Fundamental analysis: Ball Corporation (BALL)

Awarener score: 7.2

Conclusion

The higher the Awarener score, the more bang you get for the buck. It measures how much genuine funds the company generates for the stock price paid (Average), the business stability (Excellent) and growth (Modest), and the company's inclination to return cash to the stockholders (Superb).

Note: All scores range from 1 (worst) to 10 (best). Conclusions are updated daily with closing stock prices and new reported quarterly financial statements.

Revenue score: 7.0

Business growth has been almost stagnant. It's been almost average when measured against peer companies.
Ball Corporation business trend stability is excellent. The higher the stability, the lower the risk. It looks slightly better than rivals.

Margins score: 5.7

BALL profit margins -on goods and services sold- are usually very poor. They stand slightly worse than rival companies.
Business profit on sales tends to be good. It's encouraging in relation to competitors.
Profits on sales made -available to repay debt and purchase properties- are usually sufficient. They remain close to average when compared to peers.
Earnings -before income taxes and interests on loans taken- tend to be sufficient in relation to total revenues. They're still slightly worse than similar companies.
Profits -before income taxes- are usually sufficient considering total sales, and remain almost average when measured against rivals.
Total net profit tends to be sufficient when confronted to sales. Company stands encouraging in relation to comparable firms.

Growth score: 4.7

Ball Corporation profit -on goods and services sold- has been growing at a very good pace. It's been in good shape compared to competitors.
In recent years, earnings growth -on operations- have been almost stagnant, which has been mediocre against comparable firms.
Profits growth -available to repay debt and purchase properties- have been almost stagnant, which compares weak when measured against peer enterprises.
Earnings -before income taxes and interests on loans taken- have been growing at a very low tempo. It turns to be lacking compared to similar stocks.
In past years, profits -before income taxes- grew at a very low speed. It was mediocre against rivals.
In the previous years, growth on total net profit has been low, and below average when measured against peer companies.
Earnings per share have grown at a normal rhythm in past years. It's been lacking compared to industry peers.

Miscellaneous score: 7.0

BALL had hardly to pay income taxes in relation to profits made in the past years. It's been better than most peers.
The company does not report R&D expenses. It's meaningless to measure in relation to competitors.
We have insufficient data to estimate how effective is research and development effort. It stands unknown against rival companies.

Profitability score: 8.2

Ball Corporation usually gets good returns on the resources it controls. It proves weak when measured against peer firms.
The company normally gets excellent proceeds -on the resources directly invested in the business-. They remain in good shape compared to similar companies.
There's usually excellent profitability -in relation to owned resources-. It ranks similar to competitors.
In the past, got very good returns -on the tangible resources it controls-. This metric is usually related to the industry in which operates and combines profitability versus reinvestment needs. It's weak when measured against comparable enterprises.

Usage of Funds score: 6.0

BALL usually uses a large portion of genuine funds generated to buy or replace property, plant, or equipment. The need for reinvestments is large. It stands weak when measured against rival firms.
The company is usually investing in new property, plant, and equipment, to improve its operating capabilities, which is top tier when measured against industry peers.
In the past twelve months it paid somewhat low dividends, considering the current stock price. It came mediocre against competitors.
Has increased dividend payments in the past years. Business prospects may have improved. The company has behaved rather normal in relation to similar firms.
The company pays more dividends than genuine funds is usually able to generate, therefore borrowing more funds. Future payments may be at risk, especially if a downturn in business occurs. Sustainability looks worse than most comparable companies.
The company usually significantly reduces the pool of investors, resulting in fewer mouths feeding on the pie of profits. It remains excellent in relation to peer enterprises.
Repurchase effectiveness metric is very complex. Run again in analytical mode if you're interested in a technical explanation. It stands a slight improvement compared to rivals.
We do not have sufficient data to comment on buybacks and their sustainability. It still looks dubious against competitors.

