Forensic Analysis · Industrials / Manufacturing / Defense · as of Jun 27, 2026
Azenta, Inc. (AZTA)
A forensic read on Azenta, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
C · Mixed — selective
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
9.1
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
5
Forensic signals
-10.7%
ROE
$1.2B
Market cap
Azenta, Inc. earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 9.1, placing it in the Safe zone. 5 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
-1%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -1% and steady — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
4% of revStock-based comp load.Stock-based compensation ran 4% of revenue and 54% of free cash flow in FY2025 — about $0.45 per diluted share. Heavy — a large slice of 'free cash flow' is really being paid out in stock, so the true owner cash per share is well below the headline.
stoppedShareholder returns — halted.Capital returns have STOPPED — $662M of buybacks + dividends in FY2024, but ~$0 in FY2025. A halt usually means the company is conserving cash; understand why before reading it as neutral.
suspendedDividend — suspended.The dividend has been SUSPENDED — $7M paid in FY2022, then $0 in FY2024. A suspension is a major signal the board is conserving cash; the prior payment history doesn't offset it.
$111MGoodwill impairments.Took $111M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year(s) (FY2024 ($111M)). Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them — worth weighing on capital-allocation skill.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-9.4%
Debt / Equity0.03x
Free Cash Flow$38.3M
Latest Revenue$593.8M
Return on Equity-3.2%
Revenue Growth YoY+3.6%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on Azenta, Inc.:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about AZTA's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown