MMarketMath

WELL

Fast growerQuality: Medium (55/100)4 red flags

Welltower · Real Estate · Health Care REITs

$240.01

52w 163.75 – 255.20

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$169.4B

P/E

175.6

P/FCF

92.2

FCF yield

1.1%

ROE

2.3%

Shldr yield

1.1%

div 1.1% + bb 0.0%

What today's price assumes

At $169.4B, the market is pricing in 28.7% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 4.4% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $40 · $41 · $51 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 12.9× across 18 years, WELL would trade near $53/share (25th–75th percentile: $41–$93); it trades at 58.8× 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

+26.5%

Rev 5y

+12.9%

Rev 10y

+8.2%

EPS 5y

−9.8%

EPS 10y

−5.1%

FCF 5y

+10.3%

FCF 10y

+4.4%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2008–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2008: $504.5M
2009: $523.3M
2010: $578.6M
2011: $1.3B
2012: $1.8B
2013: $2.9B
2014: $3.3B
2015: $3.9B
2016: $4.3B
2017: $4.3B
2018: $4.7B
2019: $5.1B
2020: $4.6B
2021: $3.2B
2022: $4.2B
2023: $4.8B
2024: $6.0B
2025: $8.5B
$0$2.5B$5.0B$7.5B
08
11
14
17
20
23

Net income

2008: $283.3M
2009: $193.3M
2010: $128.5M
2011: $217.6M
2012: $294.8M
2013: $138.3M
2014: $512.3M
2015: $888.5M
2016: $1.1B
2017: $540.6M
2018: $829.8M
2019: $1.3B
2020: $1.0B
2021: $374.5M
2022: $160.6M
2023: $358.1M
2024: $972.9M
2025: $961.8M
$0$500.0M$1.0B
08
11
14
17
20
23

Free cash flow

2008: $360.7M
2009: $381.3M
2010: $364.7M
2011: $677.5M
2012: $682.7M
2013: $852.7M
2014: $1.0B
2015: $1.2B
2016: $1.4B
2017: $1.2B
2018: $1.3B
2019: $1.2B
2020: $1.1B
2021: $992.7M
2022: $852.7M
2023: $1.1B
2024: $1.4B
2025: $1.8B
$0$500.0M$1.0B$1.5B
08
11
14
17
20
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2008: 94.3M
2009: 114.6M
2010: 128.2M
2011: 174.4M
2012: 226.0M
2013: 278.8M
2014: 307.7M
2015: 349.4M
2016: 360.2M
2017: 369.0M
2018: 375.3M
2019: 403.8M
2020: 417.4M
2021: 426.8M
2022: 465.2M
2023: 518.7M
2024: 608.8M
2025: 679.5M
0200.0M400.0M600.0M
08
11
14
17
20
23

Margins

0%25%50%75%081114172023
Net marginFCF margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2008: $253.7M
2009: $311.8M
2010: $348.6M
2011: $483.7M
2012: $653.3M
2013: $839.9M
2014: $969.7M
2015: $1.1B
2016: $1.2B
2017: $1.3B
2018: $1.3B
2019: $1.4B
2020: $1.1B
2021: $1.0B
2022: $1.1B
2023: $1.3B
2024: $1.5B
2025: $1.9B
$0$500.0M$1.0B$1.5B
08
11
14
17
20
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$0$10.0B$20.0B081114172023
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

