One-glance verdict
Overvalued
$8.64 our estimate vs market $25.91
Wall Street consensus: $35.43 (310.2% higher than our fair-value estimate)
200% above our estimate, beyond the bull case
Fundamentals snapshot
James Hardie Industries plc
JHX · NYQ · Basic Materials · Building Materials
Current price
$25.91
52-week range
$16.46 - $31.43
Market cap
$15.04B
Balance sheet
Stretched
3.13x Stretched
Net debt $4.23B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
3 Risks
3 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 110.7% last year.
- Reward Returns 3.3% on equity, ahead of 80% of its peers.
- Risk Net debt grew 340.5% over 3 years.
- Risk Stock trades 165.5% above its 5-year average P/E.
What this company does
James Hardie Industries plc
James Hardie is a global company that makes building materials, primarily the durable fiber cement siding you see on the outside of houses. It makes most of its money selling to the North American housing market for both new home construction and remodeling projects. This means the company's success is closely tied to how many new homes are being built and how many people are renovating, as more activity leads to more sales.
How the company got here
Founded in 1888 by a Scottish immigrant in Australia, the company started by importing oils and animal hides. A key turning point came in the early 1900s when it began importing and later manufacturing 'fiber cement', a durable building material. In the mid-1980s, the company pioneered an asbestos-free fiber cement, which became its signature product and fueled its global expansion, particularly into the United States in the 1990s. This innovation established the company as a world leader in fiber cement building materials.
What it actually does
James Hardie makes building materials primarily for the outside and inside of houses and other buildings. Think of it as the skin of a house; its main products are siding (the panels that cover the exterior walls) and trim (the boards that go around windows, doors, and corners). These products are made from fiber cement, a mix of cement, sand, and cellulose fibers, which makes them very durable and resistant to rot, fire, and pests compared to traditional wood or vinyl siding. They also sell interior wall linings, flooring, and decking materials.
North America Fiber Cement
This is the company's largest and most important business, making up the majority of its sales. It manufactures and sells fiber cement siding and trim products, famously known by the brand name Hardie® Plank, for homes in the United States and Canada. This segment serves both new home construction and the repair and remodel market, where people are replacing the exterior of their existing homes. Builders and homeowners are the main customers, who value the product's durability and low maintenance.
Asia Pacific Fiber Cement
This is the company's original business, operating in Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. It sells a similar range of fiber cement products for both the exterior and interior of residential and commercial buildings. This includes everything from external cladding (the outer layer of a building) to internal linings for walls and floors. While smaller than the North American business, it remains a significant part of the company's identity and a source of product innovation.
Europe Building Products
In Europe, the company sells a different mix of products, primarily under the brand name fermacell®. Instead of just fiber cement, this segment focuses on fiber gypsum boards, which are used for high-quality interior walls, ceilings, and floors in both residential and commercial buildings. These products are known for their strength, as well as fire and sound insulation properties. This part of the business grew significantly after James Hardie acquired the German company Fermacell in 2018.
What management is betting on now
The company's current strategy focuses on being 'Homeowner Focused, Customer and Contractor Driven'. This means they are investing heavily in marketing directly to homeowners to build brand loyalty, making 'Hardie' the preferred choice for siding. They are also focused on developing new, high-value products to improve their margins (the profit made on each sale). A key priority is to continue gaining market share by convincing builders and remodelers to switch from materials like vinyl and wood to their fiber cement products.
Price history
How the share price has moved
—
Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2025 Q4
$380.60M
FY2026 Q1
$103.70M
FY2026 Q4
$102.20M
FY2027 Q1
$254.20M
Revenue
$1.47B
Net income
$104.30M
Diluted EPS
0.18
Operating cash flow
$344.00M
Free cash flow
$254.20M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$3.94B
Net income
$41.40M
Diluted EPS
0.04
Operating cash flow
$382.90M
Free cash flow
$102.20M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$899.90M
Net income
$62.60M
Diluted EPS
0.15
Operating cash flow
$206.90M
Free cash flow
$103.70M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$3.88B
Net income
$424.00M
Diluted EPS
0.98
Operating cash flow
$802.80M
Free cash flow
$380.60M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $8.64 vs current price $25.91
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $35.43 (310.2% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $8.64 a share — about 66.7% below today's price of $25.91, so the stock currently looks expensive (overvalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Stretched
Net debt $4.2B. Interest coverage 3.1x.
Net debt
$4.23B
Interest coverage
3.13x
James Hardie Industries plc's profit covers its interest bill about 3.1 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here and 2 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Stretched
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
JHX
BASELINE
James Hardie Industries plc
Total debt $4.52B Interest coverage 3.13x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $5.73B Interest coverage 6.11x +95% vs JHX Carries about 2.0x more debt cushion than JHX.
Total debt $377.00M Interest coverage 18.50x +492% vs JHX Carries about 5.9x more debt cushion than JHX.
Total debt $5.88B Interest coverage -1.23x -100% vs JHX This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with JHX.
Total debt $447.65M Interest coverage -5.38x -100% vs JHX This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with JHX.
What you should know
The case for and against JHX
3 Rewards
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 110.7% last year.
-
Returns 3.3% on equity, ahead of 80% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
Risks
-
Net debt grew 340.5% over 3 years.
-
Stock trades 165.5% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Insider ownership is only 0.4% (peer median: 6.0%).
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)
117.77x
Forward P/E
16.03x
P/B
2.30x
P/S
2.78x
EV/EBITDA
13.71x
PEG ratio
1.24x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
36.8%
Operating margin
16.1%
Net margin
2.7%
ROE
3.3%
ROA
5.2%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.69x
Current ratio
1.59x
Quick ratio
0.71x
Total debt
$4.52B
Total cash
$289.90M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$10.19B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
7.5%
EPS TTM
0.22
EPS 5Y CAGR
-45.1%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$1.74B
Free CF TTM
$205.90M
FCF margin
2.0%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
—
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
—