Forensic Analysis · General / Diversified · as of Jun 27, 2026
SunCoke Energy, Inc. (SXC)
A forensic read on SunCoke Energy, 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
Grey Zone
Financial health
1.4
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
6
Forensic signals
-10.3%
ROE
$712M
Market cap
5.73%
Dividend yield
SunCoke Energy, Inc. earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 1.4, placing it in the Grey zone. 6 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by inventory days.
What the filings flag
44dInventory days.Days inventory outstanding moved from 34 to 44 FY2024→FY2025 (against revenue (COGS not disclosed); inventory +22% vs -5% in revenue). Inventory is outrunning what's being sold — a flag for softening demand or obsolescence risk ahead.
-2%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -2% and slipping from 10% — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
$74MGoodwill impairments.Took $74M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year(s) (FY2019 ($74M)) — about 70% 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.
+18.7%Accruals ratio.Net operating assets grew +18.7% relative to their average in FY2025 — the accrual component of earnings. Accruals are building faster than is comfortable — part of profit sits in receivables, inventory or capitalized costs rather than cash. The cash-flow cross-check agrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by -14% of net operating assets.
+0.4%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +1% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (+0.4%/yr). Roughly flat — buybacks are about offsetting stock comp, not shrinking the count. Per-share value isn't being meaningfully helped or hurt by the count.
98% of FCFShareholder returns.Returned $41M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 98% of free cash flow. Right at the limit of what free cash flow covers — little room before it's funded by debt or the balance sheet.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-2.4%
Debt / Equity1.15x
Free Cash Flow$42.3M
Latest Revenue$1.84B
Return on Equity-7.4%
Revenue Growth YoY-5.1%
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 SunCoke Energy, Inc.:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about SXC'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