; net debt is $1.2B.
The figures and how they are read
| Cash and investments | $5M |
| Debt | $1.2B |
| Net debt | $1.2B |
| Due within a year | 0 |
| Read from | the debt maturity table |
| Free cash flow, twelve months | $101M |
| Cash plus free cash flow | $106M |
| Coverage of what is due | — |
| Due in the second year | $499M |
| Balance sheet date | 2026-06-27 |
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: FY25 (debt maturities, cash and investments)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not applicable
a loss in one of the quarters: EPS growth has no meaning
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Not triggered confidence medium
Net income of $131M is not at a cyclical high against the last eight years (median $107M, best $140M): the P/E of 8.7× is on a normal year.
The figures and how they are read
| market value | $1.1B |
| net income ttm | $131M |
| pe ttm | 8.70 |
| net income median fy | $107M |
| pe mid cycle | 10.70 |
| net income peak fy | $140M |
| years | FY18 / 77.0; FY19 / 69.0; FY20 / 61.0; FY21 / 123.0; FY22 / 140.0; FY23 / 124.0; FY24 / 74.0; FY25 / 107.0 |
| down years in window | 4 |
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 FY26 (net income, trailing twelve months)
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is 43.57 a share (price 17.09); 80% of it is the terminal value, a number about years no one has seen. Moving wacc by ±1 pt alone takes it from 31.36 to 64.08; across every method the research ran the range is -151 to 298. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | 43.57 |
| price | 17.09 |
| terminal value share | +80.4% |
| swing by input | WACC / ±1 pt / 31.36 / 64.08; Revenue growth (each year) / ±5 pts / 31.01 / 58.81; Operating margin / ±3 pts / 31.22 / 55.93; Terminal growth / ±0.5 pt / 39.25 / 49.14 |
| range all methods | -151.35; 298.33 |
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 → Suburban Propane Partners LP: 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.