Valvoline

VVV

Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing · Energy

Price

$39.97

-0.30 (-0.74%)

Market Cap

$5.10B

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Share count falling — buybacks

−29.9% over 4y

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

Diluted shares outstanding: 183.5M (2021) → 128.6M (2025)

Valvoline runs a chain of drive-through oil change shops across the United States. Customers pull their car in, stay in the vehicle, and get an oil change or other basic maintenance done in about 15 minutes. The company owns the Valvoline brand, which has been around for over 150 years and is one of the most recognized names in automotive care.

Valvoline makes money by charging customers for each service visit, including oil changes, tire rotations, and fluid top-offs. It operates over 1,900 locations across the U.S., a mix of company-owned and franchised shops. Its main competitive advantage is the fast, no-appointment model and strong brand recognition that keeps customers coming back. The key growth driver is expanding its franchise network, but the business faces risk if consumers cut back on spending or if electric vehicles become more common, since EVs require far fewer oil changes.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

3 trades / 12mo

2 Congressional buys and 1 sell on VVV 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

+25.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+0.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (1%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

0.4%ownership

→ Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$85M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

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

Growth + cash flow

Valvoline is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 25%. 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.

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Quality

Gross Margin

37.1%

Modest — 37.1% gross margin

Operating Margin

17.5%

Healthy — 17.5% operating margin

ROCE

4.4%

Weak — 4.4% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+5.4%

Slow sales growth (5.4% YoY)

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

EPS Consistency

6/8 quarters

Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

214%

Turns 214% of profit into real cash

FCF Margin

4.9%

Thin free cash flow (4.9%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

4.69

Heavy debt load (4.69)

Interest Cover

4.75x

Adequate interest coverage (4.8x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

32.8x

Pricey — P/E 32.8

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

P/E vs Forward

+16.8

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (32.8 → 16.0)

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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