Value Line Inc. Common Stock (VALU)

FairStock Score: 55/100 — STEADY

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I look for businesses with durable economics and a price that leaves room for error. Value Line is a 106-employee publisher of investment research, an asset-light model that produced $21.6 million of net income on $33.4 million of revenue in FY2026, ended 2026-04-30. That is a remarkable margin. The balance sheet is fortress-like: debt to equity is only 0.02, the Altman Z-Score is 7.47, and the Piotroski F-Score is a perfect 9/9. Free cash flow over the trailing twelve months was $17.7 million, a 4.3% FCF yield, and the dividend yields 3.41%. Those are real strengths. But Graham would ask what we are paying for. As of the 2026-10-13 close, the stock is $44.25, market cap $415.2 million, P/E 20.97, P/B 3.85, and EV/EBITDA 82.75. The Graham Number is $23.50, so the price is far above a conservative asset-based estimate. More troubling, the business is shrinking. Revenue fell from $37.5 million in FY2024 to $35.1 million in FY2025 to $33.4 million in FY2026. In fiscal Q1 2027, the quarter ended 2026-07-31, revenue was $8.1 million, net income $4.7 million, and diluted EPS $0.50, versus revenue $8.6 million, net income $6.5 million, and diluted EPS $0.69 in fiscal Q1 2026, ended 2025-07-31. The computed Lynch category is a slow grower that is shrinking, with five-year profit down 1.5% a year and revenue down 3.7%. ROE is 18.68%, but ROCE is only 1.48%, suggesting limited returns on capital employed. This is a high-quality niche franchise with low debt and high margins, but the price already assumes stability that the reported numbers have not delivered. I would want evidence of revenue and profit stabilization before calling it a bargain. FairStock Score 55/100 seems fair.

In plain English: Value Line sells investment research publications and data, mostly to individual and professional investors. The business still makes a lot of profit and has almost no debt, but sales have been slipping and the latest quarter showed lower revenue and profit than a year earlier. At the recent price, the shares look expensive compared with the company's earnings and the value of its net assets.

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Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q1 2027 10-Q (period ended 2026-07-31) · fiscal Q3 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-01-31) · fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2025-10-31) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2025-07-31) · FY2026 10-K (period ended 2026-04-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-04-30) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-04-30)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer