MMarketMath

USB

Slow growerQuality: Medium (53/100)1 red flag

U.S. Bancorp · Financials · Diversified Banks

$62.42

52w 45.02 – 66.08

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$97.3B

P/E

12.7

P/FCF

12.1

FCF yield

8.3%

ROE

11.6%

Shldr yield

3.8%

div 3.3% + bb 0.5%

What today's price assumes

At $97.3B, the market is pricing in 0.8% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew -1.0% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $54 · $54 · $68 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 6.2× across 11 years, USB would trade near $32/share (25th–75th percentile: $27–$52); it trades at 12.2× 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

+5.6%

Rev 5y

+3.4%

Rev 10y

+3.5%

EPS 5y

+1.6%

EPS 10y

+3.9%

FCF 5y

−3.9%

FCF 10y

−1.0%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2012–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2012: $20.3B
2013: $19.6B
2014: $20.2B
2015: $20.3B
2016: $21.3B
2017: $21.9B
2018: $22.6B
2022: $24.3B
2023: $28.1B
2024: $27.5B
2025: $28.7B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
12
14
16
18
23
25

Net income

2012: $5.6B
2013: $5.8B
2014: $5.9B
2015: $5.9B
2016: $5.9B
2017: $6.2B
2018: $7.1B
2022: $5.8B
2023: $5.4B
2024: $6.3B
2025: $7.6B
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
12
14
16
18
23
25

Free cash flow

2012: $8.0B
2013: $11.4B
2014: $5.3B
2015: $8.8B
2016: $5.3B
2017: $6.5B
2018: $10.6B
2022: $21.1B
2023: $8.4B
2024: $11.3B
2025: $8.0B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
12
14
16
18
23
25

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2012: 1.9B
2013: 1.8B
2014: 1.8B
2015: 1.8B
2016: 1.7B
2017: 1.7B
2018: 1.6B
2022: 1.5B
2023: 1.5B
2024: 1.6B
2025: 1.6B
0500.0M1.0B1.5B
12
14
16
18
23
25

Margins

20%40%60%80%121416182325
Net marginFCF margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2012: $3.2B
2013: $3.9B
2014: $3.9B
2015: $4.0B
2016: $4.4B
2017: $4.6B
2018: $4.9B
2022: $2.8B
2023: $3.0B
2024: $3.3B
2025: $3.7B
$0$2.0B$4.0B
12
14
16
18
23
25

Cash vs long-term debt

$20.0B$40.0B$60.0B121416182325
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: $7.2B
Q3'23: $7.0B
Q4'23: $6.8B
Q1'24: $6.7B
Q2'24: $6.9B
Q3'24: $6.9B
Q4'24: $7.0B
Q1'25: $7.0B
Q2'25: $7.0B
Q3'25: $7.3B
Q4'25: $7.4B
Q1'26: $7.3B
Q2'26: $7.7B
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
23
24
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q2'23: $1.4B
Q3'23: $1.5B
Q4'23: $847.0M
Q1'24: $1.3B
Q2'24: $1.6B
Q3'24: $1.7B
Q4'24: $1.7B
Q1'25: $1.7B
Q2'25: $1.8B
Q3'25: $2.0B
Q4'25: $2.0B
Q1'26: $1.9B
Q2'26: $2.2B
$0$1.0B$2.0B
23
24
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q2'26$7.7B+10.1%$2.2B+19.9%1.35$4.8B
Q1'26$7.3B+4.7%$1.9B+13.8%1.18$1.3B
Q4'25 *$7.4B+5.1%$2.0B+23.0%1.26$2.8B
Q3'25$7.3B+6.8%$2.0B+16.7%1.22$3.5B
Q2'25$7.0B+2.0%$1.8B+13.2%1.11$1.9B
Q1'25$7.0B+3.6%$1.7B+29.6%1.03−$308.0M
Q4'24 *$7.0B+3.7%$1.7B+96.3%1.01$4.8B
Q3'24$6.9B−2.4%$1.7B+12.5%1.03$972.0M
Q2'24$6.9B−4.3%$1.6B+17.8%0.97$2.9B
Q1'24$6.7B−6.4%$1.3B−22.3%0.78$2.7B
Q4'23 *$6.8B$847.0M−8.4%0.48$362.0M
Q3'23$7.0B+11.2%$1.5B−15.9%0.91$3.9B
Q2'23$7.2B$1.4B−11.1%0.84$3.3B

Track record

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

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+5.6%+3.4%+3.5%
Operating cash flow−27.7%−3.9%−1.0%
Free cash flow−27.7%−3.9%−1.0%
EPS (diluted)+7.8%+1.6%+3.9%
Equity+8.7%+3.6%+3.5%
LT debt+15.1%+5.7%+6.6%
Diluted shares+1.5%−0.7%−1.3%
Stock price+25.0%+6.2%+7.4%+10.3%

$100, 3 years ago

$195vs $176 in SPY

25.0% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$135vs $181 in SPY

6.2% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$204vs $412 in SPY

7.4% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$437vs $813 in SPY

10.3% vs 15.0%/yr

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

Last 5 years

$1.84

$24.1B created / $13.1B retained

Last 10 years

$1.41

$37.3B created / $26.5B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

6.3%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

7.2%

MC vs 10× OCF

1.21

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

7.6y

SBC / FCF

2.9%

Owner earnings

$7.7B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

8.0%

Share count 5y

−1.5%

per year; negative = buybacks

Checklist

16 of 24 checks pass · 67%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

3/7

  • Revenue growth

    3.4% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • EPS growth

    1.6% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • FCF growth

    -3.9% · 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

    -3.9% vs 3.4% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

3/5

  • Net margin

    26.4% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    · ≥ 10%

    na
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    11.6% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • Cash ROIC

    6.3% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • FCF margin

    27.8% · ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $8.0B vs NI $7.6B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

3/4

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    7.6y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    77% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    pass
  • Leverage

    0.93 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $65.2B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    na

Capital Allocation

4/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    -1.5% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    pass
  • Stock comp restrained

    3% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    pass
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    46% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    pass
  • Repurchases are a habit

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

    pass

Valuation Discipline

3/4

  • FCF yield

    8.3% · ≥ 3%

    pass
  • Earnings multiple

    12.7 · P/E ≤ 25

    pass
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    0.8% vs -1.0% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    3.8% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    pass

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.

Financial data

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

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
202528,6567,5704.627,9707,9703,16848923546,89060,76465,1931,558
202427,4556,2993.7911,35011,3503,09217323256,50258,00258,5781,561
202328,1445,4293.278,3938,3932,9706222461,19251,48055,3061,543
202224,3025,8253.6921,11921,1192,7766920253,54239,82950,7661,490
201822,6377,0964.1410,56410,5642,0922,82217441,34051,0291,638
201721,9026,2183.516,4726,4721,9282,63116332,25949,0401,683
201621,3085,8883.245,3365,3361,8102,55615033,32347,2981,724
201520,3065,8793.168,7828,7821,7772,19012532,07846,1311,772
201420,1615,8513.085,3325,3321,7262,20012532,26043,4791,813
201319,6025,8363.0011,44611,4461,5762,28212920,04941,1131,849
201220,2885,6472.847,9587,9581,3471,8561298,25225,51638,9981,896

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