Forensic Analysis · Household Appliances · as of Nov 11, 2026
Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co (HBB)
A forensic read on Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
B · Sound & dependable
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
5.7
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
15.2%
ROE
-7.3%
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.
Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 5.7, placing it in the Safe zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.
What the filings flag
140% of FCF
FY2025
Shareholder returns.Returned $15M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 140% of free cash flow. That is $4M (40%) more than free cash flow covered, and more than operating cash flow as well. Over FY2025 cash rose $2M and total debt held, so neither line funded the gap. The FY2025 cash-flow statement filed net cash provided by investing activities of $2M; net cash used in financing activities of $15M. A payout past free cash flow draws the balance sheet down in every year it continues, which isn't sustainable indefinitely. Counting the $4M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 177%.
105d
FY2024→FY2025
Inventory days.Days inventory outstanding moved from 95 to 105 FY2024→FY2025 (against cost of goods sold; inventory +7% vs -7% in cost of sales). Inventory is building a little faster than sales — watch for markdowns.
12.3%
FY2025
Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 12.3% in the latest fiscal year, against 12.2% in FY2023, having run between 12.2% and 17.5% across FY2023–FY2025 with no direction held. After-tax operating profit was $28M in FY2023 and $27M in FY2025, with operating income at 5.6% of revenue in FY2023, 6.6% in FY2024 and 6.0% in FY2025. The capital base behind it went from $230M in FY2023 to $221M in FY2025 (-4%), while the revenue it carried went from $626M to $607M.
Key fundamentals
Latest Revenue$606.9M
Revenue Growth YoY-7.3%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)-1.5%
Net Margin4.4%
Free Cash Flow$11.0M
Return on Equity15.2%
Debt / Equity0.27x
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 Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co's actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?