Forensic Analysis · Nondurable-Goods Wholesale · as of Nov 9, 2026
Universal Corp /Va/ (UVV)
A forensic read on Universal Corp /Va/ 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
6.2
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
2.3%
ROE
-1.3%
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.
Universal Corp /Va/ earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 6.2, placing it in the Safe zone. 3 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
5.3%
FY2026
Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 5.3% in the latest fiscal year and slipping across FY2024–FY2026 from 8.3%. After-tax operating profit was $180M in FY2024 and $109M in FY2026, with operating income at 8.2% of revenue in FY2024, 8.0% in FY2025 and 5.8% in FY2026. The capital base behind it went from $2.2B in FY2024 to $2.1B in FY2026 (-5%), while the revenue it carried went from $2.7B to $2.9B. FY2026's operating profit carried a $41M goodwill write-off, a $2M restructuring charge and a $1M asset write-down that alone took about 1.4 points off that year's return, so about 1.4 of the 3.0-point fall across FY2024–FY2026 is that charge landing in the latest year rather than the capital earning less. A non-cash write-down lowers the reported return in the year it lands.
$41M
FY2026
Goodwill impairments.Took $41M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2026 ($41M)) — about 126% 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.
101% of FCF
FY2026
Shareholder returns.Returned $81M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2026 — 101% of free cash flow. That is $1M (1.3%) more than free cash flow covered. It came out of the balance sheet's own liquid holdings, not new debt: cash fell $198M over FY2026, while total debt fell $1M. That ratio has been CLIMBING past free cash flow — 30% of free cash flow the year before — not just sitting there. Counting the $7M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 110%.
Key fundamentals
Latest Revenue$2.89B
Revenue Growth YoY-1.3%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)+3.0%
Net Margin1.1%
Free Cash Flow$80.3M
Return on Equity2.3%
Debt / Equity0.44x
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 Universal Corp /Va/'s actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?