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ARM, Arm Holdings plc
Arm has developed an ecosystem that plays an increasingly valuable role in the chip design process by providing specialized capabilities and expertise that enable semiconductor suppliers to focus on their core product differentiation, while keeping pace with market innovation.
In today's technology-driven world, semiconductors are the enablers of the devices and infrastructure that facilitate virtually everything people do.
As consumers and enterprises continue to demand more from their devices, we expect the demand for high-performance and energy-efficient semiconductors to continue to expand.
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
The business in brief
read the 10-K →What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- What it is
- Revenue is Royalty (51%) and License and Other Revenue (45%).
- What moves the needle
- Gross margin has run about 96% and operating margin about 21% through the cycle, a wide spread between price and the cost of what it sells — whether that advantage is durable pricing power or a margin that can erode is the question the record is for. The operating margin has swung widely — from 3.4% to 25% — on a steadier 96% gross margin, so what moves it sits below the gross line, in operating spend and one-off charges more than in the cost of the product itself. Read this kind of business on process leadership and the capex cycle. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on pricing power & competition, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.
- Is it a good business?
- Return on capital has run in the teens (median 15%, above 15% in 2 of 5 years), though buybacks and expensed R&D and brands shrink the capital base, so the figure overstates the underlying economics. The steadier read is owner earnings: roughly 25% of revenue reaches owners as cash, consistently. Returns like these are solid but short of clear franchise economics; whether they hold is what the 10-K settles, not the multiple.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
Where the money comes from
read the 20-F →Revenue spreads across 2 lines, the largest Royalty at 51%.
- Royalty51%$2.6B
- License and Other Revenue45%$2.3B
From the segment footnote of the company's own 20-F. Shares are of total revenue; the profit bar shows each segment's share of segment operating profit, before unallocated corporate costs.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2022–2026
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2022’22 | 2023’23 | 2024’24 | 2025’25 | 2026’26 | TTMTTMJun 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||
| $2.7B | $2.7B | $3.2B | $4.0B | $4.9B | $5.2B | RevenueRevenue |
| $2.6B | $2.6B | $3.1B | $3.9B | $4.8B | $5.0B | Gross profitGross prof. |
| 95% | 96% | 95% | 97% | 98% | 98% | Gross marginGross mgn |
| $633M | $671M | $111M | $831M | $900M | $877M | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| 23.4% | 25.0% | 3.4% | 20.7% | 18.3% | 17.0% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| $549M | $524M | $306M | $792M | $904M | $1.0B | Net incomeNet inc. |
| 17% | 22% | — | -10% | 22% | 17% | Effective tax rateTax rate |
| Cash flow & returns | ||||||
| $458M | $739M | $1.1B | $397M | $1.5B | $2.1B | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| $185M | $170M | $162M | $183M | $249M | $264M | DepreciationDeprec. |
| ($276M) | $45M | $622M | ($578M) | $371M | $786M | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| $34M | $64M | $92M | $219M | $545M | $588M | CapexCapex |
| 1.3% | 2.4% | 2.8% | 5.5% | 11.1% | 11.4% | Capex / revenueCapex/rev |
| $424M | $675M | $998M | $178M | $1.3B | $1.8B | Owner earningsOwner earn. |
| 15.7% | 25.2% | 30.9% | 4.4% | 25.9% | 35.5% | Owner earnings marginOE mgn |
| $424M | $675M | $998M | $178M | $979M | $1.5B | Free cash flowFCF |
| 15.7% | 25.2% | 30.9% | 4.4% | 19.9% | 29.2% | Free cash flow marginFCF mgn |
| 15% | 21% | 3% | 17% | 13% | 13% | ROICROIC |
| 15% | 13% | 6% | 12% | 11% | 12% | Return on equityROE |
| 15% | 13% | 6% | 12% | 11% | 12% | Retained to equityRetained/eq |
| Balance sheet | ||||||
| — | $2.2B | $2.9B | $2.8B | $3.6B | $3.9B | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| — | $999M | $781M | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.1B | ReceivablesReceiv. |
