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Forensic Analysis · Paper & Forest Products · as of Nov 9, 2026

Avery Dennison Corp (AVY)

A forensic read on Avery Dennison Corp built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

A · High-quality compounder
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
3.4
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
2
Forensic signals
30.2%
ROE
1.1%
Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Avery Dennison Corp earns an A (High-quality compounder) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 3.4, placing it in the Safe zone. 2 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.

What the filings flag

121% of FCF
FY2025
Shareholder returns. Returned $861M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 121% of free cash flow. That is $148M (21%) more than free cash flow covered. The balance sheet covered it: cash fell $126M and total debt rose $581M over FY2025. A payout past free cash flow draws the balance sheet down in every year it continues, which isn't sustainable indefinitely. Counting the $28M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 125%.
12.9%
FY2025
Return on invested capital. Return on invested capital is 12.9% in the latest fiscal year and rising across FY2023–FY2025 from 10.0%. After-tax operating profit was $589M in FY2023 and $789M in FY2025. The capital base behind it went from $5.9B in FY2023 to $6.1B in FY2025 (+4%), while the revenue it carried went from $8.4B to $8.9B.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$8.86B
Revenue Growth YoY+1.1%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+2.9%
Net Margin7.8%
Free Cash Flow$712.4M
Return on Equity30.2%
Debt / Equity1.66x

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Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 9, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

See a wrong number? Report an error with the filing it should match.