NASDAQ · Financial Services

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company

WTW · Insurance Brokers

$255.20

▼ -4.83 (-1.86%)

Cached · 10 min

Overall Grade

Defensive

Enterprising

Profitability

A⤢

Gross Profit Margin 40.5%

Operating Margin 20.3%

Net Income Margin 12.3%

Fin. Health

D⤢

Years to Pay Off Debt 23.3 yrs

Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt -$3.8B

Working Capital $2.5B

Valuation

F⤢

Margin of Safety 0.0%

Price-to-Book 3.02x

Cash Flow

C⤢

Free Cash Flow -$65M

CapEx % of Net Income 18.5%

Owner Earnings $456M

Profitability

Gross Profit Margin 40.5%

Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.

Operating Margin 20.3%

Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.

Net Income Margin 12.3%

Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.

Financial Health

Years to Pay Off Debt 23.3 yrs

Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.

Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt -$3.8B

Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.

Working Capital $2.5B

Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.

Cash Flow

Free Cash Flow -$65M

Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.

CapEx % of Net Income 18.5%

Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.

Owner Earnings $456M

Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.

Defensive — Graham's strict criteria (P/B, P/E, dividends, stability) · Enterprising — Profitability & cash flow focused, accepts higher valuations for quality

About Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. It offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit programs, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits, and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services. The company also provides advice, data, software, and products to address clients' total rewards and talent issues; and risk advice, insurance brokerage, and consulting services in the areas of property and casualty, affinity, risk and analytics, aerospace, construction, global markets direct and facultative, financial, executive and professional risks, credit risk solutions, crisis management, surety, marine, and natural resources. In addition, it offers software and technology, risk and capital management, products and product pricing, financial and regulatory reporting, financial and capital modeling, M&A, outsourcing, and business management services. The company was formerly known as Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company and changed its name to Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company in January 2016. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company was founded in 1828 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Market Data

Market Cap $24.1B

Enterprise Value $29.7B

P/E (TTM) 14.99

Dividend Yield 1.08%

Exchange NASDAQ

Key Margins

Gross Profit 40.5%

Operating Margin 20.3%

Net Margin 12.3%

Company Info

Sector Financial Services

Industry Insurance Brokers

Employees 47000

Country United Kingdom

Visit website

📖

Full Graham Analysis

Mr. Market is currently offering Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company at $255.20.

The business passes only 3 of 7 of Graham's defensive criteria — well below his required standard.

At $255.20, the stock trades at a 233% premium to its Graham Number of $76.75. Graham would consider this price speculative.

There is no margin of safety at the current price. Graham would advise patience and waiting for a better entry point.

Negative NCAV — liabilities exceed current assets. Common in capital-return businesses (buybacks, debt-funded dividends) and capital-intensive industries. Not automatically a warning sign..

Conclusion: By Graham's standards, this stock is speculative at its current price. The intelligent investor would look elsewhere or wait.

Showing Key Metrics

Income Highlights

Metric	Q1 2026	Q4 2025	Q4 2024
Gross Profit %	40.5%▼	51.0%•	N/A
Operating Margin %	20.3%▼	35.3%•	N/A
Net Income %	12.3%▼	25.0%•	N/A
Diluted EPS	3.10▼	7.62•	N/A

Balance Sheet Highlights

Metric	Q1 2026	Q4 2025	Q4 2024
Total Assets	$29.6B	$29.5B	N/A
Total Debt	$6.9B▲	$6.9B•	N/A
Working Capital	$2.5B▼	$2.9B•	N/A
Years to Pay Debt	23.25	9.39	N/A

Cash Flow Highlights

Metric	Q1 2026	Q4 2025	Q4 2024
Free Cash Flow	-$65M▼	$708M•	N/A
Owner Earnings	$456M	$905M	N/A
CapEx % of Net Income	18.5%	8.6%	N/A

