Rockwell Automation

ROK

Industrial - Machinery · Industrials

Price

$461.85

-6.82 (-1.46%)

Market Cap

$51.39B

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Share count falling — buybacks

−3.4% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 117.1M (2021) → 113.1M (2025)

Rockwell Automation helps factories run more efficiently by making the software, hardware, and control systems that automate industrial machines. Its products include programmable controllers, sensors, and industrial software used by manufacturers in industries like food and beverage, automotive, oil and gas, and life sciences. It is one of the largest pure-play industrial automation companies in the world, focused almost entirely on factory automation and digital manufacturing.

Rockwell makes money by selling hardware equipment, software licenses, and subscription-based software platforms, along with ongoing services and support contracts. It operates primarily in North America but has a growing international presence, with roughly $9 billion in annual revenue. Its competitive moat comes from deep integration with customers' existing factory systems, making it costly and disruptive to switch to a competitor. The key growth driver is the long-term trend of manufacturers investing in automation to reduce labor costs and improve efficiency, though slowing industrial capital spending or a manufacturing recession could weigh on demand.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

13 trades / 12mo

8 Congressional buys and 5 sells on ROK in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+11.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+40.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$679M/ year

↑ Rising (+42% vs prior year)

8.1% of revenue

2.0x the sector average (4%)

R&D investment increasing — building for the future

Insider Activity

0.2%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$423M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Rockwell Automation is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 12%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

50.2%

Healthy — 50.2% gross margin

Operating Margin

20.9%

Excellent — 20.9% operating margin

ROCE

6.5%

Weak — 6.5% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+4.6%

Slow sales growth (4.6% YoY)

EPS YoY

-0.1%

Earnings shrinking (-0.1% YoY)

Slight earnings drop. Typical near a cyclical low.

EPS Consistency

4/8 quarters

Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

145%

Turns 145% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

15.4%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (15.4%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

1.05

Elevated debt (1.05)

Interest Cover

10.98x

Comfortably covers interest (11.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

50.4x

Expensive — P/E 50.4

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

P/E vs Forward

+20.6

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (50.4 → 29.8)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield

1.13%

Small dividend — 1.13% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth

+5.3%

Dividend growing modestly (5.3% YoY)

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