MMarketMath

AJG

Fast growerQuality: Medium (55/100)2 red flags

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. · Financials · Insurance Brokers

$271.99

52w 190.75 – 313.55

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$69.7B

P/E

44.2

P/FCF

37.0

FCF yield

2.7%

ROE

6.4%

Shldr yield

1.0%

div 1.0% + bb 0.0%

What today's price assumes

At $69.7B, the market is pricing in 16.1% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 11.8% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $106 · $188 · $234 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 12.8× across 17 years, AJG would trade near $96/share (25th–75th percentile: $75–$165); it trades at 36.1× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+17.7%

Rev 5y

+14.8%

Rev 10y

+10.0%

EPS 5y

+6.4%

EPS 10y

+10.8%

FCF 5y

+0.9%

FCF 10y

+11.8%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2008–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2008: $1.6B
2009: $1.7B
2010: $1.9B
2011: $2.1B
2012: $2.5B
2013: $3.2B
2014: $4.6B
2015: $5.4B
2016: $5.7B
2017: $6.2B
2018: $6.9B
2019: $7.2B
2020: $7.0B
2021: $8.2B
2022: $8.6B
2023: $10.1B
2024: $11.6B
2025: $13.9B
$0$5.0B$10.0B
08
11
14
17
20
23

Net income

2008: $77.3M
2009: $128.6M
2010: $174.1M
2011: $144.1M
2012: $195.0M
2013: $268.6M
2014: $303.4M
2015: $356.8M
2016: $396.8M
2017: $481.3M
2018: $633.5M
2019: $668.8M
2020: $818.8M
2021: $906.8M
2022: $1.1B
2023: $970.0M
2024: $1.5B
2025: $1.5B
$0$500.0M$1.0B
08
11
14
17
20
23

Free cash flow

2008: $128.6M
2009: $188.0M
2010: $204.4M
2011: $238.1M
2012: $292.0M
2013: $256.3M
2014: $355.1M
2015: $587.1M
2016: $431.8M
2017: $725.0M
2018: $640.7M
2019: $1.1B
2020: $1.7B
2021: $1.3B
2022: $1.2B
2023: $1.8B
2024: $2.4B
2025: $1.8B
$0$1.0B$2.0B
08
11
14
17
20
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2009: 100.5M
2010: 104.8M
2011: 111.7M
2012: 121.0M
2013: 128.9M
2014: 152.9M
2015: 172.2M
2016: 177.6M
2017: 180.1M
2018: 182.7M
2019: 186.0M
2020: 191.0M
2021: 202.7M
2022: 210.3M
2023: 214.9M
2024: 220.5M
2025: 256.1M
0100.0M200.0M
08
11
14
17
20
23

Margins

10%20%081114172023
Net marginFCF margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2008: $119.8M
2009: $128.9M
2010: $134.3M
2011: $147.0M
2012: $205.9M
2013: $182.6M
2014: $223.1M
2015: $257.5M
2016: $373.2M
2017: $300.4M
2018: $313.1M
2019: $321.1M
2020: $347.4M
2021: $392.0M
2022: $429.5M
2023: $474.0M
2024: $525.0M
2025: $667.0M
$0$200.0M$400.0M$600.0M
08
11
14
17
20
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$0$5.0B$10.0B$15.0B081114172023
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q2'23: $2.4B
Q3'23: $2.5B
Q4'23: $2.4B
Q1'24: $3.3B
Q2'24: $2.8B
Q3'24: $2.8B
Q4'24: $2.7B
Q1'25: $3.7B
Q2'25: $3.2B
Q3'25: $3.4B
Q4'25: $3.6B
Q1'26: $4.8B
Q2'26: $4.0B
$0$2.0B$4.0B
23
24
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q2'23: $234.5M
Q3'23: $280.7M
Q4'23: −$31.7M
Q1'24: $608.4M
Q2'24: $283.4M
Q3'24: $312.6M
Q4'24: $258.6M
Q1'25: $704.0M
Q2'25: $368.0M
Q3'25: $272.7M
Q4'25: $149.3M
Q1'26: $822.0M
Q2'26: $324.0M
$0$250.0M$500.0M$750.0M
23
24
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q2'26$4.0B+24.2%$324.0M−12.0%1.25$10.0M
Q1'26$4.8B+27.7%$822.0M+16.8%3.16$957.0M
Q4'25 *$3.6B+33.6%$149.3M−42.3%0.58$753.0M
Q3'25$3.4B+19.9%$272.7M−12.8%1.04$729.0M
Q2'25$3.2B+16.1%$368.0M+29.9%1.40−$424.0M
Q1'25$3.7B+14.4%$704.0M+15.7%2.72$872.0M
Q4'24 *$2.7B+11.7%$258.6M1.10$739.4M
Q3'24$2.8B+12.6%$312.6M+11.4%1.39$934.8M
Q2'24$2.8B+13.7%$283.4M+20.9%1.27$119.5M
Q1'24$3.3B+20.3%$608.4M+25.1%2.74$789.3M
Q4'23 *$2.4B+19.9%−$31.7M−123.4%-0.17$693.9M
Q3'23$2.5B+21.9%$280.7M+9.7%1.28$897.2M
Q2'23$2.4B+19.5%$234.5M−17.5%1.07$12.4M

