One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$51.12 our estimate vs market $19.42
62% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
HENKY · PNK · Consumer Defensive · Household & Personal Products
Current price
$19.42
52-week range
$16.83 - $22.82
Market cap
$31.45B
Balance sheet
Healthy
23.84x Strong cushion
Net debt $2.63B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
1 Risk
3 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
- Reward Trades at 14.4x P/E vs peer median 22.1x (35.0% cheaper).
- Reward Dividend yield is 3.1% with 19-year payout history.
- Risk Insider ownership is only 0.0% (peer median: 0.1%).
What this company does
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Henkel is a German company that makes products you might recognize, like Loctite glue and Persil laundry detergent, as well as industrial adhesives for car and electronics manufacturing. The company's business is split between these consumer brands and its industrial glues, with the industrial side typically having higher profit margins (the percentage of sales that turns into profit). This mix is important because the high-profit industrial sales can help fund the advertising needed to keep its well-known consumer brands popular on store shelves.
How the company got here
Henkel was founded in 1876 in Germany by Fritz Henkel, who started by making a universal detergent. A key moment was the launch of Persil in 1907, the world's first self-acting laundry detergent, which revolutionized household chores. Over the years, the company grew by inventing new products, like the first glue stick, Pritt, and by acquiring other companies. Notable acquisitions included Schwarzkopf for hair care and Loctite for adhesives, which helped establish its strong market positions today. In 2023, Henkel combined its Beauty Care and Laundry & Home Care divisions to better serve its customers.
What it actually does
Henkel makes a wide variety of products that you might find in your home or that are used to make things you use every day. You might recognize their brands of laundry detergents like Persil or Purex, Dial soap, or Schwarzkopf hair products. They are also a global leader in making adhesives, sealants, and special coatings used in everything from packaging food to building cars and electronics. Essentially, Henkel operates in two major areas: products for everyday consumer use and specialized chemical products for industrial manufacturing.
Adhesive Technologies
This is Henkel's largest business segment, making it the world's biggest provider of glues, sealants, and functional coatings. This division doesn't just sell glue sticks like Pritt or Loctite superglue to people; its main customers are other businesses in over 800 industries. These products are essential for manufacturing cars, airplanes, electronics, and packaging for consumer goods. This industrial-focused segment generates just over half of the company's total revenue (the money brought in from sales).
Consumer Brands
This part of the company combines all the products you would typically find in a supermarket or drugstore. It is organized into two main categories: Laundry & Home Care and Hair. This includes well-known brands like Persil laundry detergent, Snuggle fabric softener, Dial soap, and Schwarzkopf hair care products for both shoppers and professional hair salons. This segment makes up a little less than half of the company's total sales.
What management is betting on now
The company's strategy, called "Purposeful Growth," focuses on creating more value for customers to grow faster than its markets. A key part of this is strengthening its most popular brands like Loctite, Persil, and Schwarzkopf. Henkel is also heavily investing in sustainability, with goals to use 100% renewable electricity and make all its packaging recyclable by 2030. They are also focused on digitalization (using technology to improve business) and innovation to create new and better products for both consumers and industrial clients.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $51.12 vs current price $19.42
Our most-likely fair value is $51.12 a share — about 163.2% above today's price of $19.42, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Healthy
Net debt $2.6B. Interest coverage 23.8x.
Net debt
$2.63B
Interest coverage
23.84x
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA's profit covers its interest bill about 23.8 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here.
Healthy
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
HENKY
BASELINE
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Total debt $7.70B Interest coverage 23.84x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $35.02B Interest coverage 22.52x -6% vs HENKY Has roughly the same debt cushion as HENKY.
Total debt $7.86B Interest coverage 15.85x -33% vs HENKY Carries about 1.5x less debt cushion than HENKY.
Total debt $7.47B Interest coverage 9.00x -62% vs HENKY Carries about 2.6x less debt cushion than HENKY.
Total debt $13.92B Interest coverage 9.45x -60% vs HENKY Carries about 2.5x less debt cushion than HENKY.
Total debt $6.54B Interest coverage 9.18x -61% vs HENKY Carries about 2.6x less debt cushion than HENKY.
What you should know
The case for and against HENKY
3 Rewards
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
-
Trades at 14.4x P/E vs peer median 22.1x (35.0% cheaper).
-
Dividend yield is 3.1% with 19-year payout history.
Risks
-
Insider ownership is only 0.0% (peer median: 0.1%).
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)
14.39x
Forward P/E
—
P/B
1.30x
P/S
1.54x
EV/EBITDA
10.33x
PEG ratio
2.70x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
51.3%
Operating margin
15.0%
Net margin
9.4%
ROE
9.4%
ROA
5.1%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.32x
Current ratio
1.20x
Quick ratio
0.87x
Total debt
$7.70B
Total cash
$5.07B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$23.44B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-2.9%
EPS TTM
1.35
EPS 5Y CAGR
18.6%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$2.91B
Free CF TTM
$2.11B
FCF margin
9.0%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
3.1%
Payout ratio
43.8%
Last ex-div date
2026-04-29