Fundamental analysis: NOW Inc. (DNOW)

Awarener score: 3.9

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 (Lacking), the business stability (Lacking) and growth (Bottom), and the company's inclination to return cash to the stockholders (Modest).

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: 2.5

Business has been shrinking at a very fast pace. It's been substantially worse when measured against peer companies.
NOW Inc. business shows some variation, there's some risk. It looks slightly better than rivals.

Margins score: 4.0

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

Growth score: 1.3

NOW Inc. profit growth -on goods and services sold- has been almost stagnant. It's been in a weak position compared to competitors.
In recent years, the firm hasn't always been able to profit from operations, which has been bottom tier against comparable firms.
In past years, the company couldn't always turn a profit -available to repay debt and purchase properties-, which compares last-in-rank when measured against peer enterprises.
In the previous years, the firm couldn't always make a profit -before income taxes and interests on loans taken-. It turns to be a disappointment compared to similar stocks.
In past years, at least once the company lost money -before income taxes-. It was bottom tier against rivals.
In the previous years, the firm had at least a total net loss, and last-in-rank when measured against peer companies.
The company lost money at least once in the past years. It's been a disappointment compared to industry peers.

Miscellaneous score: 1.0

DNOW had still to pay income taxes, even though in recent past years mostly lost money. It's been bottom tier against 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: 4.0

NOW Inc. usually gets low returns on the resources it controls. It proves below average when measured against peer firms.
The company normally gets low proceeds -on the resources directly invested in the business-. They remain in a weak position compared to similar companies.
Profitability -in relation to owned resources- is usually lacking. It ranks below average when measured against competitors.
In the past, got low 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 below average when measured against comparable enterprises.

Usage of Funds score: 5.0

DNOW usually uses a significant portion of genuine funds generated to buy or replace property, plant, or equipment. The need for reinvestments is abundant. It stands below average when measured against rival firms.
The company is usually sparsely replacing property, plant, and equipment that gets old, instead using funds in something else. It can't keep forever, which is substantially worse when measured against industry peers.
In the past twelve months the stock paid no dividends. It came bottom tier against competitors.
The company pays no dividend, so measuring its growth is meaningless. The company has behaved in an conservative way compared to similar firms.
As no dividends are paid, it is useless trying to estimate their sustainability in time. Sustainability looks not applicable in regard to comparable companies.
The company barely enlarges the pool of investors, resulting in slightly more mouths feeding on the pie of profits. It remains a slight improvement compared to peer enterprises.
Repurchase effectiveness metric is very complex. Run again in analytical mode if you're interested in a technical explanation. It stands close to average when compared to rivals.
The company uses a non-significant portion of genuine fund generation to reward investors. The company is usually improving its financial position, and could greatly boost stockholder rewards if it wished so. It still looks top tier when measured against competitors.

Balance Sheet score: 5.7

NOW Inc. intangible assets (like brands and goodwill) represent a small portion of resources controlled, according to accounting books. It isn't that a significant risk of liquidating them if the company ever gets in financial distress. It happens to be below average when measured against peer companies.
The company has roughly triple short-term resources than short-term obligations. Liquidity concerns are most likely unimportant. It turns to be a slight improvement compared to similar firms.
Very few resources controlled were provided for with financial debt. Financial strength is very solid. Company could increase debt if it wished so, to reinvest in business, to buy a smaller company or to reward stockholders. It remains better than most rival firms.
Resources controlled can be quickly made into cash, which is very good for liquidity and risk. It looks top tier when measured against rivals.
For every dollar of short-term obligations, the company has enough dollars in cash and short-term receivables. It's rather normal in relation to peer firms.
For every dollar of short-term obligations, the company has roughly half of cash and equivalents, which is somewhat better than similar enterprises.
Usually, sales are on somewhat less than three months credit. It still ranks encouraging in relation to peers.
Normally has approximately three months of sales worth in inventory. It comes up as lacking compared to competitors.
On average, it takes higher than five months from the purchase to charging customers. It happens to be slightly worse than peers.
On average pays suppliers longer than two months after the purchase. It ranks more than average in relation to industry peers.
The company pays its suppliers roughly three months before charging its customers, so there's sufficient money invested in working capital. It's rather normal in relation to similar companies.
To what extent normalized EBITDA covers interest expenses is not known. It stands impossible to compare against rival firms.
Business has usually been operated at a loss. Unless prospects improve, the company is no position to decrease loans taken levels but by additional shareholders' funding. Profitability must improve. It ranks last-in-rank when measured against comparable enterprises.
Revenues are excellent in relation to property, plant, and equipment required to operate. This metric is likely dependent on the industry the company operates in. Low property, plant, and equipment requirements, allows the company to keep more money to reward stockholders in the long run. It looks impressive in relation to similar firms.
Resource exploitation is huge considering yearly sales, which is great. This metric is normally tied to the industry where the firm belongs. It's still better than most peer companies.

