Formosa Plastics (TPE:1301) Earnings Power Value (EPV): NT$-6.02 (As of Mar26)


TPE:1301 Formosa Plastics Corp TPE:1301
63 GF Score
Price NT$53.20
GF Value NT$44.35
Valuation Modestly Overvalued
! 8 Warning Signs
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What is Formosa Plastics Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

Formosa Plastics TPE:1301 +1.92% 63 Earnings Power Value (EPV) is NT$-6.02 as of Mar26. GuruFocus rates TPE:1301 with a GF Score™ of 63/100 and a GF Value™ of NT$44.35 (Modestly Overvalued). The stock has 8 warning signs investors should review.

As of Mar26, Formosa Plastics's earnings power value is NT$-6.02. *

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

Margin of Safety is N/A.

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.


Formosa Plastics  (TPE:1301) 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.


Formosa Plastics Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms


Formosa Plastics Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Formosa Plastics'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.

Formosa Plastics Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

Formosa Plastics 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 37.84 28.67 13.80 -4.17 -3.41

Formosa Plastics 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 -5.32 -7.27 -7.20 -3.41 -6.02

TPE:1301 vs LIN, SHW, ECL: Earnings Power Value (EPV) Comparison

For the Specialty Chemicals subindustry, Formosa Plastics'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.


Formosa Plastics Earnings Power Value (EPV) vs Chemicals Industry

For the Chemicals industry and Basic Materials sector, Formosa Plastics's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

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


TPE:1301
63GF Score
Formosa Plastics Corp TPE:1301
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
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Formosa Plastics 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.

Formosa Plastics's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 20 Quarters Last Quarter
Revenue 216,244
DDA 8,998
Operating Margin % 3.25
SGA * 25% 3,201
Tax Rate % 15.78
Maintenance Capex 12,948
Cash and Cash Equivalents 133,179
Short-Term Debt 67,197
Long-Term Debt 64,028
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 6,366

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 = 3.25%

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 = NT$216,244 Mil, Average Operating Margin = 3.25%, Average Adjusted SGA = 3,201,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 216,244 * 3.25% +3,201 = NT$10224.801608032 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 = 15.78%, and "Normalized" EBIT = NT$10224.801608032 Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = 10224.801608032 * ( 1 - 15.78% ) = NT$8610.8677982122 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) = 8,998 * 0.5 * 15.78% = NT$710.146706985 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = 8610.8677982122 + 710.146706985 = NT$9321.0145051972 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.
Formosa Plastics's Average Maintenance CAPEX = NT$12,948 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. Formosa Plastics's current cash and cash equivalent = NT$133,179 Mil.
Formosa Plastics's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 64,028 + 67,197 = NT$131224.84 Mil.
Formosa Plastics's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 6,366 Mil.

Formosa Plastics's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Mar26 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 9321.0145051972 - 12,948)/ 9%+133,179-131224.84 )/6,366
=-6.02

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( -6.0245239197276-53.20 )/-6.0245239197276
= N/A

* 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 NT$-6.02 mean?
Formosa Plastics (TPE:1301) has a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of NT$-6.02 as of Mar26. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Formosa Plastics and its competitors.
Is Formosa Plastics' Earnings Power Value (EPV) too high?
Formosa Plastics' current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is NT$-6.02. Overall, Formosa Plastics has a GF Score™ of 63/100 and is considered Modestly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Formosa Plastics' Earnings Power Value (EPV) compare to LIN and SHW?
Formosa Plastics' Earnings Power Value (EPV) of NT$-6.02 can be compared against companies in the Chemicals 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 Chemicals company?
A good Earnings Power Value (EPV) depends on the Chemicals 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 Formosa Plastics and its competitors. Formosa Plastics's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is NT$-6.02. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Formosa Plastics stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Formosa Plastics (TPE:1301) is currently considered Modestly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is NT$44.35, compared to a current price of NT$53.20 — trading 20% above its estimated fair value. The current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is NT$-6.02. Formosa Plastics' overall GF Score™ is 63/100 with 8 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 Formosa Plastics (TPE:1301), the current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is NT$-6.02 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 Formosa Plastics (TPE:1301) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Formosa Plastics stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of NT$53.20 is trading 20% above its estimated GF Value™ of NT$44.35. GuruFocus considers Formosa Plastics to be Modestly Overvalued.

Key valuation signals for TPE:1301:

  • Earnings Power Value (EPV): NT$-6.02
  • GF Value™: NT$44.35 vs. price of NT$53.20 (20% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 63/100 with 8 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the TPE:1301 stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Formosa Plastics Business Description

Address No. 100, Shuiguan Road, Renwu District, Kaohsiung, TWN, 814
Formosa Plastics Corp is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells plastic-based products, chemical fibers, and petrochemicals. The company operates in five reportable segments: Plastics Division, Polyolefins Division, Polypropylene Division, Tairylan Division, and Chemical Division. The majority of revenue is derived from the Plastic division. Geographically, the company operates in Taiwan, mainland China, and other countries, with the maximum revenue generated from Taiwan.
63GF Score

Get the complete analysis for TPE:1301

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

NT$53.20
Price
NT$44.35
GF Value