Income Statement

	2026	2025	2024
Tax Effect Of Unusual Items	-7,633	-5,201
Tax Rate For Calcs	0	0
Normalized EBITDA	598,000	1,145,000
Total Unusual Items	-41,000	-25,000
Total Unusual Items Excluding Goodwill	-41,000	-25,000
Net Income From Continuing Operation Net Minority Interest	297,000	735,000
Reconciled Depreciation	104,000	107,000
Reconciled Cost Of Revenue	1,434,000	1,439,000
EBITDA	557,000	1,120,000
EBIT	453,000	1,013,000
Net Interest Income	-77,000	-66,000
Interest Expense	77,000	66,000
Normalized Income	330,367	754,799
Net Income From Continuing And Discontinued Operation	297,000	735,000
Total Expenses	1,923,000	1,901,000
Total Operating Income As Reported	448,000	1,016,000
Diluted Average Shares	96,000	97,000
Basic Average Shares	95,000	96,000
Diluted EPS	0	0
Basic EPS	0	0
Diluted NI Availto Com Stockholders	297,000	735,000
Net Income Common Stockholders	297,000	735,000
Net Income	297,000	735,000
Minority Interests	-6,000	-1,000
Net Income Including Noncontrolling Interests	303,000	736,000
Net Income Continuous Operations	303,000	736,000
Earnings From Equity Interest Net Of Tax	-3,000	-14,000
Tax Provision	70,000	197,000
Pretax Income	376,000	947,000
Other Income Expense	-36,000	-22,000
Other Non Operating Income Expenses	5,000	3,000
Special Income Charges	-41,000	-19,000
Gain On Sale Of Business	0	0
Write Off
Restructuring And Mergern Acquisition	41,000	19,000
Earnings From Equity Interest			-3,000
Gain On Sale Of Security		-6,000	7,000
Net Non Operating Interest Income Expense	-77,000	-66,000
Interest Expense Non Operating	77,000	66,000
Operating Income	489,000	1,035,000
Operating Expense	489,000	462,000
Other Operating Expenses	385,000	355,000
Depreciation Amortization Depletion Income Statement	104,000	107,000
Depreciation And Amortization In Income Statement	104,000	107,000
Amortization	48,000	48,000
Amortization Of Intangibles Income Statement	48,000	48,000
Depreciation Income Statement	56,000	59,000
Gross Profit	978,000	1,497,000
Cost Of Revenue	1,434,000	1,439,000
Total Revenue	2,412,000	2,936,000
Operating Revenue	2,214,000	2,886,000

Balance Sheet

	2026	2025	2024
Treasury Shares Number
Ordinary Shares Number	94,278	95,080
Share Issued	94,278	95,080
Net Debt	4,449,000	3,174,000
Total Debt	6,906,000	6,903,000
Tangible Book Value	-2,960,000	-2,103,000
Invested Capital	14,281,000	14,282,000
Working Capital	2,538,000	2,870,000
Net Tangible Assets	-2,960,000	-2,103,000
Capital Lease Obligations	602,000	597,000
Common Stock Equity	7,977,000	7,976,000
Total Capitalization	14,281,000	13,732,000
Total Equity Gross Minority Interest	8,059,000	8,052,000
Minority Interest	82,000	76,000
Stockholders Equity	7,977,000	7,976,000
Gains Losses Not Affecting Retained Earnings	-2,870,000	-2,834,000
Other Equity Adjustments	-2,870,000	-2,834,000
Treasury Stock
Retained Earnings	-392,000	-296,000
Additional Paid In Capital	11,239,000	11,106,000
Total Liabilities Net Minority Interest	21,578,000	21,478,000
Total Non Current Liabilities Net Minority Interest	8,031,000	7,474,000
Other Non Current Liabilities	251,000	62,000
Employee Benefits	630,000	660,000
Non Current Pension And Other Postretirement Benefit Plans	630,000	660,000
Tradeand Other Payables Non Current		31,000	75,000
Non Current Deferred Liabilities		153,000	151,000
Non Current Deferred Taxes Liabilities		41,000	45,000
Long Term Debt And Capital Lease Obligation	6,789,000	6,228,000
Long Term Capital Lease Obligation	485,000	472,000
Long Term Debt	6,304,000	5,756,000
Long Term Provisions	361,000	340,000
Current Liabilities	13,547,000	14,004,000
Other Current Liabilities	11,190,000	10,606,000
Current Deferred Liabilities	30,000	24,000	50,000
Current Debt And Capital Lease Obligation	117,000	675,000
Current Capital Lease Obligation	117,000	125,000
Current Debt		550,000
Other Current Borrowings		550,000
Pensionand Other Post Retirement Benefit Plans Current	513,000	1,126,000
Payables And Accrued Expenses	1,697,000	1,573,000
Current Accrued Expenses	359,000	263,000	227,000
Interest Payable	50,000	62,000	61,000
Payables	1,338,000	1,310,000
Dividends Payable	115,000	109,000	107,000
Total Tax Payable	168,000	215,000	203,000
Income Tax Payable	78,000	104,000	105,000
Accounts Payable	1,055,000	986,000
Total Assets	29,637,000	29,530,000
Total Non Current Assets	13,552,000	12,656,000
Other Non Current Assets	904,000	59,000	34,000
Defined Pension Benefit	541,000	529,000
Non Current Prepaid Assets		20,000	17,000
Non Current Deferred Assets		465,000	504,000
Non Current Deferred Taxes Assets		167,000	238,000
Non Current Note Receivables			0
Non Current Accounts Receivable		101,000	94,000
Investments And Advances		221,000	157,000
Other Investments		78,000	73,000
Investmentin Financial Assets		43,000	0
Held To Maturity Securities		43,000	0
Long Term Equity Investment		100,000	84,000
Investmentsin Associatesat Cost		100,000	84,000
Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets	10,937,000	10,079,000
Other Intangible Assets	1,275,000	1,141,000
Goodwill	9,662,000	8,938,000
Net PPE	1,170,000	1,182,000
Accumulated Depreciation		-1,539,000	-1,326,000
Gross PPE	1,170,000	2,721,000
Leases		444,000	411,000
Other Properties	1,170,000	487,000
Machinery Furniture Equipment		1,704,000	1,492,000
Land And Improvements		86,000	84,000
Current Assets	16,085,000	16,874,000
Other Current Assets	601,000	56,000
Hedging Assets Current		28,000	1,000
Assets Held For Sale Current
Current Deferred Assets		109,000	103,000
Restricted Cash	10,981,000	10,445,000
Receivables	2,648,000	3,071,000
Other Receivables	812,000	997,000
Taxes Receivable		241,000	106,000
Accrued Interest Receivable			750,000
Notes Receivable		0	74,000
Accounts Receivable	1,836,000	1,833,000
Allowance For Doubtful Accounts Receivable	-34,000	-30,000
Gross Accounts Receivable	1,870,000	1,863,000
Cash Cash Equivalents And Short Term Investments	1,855,000	3,165,000
Other Short Term Investments		33,000	0
Cash And Cash Equivalents	1,855,000	3,132,000