| — | $999M | $781M | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.1B | Operating working capitalOper. WC |
| — | $3.5B | $4.2B | $4.8B | $6.2B | $6.3B | Current assetsCur. assets |
| — | $1.4B | $1.5B | $929M | $1.0B | $1.2B | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| — | 2.6× | 2.8× | 5.2× | 6.0× | 5.3× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| — | $185M | $215M | $354M | $772M | $923M | Net PP&ENet PP&E |
| — | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.6B | $1.6B | GoodwillGoodwill |
| — | $6.9B | $7.9B | $8.9B | $10.7B | $11.2B | Total assetsAssets |
| — | ($2.2B) | ($2.9B) | ($2.8B) | ($3.6B) | ($3.9B) | Net debt / (cash)Net debt |
| $3.5B | $4.1B | $5.3B | $6.8B | $8.3B | $8.6B | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| Per share | ||||||
| 1.03B | 1.03B | 1.04B | 1.06B | 1.07B | 1.06B | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| $2.64 | $2.61 | $3.10 | $3.77 | $4.61 | $4.85 | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| $0.54 | $0.51 | $0.29 | $0.75 | $0.85 | $0.98 | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| $0.41 | $0.66 | $0.96 | $0.17 | $1.19 | $1.72 | Owner earnings / shareOE/sh |
| $0.41 | $0.66 | $0.96 | $0.17 | $0.92 | $1.42 | Free cash flow / shareFCF/sh |
| $0.03 | $0.06 | $0.09 | $0.21 | $0.51 | $0.55 | Cap. spending / shareCapex/sh |
| $3.46 | $3.94 | $5.07 | $6.43 | $7.76 | $8.11 | Book value / shareBVPS |
| 4-yr | 5-yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / share | +15.0%/yr | +15.0%/yr (4-yr) |
| Owner earnings / share | +30.3%/yr | +30.3%/yr (4-yr) |
| EPS | +12.1%/yr | +12.1%/yr (4-yr) |
| Capital spending / share | +98.1%/yr | +98.1%/yr (4-yr) |
| Book value / share | +22.4%/yr | +22.4%/yr (4-yr) |
Where the cash went
ReinvestBuybacksDividendsAcquisitionsRetainedEach year's operating cash, by what management did with it: the mix, and how it drifts.
Net income is the accountant's number; owner earnings is the cash an owner could take out. The walk between them, off the cash-flow statement, and whether the gap is widening or holding.
In fiscal 2026 the business earned $1.3B of owner earnings, the operating cash left after the $249M it takes just to hold its position. It put $296M more into growth; free cash flow, after that spending, was $979M.
| FY2026 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported net income | $904M | $792M | $306M | $524M | $549M |
| Depreciation & amortizationnon-cash charge added back | +$249M | +$183M | +$162M | +$170M | +$185M |
| Working capital & othertiming of cash in and out, other non-cash items | +$371M | −$578M | +$622M | +$45M | −$276M |
| Cash from operations | $1.5B | $397M | $1.1B | $739M | $458M |
| Maintenance capital expenditurethe spending needed just to hold position and volume | −$249M | −$219M | −$92M | −$64M | −$34M |
| Owner earnings | $1.3B | $178M | $998M | $675M | $424M |
| Growth capital expenditurediscretionary; spent to get bigger, not to stand still | −$296M | — | — | — | — |
| Free cash flow | $979M | $178M | $998M | $675M | $424M |
| Owner-earnings marginowner earnings ÷ revenue | 26% | 4% | 31% | 25% | 16% |
Owner earnings is the cash an owner could pull out without starving the business: operating cash less the maintenance capital it must spend to hold its position (here about $249M, roughly its depreciation, the rate its assets wear out). The other $296M of its capital spending is growth it chose, not upkeep it owed; charged only with the maintenance it must do, the business earns well more than the year's free cash flow shows.
Maintenance capex is estimated as depreciation where a growing business invests above it; free cash flow is the figure the scorecard's free-cash margin reads.
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
“For example, for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 we identified a material weakness relating to our information technology general controls over information systems that are necessary for preparation of our financial statements.”
The figures below are only as sound as the controls that produced them. read the note →
Will it survive?
- No meaningful interest burdenLittle or no interest expense reported
What this means
Little or no interest expense reported, the business isn't leaning on lenders to operate.
