Forensic Analysis · Industrials / Manufacturing / Defense · as of Jun 27, 2026
WESTLAKE CORP (WLK)
A forensic read on WESTLAKE CORP 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
2.9
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
3
Forensic signals
-17.7%
ROE
$9.8B
Market cap
1.85%
Dividend yield
WESTLAKE CORP earns a C (Mixed — selective) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 2.9, 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
-8%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -8% and slipping from 15% — well below its ~9% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
-0.2%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed -0% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (-0.2%/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.
$855MGoodwill impairments.Took $855M of goodwill writedowns across 2 year(s) (FY2023 ($128M), FY2025 ($727M)). Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them — worth weighing on capital-allocation skill.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-13.5%
Debt / Equity0.64x
Free Cash Flow$-530.0M
Latest Revenue$11.17B
Return on Equity-17.2%
Revenue Growth YoY-8.0%
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 WESTLAKE CORP:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about WLK'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