Forensic Analysis · General / Diversified · as of Nov 9, 2026
Dole PLC (DOLE)
A forensic read on Dole PLC 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
Grey Zone
Financial health
1.7
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
3.9%
ROE
8.2%
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.
Dole PLC earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 1.7, placing it in the Grey zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
5.4%
FY2025
Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 5.4% in the latest fiscal year and slipping across FY2023–FY2025 from 7.7%. After-tax operating profit was $215M in FY2023 and $145M in FY2025, with operating income at 3.3% of revenue in FY2023, 3.3% in FY2024 and 2.4% in FY2025. The capital base behind it went from $2.8B in FY2023 to $2.7B in FY2025 (-5%), while the revenue it carried went from $8.2B to $9.2B.
$37M
FY2024
Goodwill impairments.Took $37M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2024 ($37M)) — about 29% of net income over the span. A large writedown means an acquisition turned out worth far less than was paid — a real mark against M&A discipline.
1847% of FCF
FY2025
Shareholder returns.Returned $32M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 1847% of free cash flow, but 26% of operating cash flow. Returns run ahead of free cash flow because the business is also funding heavy growth capex (usually debt-financed); the payout itself is covered by operating cash — sustainable as long as that spending is genuine expansion, not upkeep. Counting the $7M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 2248%.
Key fundamentals
Latest Revenue$9.17B
Revenue Growth YoY+8.2%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+5.5%
Net Margin0.6%
Free Cash Flow$1.7M
Return on Equity3.9%
Debt / Equity0.63x
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. Want the AI investment read on top — the 0–100 rating, thesis, bull-vs-bear, red flags and the 12-month scenario, written from Dole PLC's actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?