- Net cash, debt-freeCash $3.1B + ST investments $830M − debt $0
What this means
Cash and short-term investments exceed every dollar of debt by $3.9B, on net the company owes nothing, and can act from strength when others can't. Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
Is it a good business?
- Not enough dataIndustry peers: median 7%
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- High through the cycle5-yr median margin, range 4%–31%; latest $1.8B = operating cash $2.1B − maintenance capex $264MIndustry peers: median 14%
What this means
What an owner could take out without starving the business: operating cash less the maintenance capital it must spend to hold its position — Buffett's owner earnings. That's 35% of revenue this year, a 25% median across 5 years. It chose to put $324M more into growth, so free cash flow this year was $1.5B — the gap is investment, not weakness.
- Cash-backedCash from ops $2.1B ÷ net income $1.0B
In the filing’s words The filing discloses a material weakness in its financial controls — the reported numbers here, and the record built on them, are only as reliable as the controls that produced them.
What this means
How much of reported profit showed up as operating cash. Above 1× is reassuring; well below suggests earnings lean on accruals. One year is noisy, growth and working-capital swings distort it, and this is operating cash, not free cash. Watch the multi-year trend.
How is the cash used?
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Investing or harvesting? 2.23×ExpandingCapex $588M ÷ depreciation $264M
What this means
Descriptive, not a grade. Above ~1× means investing faster than assets wear out (growth, or, sustained for years, today's earnings carrying less depreciation than tomorrow's will). Below means spending less than it's wearing out (efficiency, or a melting asset base). The ratio won't tell you which; the filings will.
Graham’s defensive tests · 3 of 3 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size PassRevenue ≥ $2B · $5.2B
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's 1972 floor was ~$100M of sales (≈ $700M today); we use a $2B revenue line as a conservative modern stand-in.
- Strong liquidity PassCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 5.25×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Earnings stability PassA profit every year (5-yr record) · no losses
What this means
Graham wanted earnings in each of the past ten years, the stability a defensive owner leans on.
- Dividend record —Uninterrupted dividends · no dividend line tagged in the data
What this means
An unbroken dividend was Graham's mark of durability. This record carries no dividends-paid line in any year — common for partnerships, whose distributions file under tags the chain doesn't read — so the criterion is withheld rather than judged on silence.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are $0.63/share (latest year $0.98), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is $8.11/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Durability & moat, 2022–2026
Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.
- Profitable years 5 of 5
What this means
Never lost money over the record, the earnings stability Graham insisted on.
- Operating margin 24% → 20% (2-yr avg ends)
In the filing’s words The words explain the slip: the filing names price competition rather than pricing actions of its own — a business that looks to take its price, not set it.
What this means
Through the cycle the operating margin slipped — about 24% early to 20% lately, median 21% — competition or costs are biting in.
- Owner earnings growth +7%/yr
What this means
Owner earnings grew about 7% a year over the record.
- Worst year 2024 · 3.4% op. margin
What this means
Stayed profitable even in its hardest year, the resilience that survives recessions.
- Share count +1.0%/yr
What this means
The share count is rising, dilution works against you on a per-share basis.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of fiscal year-end, Jun 30, 2026Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
- Cash & short-term investments$3.9B
- Receivables$1.1B
- Other current assets$1.3B
- Other current liabilities$1.2B
From the company's latest filing.
How the cash was used, 2022–2026
Over the record, the business generated $4.2B of operating cash; how management split it reads as a balanced allocator, splitting cash between the business, owners, and the balance sheet.
- Reinvested$954M · 23%
- Retained (debt / cash)$3.3B · 77%
- Net change in share count3.8%
The diluted count rose from 1025M to 1064M: issuance (stock pay, deals) outran any buybacks, so owners were diluted on net.
- Dividend record—
No dividend line was reported in the filing data over the span; the record here neither confirms nor rules out a payout.
- Return on what it retained4%
Of the earnings it kept rather than paid out ($3.1B over the span), annual owner earnings (first three years vs last three) grew $118M, so each retained $1 added about 0.04 of yearly owner earnings. Buffett's test, run on owner earnings instead of market value.