Q1'23: $1.1B
Q2'23: $1.2B
Q3'23: $1.2B
Q4'23: $1.3B
Q1'24: $1.4B
Q2'24: $1.4B
Q3'24: $1.5B
Q4'24: $1.8B
Q1'25: $1.9B
Q2'25: $2.0B
Q3'25: $2.1B
Q4'25: $2.6B
Q1'26: $2.8B
$0$1.0B$2.0B
23
23
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q1'23: $28.6M
Q2'23: $106.3M
Q3'23: $134.7M
Q4'23: $88.4M
Q1'24: $131.6M
Q2'24: $260.7M
Q3'24: $456.8M
Q4'24: $123.8M
Q1'25: $257.3M
Q2'25: $304.6M
Q3'25: $282.2M
Q4'25: $117.8M
Q1'26: $752.3M
$0$200.0M$400.0M$600.0M
23
23
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q1'26$2.8B+49.1%$752.3M+192.4%1.02$670.0M
Q4'25 *$2.6B+45.1%$117.8M−4.8%0.13$654.3M
Q3'25$2.1B+36.4%$282.2M−38.2%0.41$858.4M
Q2'25$2.0B+41.4%$304.6M+16.9%0.45$770.0M
Q1'25$1.9B+37.1%$257.3M+95.4%0.40$599.0M
Q4'24 *$1.8B+39.5%$123.8M+39.9%0.20$559.2M
Q3'24$1.5B+26.0%$456.8M+239.1%0.73$685.0M
Q2'24$1.4B+20.2%$260.7M+145.1%0.42$605.4M
Q1'24$1.4B+20.2%$131.6M+359.7%0.22$406.8M
Q4'23 *$1.3B$88.4M+4818.8%0.17$370.5M
Q3'23$1.2B−18.6%$134.7M0.24$439.1M
Q2'23$1.2B−21.3%$106.3M+11.2%0.20$416.2M
Q1'23$1.1B−18.9%$28.6M−56.4%0.05$376.1M

Track record

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

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+26.5%+12.9%+8.2%+19.6%
Operating cash flow+29.4%+16.1%+7.6%+14.8%
Free cash flow+29.0%+10.3%+4.4%+11.4%
EPS (diluted)+66.7%−9.8%−5.1%+3.5%
Equity+27.6%+21.4%+11.2%+15.9%
LT debt+9.3%+51.8%+4.7%+10.7%
Diluted shares+13.5%+10.2%+6.9%+11.8%
Stock price+45.2%+25.2%+16.1%+15.4%

$100, 3 years ago

$306vs $176 in SPY

45.2% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$308vs $181 in SPY

25.2% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$445vs $412 in SPY

16.1% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$855vs $813 in SPY

15.4% vs 15.0%/yr

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

4.7%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

1.6%

MC vs 10× OCF

5.86

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

10.5y

SBC / FCF

85.0%

Owner earnings

$274.7M

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

0.2%

Share count 5y

+12.3%

per year; negative = buybacks

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 422.6% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of 3.8% — an organically fundable growth rate of about 16.2% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

11 of 24 checks pass · 46%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

6/7

  • Revenue growth

    12.9% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    -9.8% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • FCF growth

    10.3% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Revenue rises consistently

    7 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

    16.1% vs 12.9% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    pass

Profitability

3/5

  • Net margin

    11.4% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    · ≥ 10%

    na
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    2.3% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • Cash ROIC

    4.7% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • FCF margin

    21.7% · ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $2.9B vs NI $961.8M · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

2/4

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    10.5y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    26% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    0.46 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $42.1B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    na

Capital Allocation

0/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    12.3% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    fail
  • Stock comp restrained

    85% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    fail
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    103% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    fail
  • Repurchases are a habit

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

    fail

Valuation Discipline

0/4

  • FCF yield

    1.1% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    175.6 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    28.7% vs 4.4% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    1.1% · 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.

Heavy stock compensation

Stock-based compensation consumes more than 30% of free cash flow.

Shareholder dilution

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

Distributions exceed FCF

Dividends plus buybacks exceeded free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.

Financial data

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

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
20258,4539621.392,8821,0501,8311,8771,5575,03419,19742,129680
20246,0279731.572,2568581,3991,546763,50715,50031,956609
20234,7543580.661,6025181,0841,260371,99415,73625,404519
20224,1741610.301,3294768531,13302663214,71420,295465
20213,1973740.781,2752839931,03701826913,91017,636427
20204,6061,0392.331,3652451,1201,1208281,5452,37815,973417
20195,1211,3303.051,5363291,2071,40502528513,42115,540404
20184,7008302.021,5842661,3181,30002821512,18614,632375
20174,3175411.261,4342501,1841,2771924411,03614,423369
20164,2811,0822.811,6392191,4201,2342941911,72514,806360
20153,8608892.341,3831881,1951,1453142312,12414,591349
20143,3445121.451,1391331,0069703255310,75913,175308
20132,8811380.289881368538402015910,43211,415279
20121,8052950.98818135683653191,0348,45710,295226
20111,3132180.90588-89677484111636,5737,125174
20105791290.83365365349121324,1994,603128
20095231931.4938138131210353,797115
20085052832.763613612549233,23894

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