Forensic Analysis · Packaged Foods · as of Nov 8, 2026
Mondelez International, Inc. (MDLZ)
A forensic read on Mondelez International, Inc. 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
Grey Zone
Financial health
1.8
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
2
Forensic signals
9.3%
ROE
5.8%
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.
Mondelez International, Inc. earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 1.8, placing it in the Grey zone. 2 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, against 8.0% in FY2023, having run between 5.4% and 9.8% across FY2023–FY2025 with no direction held. After-tax operating profit was $4.1B in FY2023 and $2.6B in FY2025, with operating income at 15.3% of revenue in FY2023, 17.4% in FY2024 and 9.2% in FY2025. The capital base behind it went from $51.0B in FY2023 to $48.9B in FY2025 (-4%), while the revenue it carried went from $36.0B to $38.5B.
151% of FCF
FY2025
Shareholder returns.Returned $4.9B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 151% of free cash flow. That is $1.6B (51%) more than free cash flow covered, and more than operating cash flow as well. New debt covered part of it: total debt rose $839M over FY2025, while cash rose $774M — $65M of the $1.6B. The FY2025 cash-flow statement filed $1.6B of debt issued against $2.1B repaid; $94M from shares issued; $9M from sales of property and equipment; net cash used in investing activities of $1.2B; net cash used in financing activities of $2.8B. A payout past free cash flow draws the balance sheet down in every year it continues, which isn't sustainable indefinitely. Counting the $114M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 154%.
Key fundamentals
Latest Revenue$38.54B
Revenue Growth YoY+5.8%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+3.4%
Net Margin6.4%
Free Cash Flow$3.23B
Return on Equity9.3%
Debt / Equity0.72x
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 Mondelez International, Inc.'s actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?