Buybacks are gross of stock issued to staff; the share-count line above is the net of that, the figure that decides whether owners gained. The average price paid blends a year of purchases (and any accelerated repurchase), so it is close, not exact. The record of where the cash went and on what terms.
Peers, Semiconductors
The same industry, side by side on owner economics, research and the inventory cycle. Each column names the period it is read over; the group median at the foot is the line to read each figure against.
| Company | Revenuelatest FY, USD | Gross marginmedian over the record | Op. marginmedian over the record | ROICmedian over the record | Owner earn. marginmedian over the record | R&D / revenuelatest FY | Capex / revenuelatest FY | Inventory dayslatest FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GFSGlobalFoundries Inc. | $6.8B | 24% | -0.9% | 3% | 14% | — | 10.6% | 113 |
| AMKRAmkor Technology | $6.7B | 17% | 7.5% | 10% | 6% | 2.5% | 13.5% | 28 |
| ONON Semiconductor Corporation | $6.0B | 37% | 13.4% | 14% | 15% | 9.7% | 5.7% | 181 |
| CSIQCanadian Solar Inc. Common Shares (ON) | $5.6B | 18% | 5.4% | 7% | -5% | — | 20.0% | 91 |
| FSLRFirst Solar | $5.2B | 23% | 8.9% | 5% | 4% | 4.5% | 16.7% | 87 |
| ARMArm Holdings plc | $5.2B | 96% | 20.7% | 15% | 25% | — | 11.4% | — |
| QQnity Electronics Inc. | $4.8B | 46% | 20.1% | 7% | 20% | 7.4% | 6.0% | 94 |
| MCHPMicrochip Technology Incorporated | $4.7B | 61% | 15.9% | 7% | 31% | 23.0% | 1.9% | 190 |
| Group median | — | 31% | 11.1% | 7% | 15% | — | 11.0% | — |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFEnter the US price, in dollars: the NYSE/Nasdaq quote you hold. Per the filing's own cover, “American Depositary Shares, each representing one Ordinary”; Arm Holdings plc reports in USD, so every figure in this tool is stated per ADS so your dollar quote reconciles exactly. The record tables elsewhere on this page remain as filed.
Type today's close and see the owner-earnings growth you'd have to believe to justify it, beside what Arm Holdings plc has delivered.
Arm Holdings plc’s latest year runs above its own through-cycle margin — the reported figure may flatter a peak. So the tool opens on the through-cycle base, Graham’s averaging cutting both ways; clear the toggle below to read the latest year exactly as reported.
Through the cycle, Arm Holdings plc earns about $1.3B on its 25.2% median owner-earnings margin. This year’s 35.5% margin runs above that; the reported figure may flatter a peak you'd be paying on. Normalize, below, values the price on that through-cycle figure rather than the latest year. It comes pre-checked here for that reason, the same rule that already normalizes a trough; clear it to price the year as filed.
—
9.0% = the 4.65% 10-year Treasury (Aug 19, 2026) + 4.35 points of equity premium. The rate you require is yours to set.
Enter a price above to run it.
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Graham capped the multiple at 15×; Buffett and Munger let that rule go: a wonderful business can deserve 50× if the thesis holds. The gate marks the bargain-hunter's floor.
Prefilled with the 10-year Treasury (4.65%, as of Aug 19, 2026). Edit it for today’s exact figure, or a AAA corporate yield.
Graham measured a stock against the bond you could own instead, the heart of his margin of safety. Enter a price above to weigh the owner-earnings yield against this bond.
Free cash flow $1.5B on 1064M shares outstanding, per the 20-F cover, as of 2026-03-31; net cash $3.9B. The base opens on the through-cycle figure (the latest year sits above the record’s own median, and Graham’s averaging cuts both ways); clear Normalize to use the year as filed. Net of stock comp treats option pay as the expense it is. Capex ($588M) runs well above depreciation ($264M), so this is a build-out; Steady-state swaps total capex for maintenance (≈ depreciation), lifting the base to about $1.8B, the cash it would throw off if it stopped expanding. The dials set the multiple a growth belief justifies; the price, and every dollar on this page, is yours.
Manual order: ← ARIS its page in the Manual ARQQ →
Industry order: ← ARBE the Semiconductors chapter ARRY →