CMPGY (Compass Group) Earnings Power Value (EPV): $4.88 (As of Sep25)


CMPGY Compass Group PLC CMPGY
87 GF Score
Price $33.31
GF Value $30.34
Valuation Fairly Valued
! 4 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Compass Group Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

Compass Group CMPGY +4.00% 87 Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $4.88 as of Sep25. GuruFocus rates CMPGY with a GF Score™ of 87/100 and a GF Value™ of $30.34 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review.

As of Sep25, Compass Group's earnings power value is $4.88. *

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

Margin of Safety is -583.08

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future. Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.


Compass Group  (OTCPK:CMPGY) Earnings Power Value (EPV) Explanation

Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.

Earnings power value (EPV) uses a very basic equation which assumes no growth, although it does rely on an assumption about the cost of capital as well as the fact that current earnings are sustainable. It also involves several adjustments to clean up the underlying Earnings figures.


Be Aware

Though using today's earnings in calculating Earnings Power Value, GuruFocus is normalizing these earnings to the business cycle. This eliminates the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle. This means that we are considering the average earnings over 5 years.


Compass Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms


Compass Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Compass Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Compass Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

Compass Group Annual Data
Trend Sep16 Sep17 Sep18 Sep19 Sep20 Sep21 Sep22 Sep23 Sep24 Sep25
Earnings Power Value (EPV)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 3.04 3.00 3.87 4.10 6.63

Compass Group Semi-Annual Data
Sep16 Mar17 Sep17 Mar18 Sep18 Mar19 Sep19 Mar20 Sep20 Mar21 Sep21 Mar22 Sep22 Mar23 Sep23 Mar24 Sep24 Mar25 Sep25 Mar26
Earnings Power Value (EPV) Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.00 4.10 0.00 6.63 0.00

CMPGY vs MCD, SBUX, YUM: Earnings Power Value (EPV) Comparison

For the Restaurants subindustry, Compass Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV), along with its competitors' market caps and Earnings Power Value (EPV) data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Compass Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) vs Restaurants Industry

For the Restaurants industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Compass Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Compass Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) falls into.


CMPGY
87GF Score
Compass Group PLC CMPGY
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Compass Group Earnings Power Value (EPV) Calculation

Earnings Power Value also known as just Earnings Power is a valuation technique popularised by Bruce Greenwald, an authority on value investing at Columbia University. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future.

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. This valuation tool excludes the potential growth that a company may have so that needs to be looked at separately. Since future growth is excluded from the analysis, only the maintenance capital expenditures are subtracted from after-tax EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) and growth capex is ignored.

Compass Group's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 5 Years Last Year
Revenue 35,703
DDA 699
Operating Margin % 6.31
SGA * 25% 2
Tax Rate % 26.01
Maintenance Capex 435
Cash and Cash Equivalents 575
Short-Term Debt 1,381
Long-Term Debt 5,611
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 1,699

1. Start with "Earnings" not including accounting adjustments (one-time charges not excluded unless policy has changed). "Earnings" are "Operating Income.

2. Look at average margins over a business/Industry cycle: Average Operating Margin = 6.31%

To normalize margins and eliminate the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle, it is usually best to take a long-term average of operating margins. Ideally this would be as long as 10 years and include at least one economic downturn. However, since most of companies do not have as long as 10-year history, here GuruFocus uses the latest 5 years data to do the calculation. To smooth out unusual years but reflect recent developments, we take an average of the 5 year margin.

3. Multiply average margins by sustainable revenues and then adjust for maintenance SGA. This yields "normalized" EBIT:

To be conservative, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year revenues as the sustainable revenue.
EPV analysis recognises that part of SG&A expenditure is made to maintain and replace the existing assets, while part is made to grow sales. Since EPV is only interested in what it costs a going concern to maintain its existing asset base, it adds back a percentage of SG&A (between 15% and 50% - this is a matter of judgment and industry knowledge) to make up for the fact that some of this expenditure went to fund growth and shouldn't be accounted for. To start off, we assume 25% for the sake of prudence.
Sustainable Revenue = $35,703 Mil, Average Operating Margin = 6.31%, Average Adjusted SGA = 2,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 35,703 * 6.31% +2 = $2253.318256828 Mil.

4. Multiply by one minus Average Tax Rate (NOPAT):

Same as average operating margin calculation, GuruFocus takes an average of the 5 years tax rates.
Average Tax Rate = 26.01%, and "Normalized" EBIT = $2253.318256828 Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = 2253.318256828 * ( 1 - 26.01% ) = $1667.1851118619 Mil.

5. Add back Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate). This yields "normalized" Earnings:

Excess Depreciation = Average DDA * % of Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate) = 699 * 0.5 * 26.01% = $90.870893064 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = 1667.1851118619 + 90.870893064 = $1758.0560049259 Mil.

6. Adjusted for Maintenance Capital Expenditure:

First, calculate the revenue change regarding to the previous year. If the revenue decreased from the previous year, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
Second, if the revenue increased from the previous year, then calculate the percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue.
Third, calculate Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was negative, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was positive, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
Fourth, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year maintenance capital expenditures as maintenance CAPEX.
Compass Group's Average Maintenance CAPEX = $435 Mil *.
* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

7. Investors require a return of "WACC" for the risk they are taking: WACC = 9%

8. Compass Group's current cash and cash equivalent = $575 Mil.
Compass Group's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 5,611 + 1,381 = $6992 Mil.
Compass Group's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 1,699 Mil.

Compass Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Sep25 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 1758.0560049259 - 435)/ 9%+575-6992 )/1,699
=4.88

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( 4.8764371520888-33.31 )/4.8764371520888
= -583.08%

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

What does a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $4.88 mean?
Compass Group (CMPGY) has a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $4.88 as of Sep25. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Compass Group and its competitors.
Is Compass Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) too high?
Compass Group's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $4.88. Overall, Compass Group has a GF Score™ of 87/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Compass Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) compare to MCD and SBUX?
Compass Group's Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $4.88 can be compared against companies in the Restaurants industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Earnings Power Value (EPV) for a Restaurants company?
A good Earnings Power Value (EPV) depends on the Restaurants industry context. However, Earnings Power Value (EPV) should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Earnings Power Value (EPV) mean?
A high Earnings Power Value (EPV) can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Compass Group and its competitors. Compass Group's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $4.88. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Compass Group stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Compass Group (CMPGY) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is $30.34, compared to a current price of $33.31 — trading 9.8% above its estimated fair value. The current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $4.88. Compass Group's overall GF Score™ is 87/100 with 4 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Earnings Power Value (EPV) calculated?
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Compass Group (CMPGY), the current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $4.88 as of Sep25. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Compass Group (CMPGY) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Compass Group stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of $33.31 is trading 9.8% above its estimated GF Value™ of $30.34. GuruFocus considers Compass Group to be Fairly Valued.

Key valuation signals for CMPGY:

  • Earnings Power Value (EPV): $4.88
  • GF Value™: $30.34 vs. price of $33.31 (9.8% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 87/100 with 4 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the CMPGY stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Compass Group Business Description

Address Guildford Street, Compass House, Chertsey, Surrey, GBR, KT16 9BQ
Compass Group is the largest foodservice company globally, operating in 30 countries and generating annual sales exceeding $30 billion. Compass' model is to operate on-premises catering facilities, rather than centralized industrial kitchens. Foodservice is Compass' focus and contributes more than 85% of revenue. Compass also has its own group purchasing organization, Foodbuy, which is responsible for over $30 billion in annual spending in the US. The company also provides premium support services to clients.
87GF Score

Get the complete analysis for CMPGY

Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$33.31
Price
$30.34
GF Value