One-glance verdict
Overvalued
$-36.59 our estimate vs market $30.23
Wall Street consensus: $42.00 (-214.8% lower than our fair-value estimate)
183% below our estimate, beyond the bull case
Fundamentals snapshot
Advantage Solutions Inc.
ADV · NMS · Communication Services · Advertising Agencies
Current price
$30.23
52-week range
$12.22 - $47.45
Market cap
$401.92M
Balance sheet
Distressed
0.12x Concerning
Net debt $1.44B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
2 Rewards
2 Risks
2 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 1.8% last year.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 8/10 years.
- Risk Return on equity was -50.8% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 2.2% to 0.8% over 3 years.
What this company does
Advantage Solutions Inc.
Advantage Solutions helps big brands and stores sell more products by doing their advertising, stocking shelves, and creating promotions, making money mostly from these services. This matters because they are like the behind-the-scenes engine that helps products get noticed and bought by shoppers.
How the company got here
Advantage Solutions Inc. was founded in 1987, initially focusing on providing sales and marketing services for consumer goods companies in Southern California. Over the years, it grew significantly through national expansion and by acquiring other companies. The company changed its name from Karman Holding Corp. to Advantage Solutions Inc. in March 2016. It has established itself as a key player in helping consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and retailers connect with shoppers.
What it actually does
Advantage Solutions acts as a behind-the-scenes partner for companies that make and sell products you see in stores. Think of them as a specialized service provider that helps these companies sell more of their goods. They offer a range of services, from making sure products are nicely displayed on store shelves to running in-store demonstrations and helping brands connect with shoppers both in physical stores and online. Essentially, they help bridge the gap between the companies that make products and the people who buy them.
Branded Services
This part of Advantage Solutions focuses on helping brands that make consumer goods, like your favorite snacks or cleaning supplies. They provide services such as sales representation to retailers, making sure products are visible and well-placed in stores, and developing marketing programs that reach shoppers both in physical stores and online. It's about making sure branded products stand out and get noticed by consumers.
Experiential Services
This segment is all about creating experiences to get people to try products and become loyal customers. Advantage Solutions organizes in-store and online sampling programs and demonstrations. Imagine tasting a new yogurt flavor in the grocery aisle or seeing a product demo online – that's often thanks to services like these. The goal is to encourage people to try a product, which can lead to them buying it and becoming repeat customers.
Retailer Services
This business line supports the retailers themselves, like grocery stores or pharmacies. Advantage Solutions helps retailers with things like managing their store layouts, developing their own store-brand products (like the store's version of a national brand), and creating advertising for them. They also assist with in-store updates and ensuring products are organized effectively on shelves, ultimately aiming to improve the shopping experience for customers and boost sales for the retailer.
What management is betting on now
Advantage Solutions' leadership is focused on growing the business by offering more services to their existing clients and improving how they execute their current offerings. They are also investing in technology to better connect with shoppers in both physical stores and online, recognizing that how people shop is constantly changing. The company aims to drive sales growth and strengthen customer relationships by focusing on measurable results from their marketing and sales efforts.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$8.69M
FY2024 Q4
$-33.87M
FY2025 Q1
$-54.73M
FY2025 Q2
$-10.22M
FY2025 Q3
$52.19M
FY2025 Q4
$23.45M
FY2026 Q1
$12.33M
FY2026 Q2
$-15.95M
Revenue
$889.45M
Net income
$-62.71M
Diluted EPS
-4.85
Operating cash flow
$-6.52M
Free cash flow
$-15.95M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$869.60M
Net income
$-71.83M
Diluted EPS
-5.49
Operating cash flow
$23.73M
Free cash flow
$12.33M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$932.13M
Net income
$-161.73M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$45.63M
Free cash flow
$23.45M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$915.01M
Net income
$20.57M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$63.63M
Free cash flow
$52.19M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$873.71M
Net income
$-30.44M
Diluted EPS
-2.35
Operating cash flow
$-8.10M
Free cash flow
$-10.22M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$821.79M
Net income
$-56.13M
Diluted EPS
-4.36
Operating cash flow
$-39.63M
Free cash flow
$-54.73M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$874.69M
Net income
$-178.04M
Diluted EPS
—
Operating cash flow
$8.65M
Free cash flow
$-33.87M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$939.27M
Net income
$-42.78M
Diluted EPS
-0.13
Operating cash flow
$34.02M
Free cash flow
$8.69M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $-36.59 vs current price $30.23
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $42.00 (-214.8% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $-36.59 a share — about 221.1% below today's price of $30.23, so the stock currently looks expensive (overvalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $1.4B. Interest coverage 0.1x.
Net debt
$1.44B
Interest coverage
0.12x
Advantage Solutions Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 0.1 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here and 4 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
ADV
BASELINE
Advantage Solutions Inc.
Total debt $1.54B Interest coverage 0.12x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $35.27M Interest coverage -5.03x -100% vs ADV This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with ADV.
Total debt $1.67B Interest coverage 1.65x +1,333% vs ADV Carries about 14.3x more debt cushion than ADV.
Total debt $6.47B Interest coverage 0.79x +580% vs ADV Carries about 6.8x more debt cushion than ADV.
Total debt $21.90M Interest coverage -23.17x -100% vs ADV This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with ADV.
Total debt $34.60M Interest coverage -5.51x -100% vs ADV This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with ADV.
What you should know
The case for and against ADV
2 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 1.8% last year.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 8/10 years.
Risks
-
Return on equity was -50.8% last year — the company lost money on shareholders' equity.
-
Operating margin compressed from 2.2% to 0.8% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
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Forward P/E
3.95x
P/B
0.96x
P/S
0.11x
EV/EBITDA
5.95x
PEG ratio
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Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
13.5%
Operating margin
0.8%
Net margin
-7.6%
ROE
-50.8%
ROA
2.3%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
3.84x
Current ratio
1.79x
Quick ratio
1.59x
Total debt
$1.54B
Total cash
$102.31M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$3.61B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-0.4%
EPS TTM
-21.35
EPS 5Y CAGR
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Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$126.47M
Free CF TTM
$55.05M
FCF margin
1.5%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.0%
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
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