Valuation score: 7.0

NOW Inc. looks very cheap in relation to profits and financial position. It happens to be great when measured against competitors.
Price-to-Tangible-Book-Value is a fairly complex metric. Run again in analytical mode if you're interested in a technical explanation. It remains rather normal in relation to peers.
In the past twelve months, the company generated excellent free funds in relation to the stock price, which stands top-notch against similar companies.
The company usually generates somewhat more than enough genuine funds to cover up for its business needs. Surplus cash may be used to repay loans, to eventually buy new businesses, or to reward investors. Considering the financial position and stock price, the current valuation might be reasonable. It's still similar to industry firms.
In the past twelve months, the company has slightly enlarged the pool of investors by issuing new shares. The pie of earnings will now be split among a little more stockholders. It came up rather normal in relation to peer ventures.
The company has substantial more cash than debt. It might be poised to increase stockholder payments, or to fund new business projects. It looks top-notch against similar enterprises.
Considering the past twelve months, traditional Price-to-Earnings relation looks cheap. Possible reasons are that the market might be betting current earnings will be hard to sustain through time, or that the company has very high fund needs, or a weak financial position, among others. If that isn't the case, the current stock price might be attractive. It ranks great when measured against peer companies.
Comparing the current stock price with the past twelve-months revenues gives a not far from one-to-one relationship. This is an important metric to check its evolution through time, and to compare to industry peers. It looks a slight improvement compared to rival firms.
The relation between the stock price and accounting book value is somewhat high. It's important both to check this metric through time and to compare it with rival companies. The company remains slightly better than peer firms.
In the past twelve months, the operating business earned great money when compared to the current stock price and financial position. It happens to be top tier when measured against industry peers.
In an alternate metric of bang for the buck, the company has usually shown a low earnings power ability when measured against the current stock price and financial position. It's still in a weak position compared to peer companies.

Total score: 3.8

Company at a glance: NOW Inc. (DNOW)

Sector, industry: Energy, Oil & Gas Equipment & Services

Market Cap: 1.21 billions

Revenues TTM: 2.14 billions

NOW Inc. distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and industrial manufacturing operations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company offers its products under the DistributionNOW and DNOW brand names. It provides consumable maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; pipes, valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical products, instrumentations, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, and measurement and control equipment; and mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, and personal protective equipment, as well as applied products and applications, such as artificial lift systems, coatings, and miscellaneous expendable items. The company also offers original equipment manufacturer equipment, including pumps, generator sets, air and gas compressors, dryers, blowers, mixers, and valves; modular oil and gas tank battery solutions; and application systems, work processes, parts integration, optimization solutions, and after-sales support services. In addition, it provides supply chain and materials management solutions that include procurement, inventory planning and management, and warehouse management, as well as solutions for logistics, point-of-issue technology, project management, business process, and performance metrics reporting services. The company serves customers through a network of approximately 180 locations in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the energy industry, including drilling contractors, well-servicing companies, independent and national oil and gas companies, midstream operators, and refineries, as well as petrochemical, chemical, utilities, and other downstream energy processors; and industrial and manufacturing companies. NOW Inc. was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.