Cash Flow

	2026	2025	2024
Free Cash Flow	-65,000	708,000
Repurchase Of Capital Stock	-300,000	-350,000
Repayment Of Debt	-551,000	-1,000
Issuance Of Debt	550,000	999,000
Capital Expenditure	-55,000	-63,000
End Cash Position	5,405,000	6,487,000
Beginning Cash Position	6,487,000	5,423,000
Effect Of Exchange Rate Changes	-29,000	1,000
Changes In Cash	-1,053,000	1,063,000
Financing Cash Flow	-203,000	375,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Financing Activities	-203,000	375,000
Net Other Financing Charges	186,000	-184,000
Cash Dividends Paid	-88,000	-89,000
Common Stock Dividend Paid	-88,000	-89,000
Net Common Stock Issuance	-300,000	-350,000
Common Stock Payments	-300,000	-350,000
Net Issuance Payments Of Debt	-1,000	998,000
Net Long Term Debt Issuance	-1,000	998,000
Long Term Debt Payments	-551,000	-1,000
Long Term Debt Issuance	550,000	999,000
Investing Cash Flow	-840,000	-83,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Investing Activities	-840,000	-83,000
Net Investment Purchase And Sale	16,000	0
Purchase Of Investment		0
Net Business Purchase And Sale	-801,000	-20,000
Sale Of Business		0	619,000
Purchase Of Business	-801,000	-20,000
Net PPE Purchase And Sale	-55,000	-63,000
Purchase Of PPE	-55,000	-63,000
Capital Expenditure Reported			-26,000
Operating Cash Flow	-10,000	771,000
Cash Flow From Continuing Operating Activities	-10,000	771,000
Change In Working Capital	-470,000	-282,000
Change In Other Working Capital	23,000	-29,000
Change In Other Current Liabilities	-517,000	231,000
Change In Other Current Assets	-51,000	26,000
Change In Receivables	75,000	-510,000
Changes In Account Receivables	75,000	-510,000
Other Non Cash Items	43,000	51,000
Stock Based Compensation	42,000	49,000
Provisionand Write Offof Assets	6,000	-2,000
Deferred Tax	-30,000	117,000
Deferred Income Tax	-30,000	117,000
Depreciation Amortization Depletion	104,000	107,000
Depreciation And Amortization	104,000	107,000
Amortization Cash Flow	48,000	48,000
Amortization Of Intangibles	48,000	48,000
Depreciation	56,000	59,000
Operating Gains Losses	-8,000	-5,000
Pension And Employee Benefit Expense	6,000	12,000
Net Foreign Currency Exchange Gain Loss	-14,000	-17,000
Gain Loss On Sale Of Business	0	0
Net Income From Continuing Operations	303,000	736,000

📊 Quarterly mode — Graham Fair Value & 7 Criteria require annual data. Switch to Annual for full analysis.

