Star Equity Holdings (FRA:HDH1) Earnings Power Value (EPV): €33.05 (As of Mar26)

Author: Vera Yuan Vera Yuan
Vera Yuan
Vera Yuan
Director of Data and Quant Analytics at GuruFocus
Focused on building reliable datasets, financial models, and research tools for value-minded investors. Committed to turning complex data into practical guidance for value-investing and long-term wealth.
Reviewed by: Charlie Tian Charlie Tian
Charlie Tian
Charlie Tian
Founder & CEO of GuruFocus
Dr. Charlie Tian is the founder and CEO of GuruFocus.com, a leading global investment research platform established in 2004. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Tian transitioned from science to finance, applying a data-driven, disciplined approach to value investing.

FRA:HDH1 Star Equity Holdings Inc FRA:HDH1
55 GF Score
Price €9.00
GF Value €13.53
! 6 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Star Equity Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

Star Equity Holdings FRA:HDH1 +0.56% 55 Earnings Power Value (EPV) is €33.05 as of Mar26. GuruFocus rates FRA:HDH1 with a GF Score™ of 55/100 and a GF Value™ of €13.53. The stock has 6 warning signs investors should review.

As of Mar26, Star Equity Holdings's earnings power value is €33.05. *

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

Margin of Safety is 72.77

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.


Star Equity Holdings  (FRA:HDH1) 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.


Star Equity Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms


Star Equity Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Star Equity Holdings'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.

Star Equity Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

Star Equity Holdings Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Earnings Power Value (EPV)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 39.16 63.87 42.35 44.10 32.94

Star Equity Holdings Quarterly Data
Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 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 47.39 44.50 37.28 32.94 31.10

FRA:HDH1 vs ATVK, PLAG, BBXIA: Earnings Power Value (EPV) Comparison

For the Conglomerates subindustry, Star Equity Holdings'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.


Star Equity Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) vs Conglomerates Industry

For the Conglomerates industry and Industrials sector, Star Equity Holdings's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Star Equity Holdings's Earnings Power Value (EPV) falls into.


FRA:HDH1
55GF Score
Star Equity Holdings Inc FRA:HDH1
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Star Equity Holdings 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.

Star Equity Holdings's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 20 Quarters Last Quarter
Revenue 155.8
DDA 1.4
Operating Margin % 0.04
SGA * 25% 18.0
Tax Rate % 29.53
Maintenance Capex 0.6
Cash and Cash Equivalents 10.6
Short-Term Debt 6.5
Long-Term Debt 16.6
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 3.7

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 = 0.04%

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 = €155.8 Mil, Average Operating Margin = 0.04%, Average Adjusted SGA = 18.0,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 155.8 * 0.04% +18.0 = €18.032521775 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 = 29.53%, and "Normalized" EBIT = €18.032521775 Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = 18.032521775 * ( 1 - 29.53% ) = €12.707247607016 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) = 1.4 * 0.5 * 29.53% = €0.205716429 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = 12.707247607016 + 0.205716429 = €12.912964036016 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.
Star Equity Holdings's Average Maintenance CAPEX = €0.6 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. Star Equity Holdings's current cash and cash equivalent = €10.6 Mil.
Star Equity Holdings's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 16.6 + 6.5 = €23.136 Mil.
Star Equity Holdings's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 3.7 Mil.

Star Equity Holdings's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Mar26 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 12.912964036016 - 0.6)/ 9%+10.6-23.136 )/3.7
=33.05

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( 33.051590800142-9.00 )/33.051590800142
= 72.77%

* 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 €33.05 mean?
Star Equity Holdings (FRA:HDH1) has a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of €33.05 as of Mar26. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Star Equity Holdings and its competitors.
Is Star Equity Holdings' Earnings Power Value (EPV) too high?
Star Equity Holdings' current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is €33.05. Overall, Star Equity Holdings has a GF Score™ of 55/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Star Equity Holdings' Earnings Power Value (EPV) compare to ATVK and PLAG?
Star Equity Holdings' Earnings Power Value (EPV) of €33.05 can be compared against companies in the Conglomerates 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 Conglomerates company?
A good Earnings Power Value (EPV) depends on the Conglomerates 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 Star Equity Holdings and its competitors. Star Equity Holdings's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is €33.05. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Star Equity Holdings stock overvalued right now?
Star Equity Holdings (FRA:HDH1) has a current Earnings Power Value (EPV) of €33.05. The stock's GF Value™ is €13.53, compared to a current price of €9.00 — trading 33.5% below its estimated fair value. The current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is €33.05. Star Equity Holdings' overall GF Score™ is 55/100 with 6 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 Star Equity Holdings (FRA:HDH1), the current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is €33.05 as of Mar26. 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 Star Equity Holdings (FRA:HDH1) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Star Equity Holdings stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of €9.00 is trading 33.5% below its estimated GF Value™ of €13.53.

Key valuation signals for FRA:HDH1:

  • Earnings Power Value (EPV): €33.05
  • GF Value™: €13.53 vs. price of €9.00 (33.5% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 55/100 with 6 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the FRA:HDH1 stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Star Equity Holdings Business Description

Other Exchanges STRR:USA
Address 53 Forest Avenue, Suite 101, Old Greenwich, CT, USA, 06870
Star Equity Holdings Inc is a diversified multi-industry holding company operating through four reportable segments: Building Solutions, Business Services, Energy Services, and Investments. The company derives majority of the revenue from Business Services segment that provides customized recruitment and contracting solutions to mid-to-large multinational companies. Service offerings include Recruitment Process Outsourcing, project-based RPO, contingent workforce solutions, recruitment consulting, outsourced professional contract staffing, and managed service provider services.
55GF Score

Get the complete analysis for FRA:HDH1

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

€9.00
Price
€13.53
GF Value