DCI (Donaldson Co) Earnings Power Value (EPV): $37.89 (As of Apr26)


DCI Donaldson Co Inc DCI
94 GF Score
Price $88.63
GF Value $81.11
Valuation Fairly Valued
! 1 Warning Sign
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What is Donaldson Co Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

Donaldson Co DCI +2.97% 94 Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $37.89 as of Apr26. GuruFocus rates DCI with a GF Score™ of 94/100 and a GF Value™ of $81.11 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 1 warning sign investors should review.

As of Apr26, Donaldson Co's earnings power value is $37.89. *

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

Margin of Safety is -133.9

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.


Donaldson Co  (NYSE:DCI) 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.


Donaldson Co Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms


Donaldson Co Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Donaldson Co'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.

Donaldson Co Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

Donaldson Co Annual Data
Trend Jul16 Jul17 Jul18 Jul19 Jul20 Jul21 Jul22 Jul23 Jul24 Jul25
Earnings Power Value (EPV)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 13.09 15.62 19.95 27.52 33.41

Donaldson Co Quarterly Data
Jul21 Oct21 Jan22 Apr22 Jul22 Oct22 Jan23 Apr23 Jul23 Oct23 Jan24 Apr24 Jul24 Oct24 Jan25 Apr25 Jul25 Oct25 Jan26 Apr26
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 30.69 33.41 35.05 35.99 37.89

DCI vs FLS, GTLS, WTS: Earnings Power Value (EPV) Comparison

For the Specialty Industrial Machinery subindustry, Donaldson Co'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.


Donaldson Co Earnings Power Value (EPV) vs Industrial Products Industry

For the Industrial Products industry and Industrials sector, Donaldson Co's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

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


DCI
94GF Score
Donaldson Co Inc DCI
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
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Donaldson Co 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.

Donaldson Co's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 20 Quarters Last Quarter
Revenue 3,523
DDA 96
Operating Margin % 14.44
SGA * 25% 146
Tax Rate % 23.98
Maintenance Capex 70
Cash and Cash Equivalents 204
Short-Term Debt 17
Long-Term Debt 592
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 118

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 = 14.44%

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 = $3,523 Mil, Average Operating Margin = 14.44%, Average Adjusted SGA = 146,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 3,523 * 14.44% +146 = $655.0446035 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 = 23.98%, and "Normalized" EBIT = $655.0446035 Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = 655.0446035 * ( 1 - 23.98% ) = $497.97473324975 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) = 96 * 0.5 * 23.98% = $11.55523915 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = 497.97473324975 + 11.55523915 = $509.52997239975 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.
Donaldson Co's Average Maintenance CAPEX = $70 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. Donaldson Co's current cash and cash equivalent = $204 Mil.
Donaldson Co's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 592 + 17 = $608.3 Mil.
Donaldson Co's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 118 Mil.

Donaldson Co's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Apr26 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 509.52997239975 - 70)/ 9%+204-608.3 )/118
=37.89

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( 37.891680534364-88.63 )/37.891680534364
= -133.9%

* 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 $37.89 mean?
Donaldson Co (DCI) has a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $37.89 as of Apr26. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Donaldson Co and its competitors.
Is Donaldson Co's Earnings Power Value (EPV) too high?
Donaldson Co's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $37.89. Overall, Donaldson Co has a GF Score™ of 94/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Donaldson Co's Earnings Power Value (EPV) compare to FLS and GTLS?
Donaldson Co's Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $37.89 can be compared against companies in the Industrial Products 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 an Industrial Products company?
A good Earnings Power Value (EPV) depends on the Industrial Products 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 Donaldson Co and its competitors. Donaldson Co's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $37.89. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Donaldson Co stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Donaldson Co (DCI) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is $81.11, compared to a current price of $88.63 — trading 9.3% above its estimated fair value. The current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $37.89. Donaldson Co's overall GF Score™ is 94/100 with 1 warning sign 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 Donaldson Co (DCI), the current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $37.89 as of Apr26. 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 Donaldson Co (DCI) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Donaldson Co stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of $88.63 is trading 9.3% above its estimated GF Value™ of $81.11. GuruFocus considers Donaldson Co to be Fairly Valued.

Key valuation signals for DCI:

  • Earnings Power Value (EPV): $37.89
  • GF Value™: $81.11 vs. price of $88.63 (9.3% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 94/100 with 1 warning sign

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


Donaldson Co Business Description

Other Exchanges DNZ:Germany
Address 1400 West 94th Street, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 55431
Donaldson is a leading manufacturer of filtration systems and replacement parts, including air filtration systems, liquid filtration systems, and dust, fume, and mist collectors. The company serves a diverse range of end markets, including construction, mining, agriculture, truck, and industrial. Its business is organized into three segments: mobile solutions, industrial solutions, and life sciences. Donaldson generated approximately $3.7 billion in revenue in its fiscal 2025.
94GF Score

Get the complete analysis for DCI

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

$88.63
Price
$81.11
GF Value