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Tidewater (TDW): analysis traps
Where its figures could mislead a reader, and what to check before taking them at face value · Data: Q2 2026, to Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 3, 2026; rules v1.1
Tidewater (TDW): 1 rule of 10 triggered on the filings to Jun 30, 2026: FCF growth = the business improved. 2 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
FCF growth = the business improved Triggered · severity medium · confidence medium
Free cash flow rose $98M (+39%), from $255M to $353M, but working capital released $82M more cash than the year before and capital expenditure fell by $2M: 85% of the increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital rose by $15M.
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 1 of the last 3 quarters: read the reconciliation before taking the adjusted figure.
A precise DCF value = the true value To review · confidence high
The DCF's point value is 65.20 a share (price 70.06); 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 53.26 to 79.47; across every method the research ran the range is -29 to 318. 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 Triggered severity medium · confidence medium
Free cash flow rose $98M (+39%), from $255M to $353M, but working capital released $82M more cash than the year before and capital expenditure fell by $2M: 85% of the increase came from sources that need not repeat. Operating cash flow before working capital rose by $15M.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year before | FY2024 |
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Operating cash flow, year before | $282M |
| Operating cash flow | $379M |
| Capex, year before | $28M |
| Capex | $26M |
| Free cash flow, year before | $255M |
| Free cash flow | $353M |
| Change in FCF | $98M |
| Change in capex | −$2M |
| Working capital: change in its cash contribution | $82M |
| Of which: capex cut | $2M |
| Of which: working capital released | $82M |
| Share of the increase that need not repeat | +84.8% |
| Operating cash flow before working capital: change | 14928000.00 |
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: FY2025 (cash flow statement, fiscal year) · FY2024 (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 1.1% of revenue: small enough that adding it back changes little.
The figures and how they are read
| Fiscal year | FY2025 |
| Stock compensation | $14M |
| Revenue | $1.4B |
| SBC / revenue | +1.1% |
| Buybacks | $90M |
| Buybacks / SBC | 6.2 |
| Diluted shares, year before | 53.1M shares |
| Diluted shares | 50.4M shares |
| Diluted shares: change | -5.0% |
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 Insufficient data
fewer than five quarters with receivables and revenue on file (a year-over-year comparison needs five)
B08 Adjusted profit = economic profit To review confidence low
Adjusted EPS was 10% or more above GAAP in 1 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 | 2025-09-30 / 0.6109 / -0.02 / 1.033; 2026-03-31 / 0.1287 / 0.12 / 0.068; 2026-06-30 / 0.4432 / 0.43 / 0.03 |
| Quarters with adjusted ≥ 10% above GAAP | 1 |
| Quarters compared | 3 |
| Latest gap | +3.0% |
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: 2025-09-30 (adjusted 0.61 vs GAAP -0.02) · 2026-03-31 (adjusted 0.13 vs GAAP 0.12) · 2026-06-30 (adjusted 0.44 vs GAAP 0.43)
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
$6M comes due within a year, 151.4× covered by cash and investments of $614M plus $271M of free cash flow.
The figures and how they are read
| Cash and investments | $614M |
| Debt | $670M |
| Net debt | $57M |
| Due within a year | $6M |
| Read from | the debt maturity table |
| Free cash flow, twelve months | $271M |
| Cash plus free cash flow | $885M |
| Coverage of what is due | 151.4 |
| Due in the second year | $6M |
| Balance sheet date | 2026-06-30 |
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)
D03 EPS growth = profit growth Not triggered confidence high
EPS fell 70% and net income fell 70% in Q2 2026; the share count rose 0.2%: EPS growth follows profit growth.
The figures and how they are read
| Quarter | Q2 2026 |
| Quarter before | Q2 2025 |
| EPS, year before | $1.46 |
| EPS | $0.43 |
| Net income, year before | $73M |
| Net income | $22M |
| Diluted shares, year before | 50.0M shares |
| Diluted shares | 50.1M shares |
| EPS growth | -70.4% |
| Net income growth | -70.3% |
| Diluted shares: change | +0.2% |
| eps from profit | -$1.03 |
| 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: Q2 2026 (net income, diluted shares, EPS) · Q2 2025 (the same quarter a year earlier)
E02 Low P/E at a cyclical peak = undervalued Not applicable
a loss on a trailing or mid-cycle basis: the P/E has no meaning
E07 A precise DCF value = the true value To review confidence high
The DCF's point value is 65.20 a share (price 70.06); 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 53.26 to 79.47; across every method the research ran the range is -29 to 318. The value is a range; the decimals are not information.
The figures and how they are read
| dcf value | 65.20 |
| price | 70.06 |
| terminal value share | +58.8% |
| swing by input | Revenue growth (each year) / ±5 pts / 53.26 / 79.47; Operating margin / ±3 pts / 55.8 / 74.6; WACC / ±1 pt / 58.23 / 74.36; Terminal growth / ±0.5 pt / 63.72 / 66.89 |
| range all methods | -29.43; 317.51 |
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 → Tidewater: 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.