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+17.7%+14.8%+10.0%+14.4%
Operating cash flow+11.6%+1.3%+10.9%+15.3%
Free cash flow+13.9%+0.9%+11.8%+15.5%
EPS (diluted)+3.4%+6.4%+10.8%+8.6%
Equity+36.6%+30.4%+20.4%+22.5%
LT debt+29.6%+23.2%+19.3%+22.9%
Diluted shares+6.8%+6.0%+4.0%+6.1%
Stock price+6.6%+14.8%+20.4%+18.9%

$100, 3 years ago

$121vs $176 in SPY

6.6% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$200vs $181 in SPY

14.8% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$642vs $412 in SPY

20.4% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$1,348vs $813 in SPY

18.9% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$12.34

$42.7B created / $3.5B retained

Last 10 years

$11.76

$58.0B created / $4.9B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

5.4%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

2.5%

MC vs 10× OCF

3.42

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

6.8y

SBC / FCF

2.7%

Owner earnings

$1.7B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

2.6%

Share count 5y

+6.0%

per year; negative = buybacks

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 259.9% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of 0.5% — an organically fundable growth rate of about 1.3% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

12 of 24 checks pass · 50%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

5/7

  • Revenue growth

    14.8% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    6.4% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • FCF growth

    0.9% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Revenue rises consistently

    8 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    pass
  • FCF consistently positive

    10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    1.3% vs 14.8% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

3/5

  • Net margin

    10.7% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    · ≥ 10%

    na
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    6.4% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • Cash ROIC

    5.4% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • FCF margin

    12.8% · ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $1.9B vs NI $1.5B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

2/4

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    6.8y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    12% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    0.52 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $23.3B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    na

Capital Allocation

2/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    6.0% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    fail
  • Stock comp restrained

    3% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    pass
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    37% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    pass
  • Repurchases are a habit

    3 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    fail

Valuation Discipline

0/4

  • FCF yield

    2.7% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    44.2 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    16.1% vs 11.8% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    1.0% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    fail

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Heavy debt load

Long-term debt exceeds 5 years of free cash flow.

Shareholder dilution

Diluted share count has grown by more than 2% per year over ~5 years.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
202513,9421,4945.741,9301451,785667491,39612,10423,321256
202411,5551,4636.502,5831422,4415254214,98712,73220,154221
202310,0729704.422,0321941,838474319717,00610,775215
20228,5511,1145.191,3901831,207430247385,5639,144210
20218,2099074.371,3921291,264392134035,8108,508203
20207,0048194.201,807991,708347146654,2666,186191
20197,1956693.521,1911391,052321146053,8165,156186
20186,9346343.4076512464130211146073,0914,499183
20176,2494812.6485412972528318176812,6924,236180
20165,6813972.22650218432272101155462,1453,597178
20155,3923572.0668699587258114802,0723,638172
20144,6273031.9743782355223113142,1253,229153
20133,1802692.063509425618382988252,086129
20122,5201951.5934351292204283027251,659121
20112,1351441.28284462381461142916751,244112
20101,8641741.6623025204134192505501,107105
20091,7291291.2821224188128110206550893101
20081,645770.8216132129119111194739

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.