Forensic Analysis · Primary Metals & Steel · as of Nov 9, 2026

Worthington Steel, Inc. (WS)

A forensic read on Worthington Steel, 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

2.4

Distress distance

Clean

Earnings quality

Forensic signals

0.8%

ROE

11.3%

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.

Worthington Steel, Inc. earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 2.4, 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

-0.1%

FY2026

Return on invested capital. Return on invested capital is -0.1% in the latest fiscal year and slipping across FY2024–FY2026 from 12.7%. After-tax operating profit was $153M in FY2024 and ($910,000) in FY2026, with operating income at 5.7% of revenue in FY2024, 4.8% in FY2025 and 0.0% in FY2026. The capital base behind it grew +12% across FY2024–FY2026, from $1.2B to $1.4B, while the return fell 12.8 points, so the dollars added over that window earned less than the 12.7% the older base was already earning. FY2026's operating profit carried a $114M asset write-down and a $54M goodwill write-off that alone took about 8.1 points off that year's return, so about 8.1 of the 12.8-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.

$54M

FY2026

Goodwill impairments. Took $54M of goodwill writedowns across 1 year (FY2026 ($54M)) — about 633% 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.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$3.44B

Revenue Growth YoY+11.3%

Revenue CAGR (2yr)+0.2%

Net Margin0.2%

Free Cash Flow$80.0M

Return on Equity0.8%

Debt / Equity0.24x

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 Worthington Steel, Inc.'s actual 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings?

Generate the AI investment read →

No credit card · informational only, not investment advice · see the track record

← Browse all forensic stock analyses

Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 9, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

See a wrong number? Report an error with the filing it should match.