Quarter vs Same Quarter Last Year

YoY strips seasonality

Revenue Growth (YoY)

Prior year: $2.2B ▲ $2.4B +8.5%

Revenue growth vs same quarter last year strips seasonality. Consistent double-digit growth is a Buffett hallmark.

Gross Margin

Prior year: 40.4% ▲ 40.5% +0.1pp

Buffett: consistent gross margin above 40% signals durable pricing power and competitive moat.

Operating Margin

Prior year: 22.0% ▲ 20.3% -1.7pp

Graham: operating margin reflects true business economics before financing. Trend matters as much as level.

Net Margin

Prior year: 10.6% ▲ 12.3% +1.7pp

Net margin can be distorted by one-time items, tax timing, or interest costs — compare to operating margin for signal quality.

Quarterly Health Checks

3 Graham/Buffett criteria that are valid and reliable on quarterly data

✅ Adequate Size

Graham required scale for resilience. Quarterly revenue × 4 gives an annualised proxy.

$2.4B/qtr (≈$9.6B ann.)

vs > $1.5B annualised revenue

❌ Financial Condition

Current assets vs current liabilities — a real-time liquidity snapshot. Valid and reliable on quarterly data.

1.19x current ratio

vs ≥ 2.0x

❌ Free Cash Flow

Buffett's most important single metric. A positive FCF quarter means the business generated real cash for owners after maintaining its asset base.

-$65M

vs Positive

Operating Cash Flow

-$10M

Latest quarter · Buffett's cash reality check

ROIC

2.4%

Based on latest annual operating income

Return on Invested Capital — Buffett's preferred measure for asset-light businesses. ROIC > 15% consistently signals a durable competitive advantage (moat). More meaningful than P/B for software, pharma, and consumer brand companies where most value is intangible and off-balance-sheet.

Market Cap / Net Assets

3.0x

Net Assets: $8.1B

Peers & Industry

No auto-detected peers for Insurance Brokers. You can manually compare WTW against any stock using the Compare tool.

"The management of a business is its most important single factor — more important than market position, patents, or financial structure."

— Benjamin Graham

Capital Allocation & Alignment

Insider Ownership

0.26%

Low — management has little skin in the game

Return on Equity (ROE)

3.7%

Weak — poor returns on equity

Return on Assets (ROA)

1.0%

Poor — assets are not generating adequate returns

Share Buybacks (Latest Year)

$1.6B

Management is returning capital to shareholders via buybacks

Debt Trend YoY

+0.0% YoY

Debt is roughly stable

Leadership Team

Carl Aaron Hess CERA,

CEO & Director

Age 63

Pay: $3,581,326

1.206% of net income

Andrew Jay Krasner

CFO & Co-head of Corporate Development

Age 48

Pay: $2,458,205

0.828% of net income

Julie Jarecke Gebauer

President of Health, Wealth & Career

Age 64

Pay: $2,136,441

0.719% of net income

Lucy Clarke

President of Risk & Broking

Age 58

Pay: $1,832,049

0.617% of net income

Alexis Faber

Chief Operating Officer

Age 47

Top Institutional Holders

Institution	% Owned	Shares
Blackrock Inc.	8.59%	8,113,226
Dodge & Cox Inc.	7.76%	7,332,414
Vanguard Capital Management LLC	6.53%	6,164,853
Harris Associates L.P.	6.37%	6,017,682
Massachusetts Financial Services Co.	6.21%	5,867,533
First Eagle Investment Management, LLC	4.59%	4,339,361
State Street Corporation	4.46%	4,216,835
Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC	4.30%	4,056,990

Risk Analysis

Beta (Market Risk)

0.45

Low volatility — more stable than the market

Short Interest

3.6% of float

Low short interest — market is not heavily bearish

Debt-to-Equity

0.86x

Conservative balance sheet — low financial risk

Current Ratio

1.19x

Adequate liquidity

52-Week Price Range

Low: $240.61 Current: $255.20 High: $352.79

Currently at 13% of 52-week range

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company

Metric Explanations

Full Graham Analysis

Income Highlights

Balance Sheet Highlights

Cash Flow Highlights

Quarter vs Same Quarter Last Year

Quarterly Health Checks

Operating Cash Flow

ROIC

Market Cap / Net Assets

Peers & Industry

Capital Allocation & Alignment

Leadership Team

Top Institutional Holders

Risk Analysis