Forensic Analysis · Energy / Oil & Gas · as of Aug 11, 2026
Valaris Ltd (VAL)
A forensic read on Valaris Ltd built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
D · Weak — demands caution
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
5.7
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
4
Forensic signals
5.3
P / E (ttm)
31.0%
ROE
$5.9B
Market cap
0.3%
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 (red flags, auditor quality, say on pay, board independence). 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.
Valaris Ltd earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 5.7, placing it in the Safe zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by cash conversion.
What the filings flag
0.53×
FY2023–FY2025
Cash conversion.Over FY2023–FY2025, operating cash flow was 0.53× cumulative net income. Reported profit is not turning into cash. The shortfall is profit tied up in working capital rather than collected — the accrual and receivables lines below show where.
+21.1%
FY2024→FY2025
Accruals ratio (% of NOA).Net operating assets grew +21.1% relative to their own average in FY2025 — scaled by NOA itself, not total assets (see the Forensic Screens card's differently-scaled Sloan Accrual Ratio for that read). Accruals are building sharply — a large slice of profit sits in operating assets, not cash; Richardson/Sloan link high accruals to weaker future returns as they reverse. The build is led by PP&E up +8% against revenue +0%. This is the third straight fiscal year of building accruals — a multi-year streak is a materially stronger tell than a single year's move. The cash-flow cross-check agrees: reported earnings ran ahead of operating cash by 13% of net operating assets.
suspended
FY2019→FY2020
Dividend — suspended.The dividend has been SUSPENDED — $4M paid in FY2019, then $0 in FY2020. A suspension is a major signal the board is conserving cash; the prior payment history doesn't offset it.
10.7%
FY2025
Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is 10.7% in the latest fiscal year and rising from 2% — a modest positive spread over its ~8% cost of capital — growth adds value, though not dramatically.
Key fundamentals
Latest Revenue$2.37B
Revenue Growth YoY+0.3%
Revenue CAGR (3yr)+13.9%
Net Margin41.5%
Free Cash Flow$202.7M
Return on Equity31.0%
Debt / Equity0.34x
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 Valaris Ltd's actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?