Balance Sheet score: 5.5

Ball Corporation has not disclosed intangibles assets, so we could not reach a meaningful conclusion on this metric. It happens to be a not known variable when measured with peer companies.
The company has lower short-term resources than short-term obligations. Unless it's part of the business model, there might be liquidity concerns. It turns to be a disappointment compared to similar firms.
A very minor portion of resources controlled were provided for with financial debt. Financial strength is solid. Company could increase debt if it wished so, to reinvest in business, to buy a smaller company or to reward stockholders. It remains top-notch against rival firms.
Controlled resources might be only very slowly turned into cash and equivalents, which is riskier. It looks last-in-rank when measured against rivals.
For every dollar of short-term obligations, the company has few cents of cash and short-term receivables. It's a disappointment compared to peer firms.
For every dollar of short-term obligations, the company has few cents of cash and equivalents, which is slightly better than similar enterprises.
Usually, sales are mostly on cash. It still ranks top tier when measured against peers.
Normally has no inventories. It comes up as impressive in relation to competitors.
On average, it takes less than one month from the purchase to charging customers. It happens to be top-notch against peers.
Pays suppliers mostly in cash. It ranks last-in-rank when measured against industry peers.
The company pays its suppliers almost when charging its customers, so there's very little money invested in working capital. It's impressive in relation to similar companies.
Net interest expenses consume a portion of usual business earnings, but are bearable. It stands somewhat worse than rival firms.
Business earnings have usually been excellent when measured against loans taken. It could take less than two years to repay the obligations with current profitability. It ranks top tier when measured against comparable enterprises.
Fixed assets turnover remains undisclosed. It looks we cannot relate it to similar firms.
Resource exploitation is quite good when yearly sales are considered. This metric is normally tied to the industry where the firm belongs. It's still mediocre against peer companies.

Valuation score: 6.0

Ball Corporation looks heavily expensive in relation to profits and financial position. It happens to be substantially worse when measured against competitors.
We have not enough data to conclude on the relationship of price versus tangible book value for this company. It remains therefore unknown compared to peers.
In the past twelve months, the company neither generated nor consumed funds. Whatever funds it could generate, it reinvested in the business, which stands mediocre against similar companies.
In the past years the company barely generated enough genuine funds to cover up for its business needs. Business prospects should improve to be in a better position to reward investors. It's still last-in-rank when measured against industry firms.
In the past twelve months, the company has significantly rewarded investors, considering both dividends and share on the pie of earnings. It came up in good shape compared to peer ventures.
The company has barely more debt than cash. It may borrow extra money if it wishes so, or start cumulating cash for future uses. It looks top-notch against similar enterprises.
Considering the past twelve months, traditional Price-to-Earnings relation is very high. A lot of improvement expectations are already in the stock price, which is risky. It ranks substantially worse when measured against peer companies.
Comparing the current stock price with the past twelve-months revenues gives a more than one-to-one relationship. This is an important metric to check its evolution through time, and to compare to industry peers. It looks in a very weak position compared to rival firms.
We have not enough information on the relation between current stock price and accounting book value. The company remains a mystery against peer firms.
In the past twelve months, the operating business earned good money when compared to the current stock price and financial position. It happens to be almost average when measured against industry peers.
In an alternate metric of bang for the buck, the company has usually shown a very good earnings power ability when measured against the current stock price and financial position. It's still rather normal in relation to peer companies.

Total score: 6.3

Company at a glance: Ball Corporation (BALL)

Sector, industry: Consumer Cyclical, Packaging & Containers

Market Cap: 16.93 billions

Revenues TTM: 15.12 billions

Ball Corporation supplies aluminum packaging products for the beverage, personal care, and household products industries in the United States, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Beverage Packaging, North and Central America; Beverage Packaging, Europe, Middle East and Africa; Beverage Packaging, South America; and Aerospace. The company manufactures and sells aluminum beverage containers to fillers of carbonated soft drinks, beer, energy drinks, and other beverages. It also develops spacecraft, sensors and instruments, radio frequency systems, and other technologies for the civil, commercial, and national security aerospace markets, as well as offers defense hardware, antenna and video tactical solutions, civil and operational space hardware, and systems engineering services. In addition, the company designs, manufactures, and tests satellites, remote sensors, and ground station control hardware and software; and provides launch vehicle integration and satellite operational services. Further, it offers target identification, warning, and attitude control systems and components; cryogenic systems and associated sensor cooling devices; star trackers; and fast-steering mirrors to the government agencies or their prime contractors. Additionally, the company manufactures and sells extruded aluminum aerosol containers, recloseable aluminum bottles, aluminum cups, and aluminum slugs. Ball Corporation was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado.