Rankings Tech hardware & optics CDW
CDW
62
15070100
A view of the same findings, not a new score. How it works
A good business with a real question mark: the price, a crack, or both.
Biggest deductions
- Margin−4
- Quality of growth−4
- Cash flow and working capital−4
Strengths
- Raised guidance+1
How the score is built
From 100 to 62, step by step: points off for the business, the price and the cracks, back for documented strengths, then three data adjustments.
Start
Score
Hover or select a step to see what drove it. Steps with findings open them below.
Key numbers
As of 2 Nov 2026. Analyst targets tend to be optimistic; read upside as a hint, not a forecast.
- Price
- 150.59 USD
- Median analyst target
- 159.00 USD
- Upside to median
- +5.6%
- Analysts
- 10
- Target range
- 148.00 – 171.00 USD
- 52-week change
- −6%
- P/E (trailing)
- 18.1
- Forward P/E
- 13.2
- PEG
- 1.62
Findings
Every deduction and every plus, with its source. Open a step to read them.
Business
Is the company getting stronger, not just bigger? · 4 findings−14 of −30
- −4MarginGross margin fell to 20.1% in Q2 from 20.8% (low-margin hardware and product mix), and operating margin is 7.3% (TTM) vs 8.0% in 2024. Earnings per revenue krone are in slow decline.
- −4Quality of growthRevenue rose 10% in Q2, but gross profit only 6.3% and operating profit 2%. Over five years net income has only gone from USD 989m to 1,080m (GAAP EPS 7.04 to 8.33): the company is getting bigger, not stronger.
- −3Future segmentServices (the most valuable part) are only 2.0bn of USD 23.5bn in revenue and were flat TTM (2,042 vs 2,036m); Education grew only 0.7% in Q2.
- −3Capital allocationBuybacks (865m) and dividends (324m) totalling USD 1.19bn TTM exceeded FCF of 860m; the difference is debt-financed, and net debt rose from 5.01 to 5.46bn USD in H1.
Price
Today's multiples against the company's own history and its peers. · 2 findings−4 of −35
- −2Multiples vs own historyForward P/E 13.5 vs 13.4-24.4 in 2021-2025 and EV/EBITDA 12.4 vs 11.9-19.5: at the bottom of the historical range, but on earnings that barely grow.
- −2FCF yieldP/FCF has risen to 22 from 16.3 at the end of 2025 because FCF fell; FCF yield is 4.5% vs 6.1% a year earlier.
Cracks
Cash flow, customers, debt, insiders, guidance and what sits behind the headline numbers. · 5 findings−12 of −35
- −4Cash flow and working capitalOperating cash flow in H1 2026 halved to USD 220m from 443m, and FCF fell to 166m from 394m; receivables rose USD 1.77bn TTM. Earnings convert worse into cash.
- −3DebtGross debt USD 6.4bn vs equity of USD 2.4bn (D/E 2.6), debt/EBITDA 3.1 and Altman Z-score 2.42 (below 3).
- −2Supply chain and costsThe company itself cites AI-driven capacity constraints and component price increases as risks; memory shortages are pressuring the hardware margin, which was already declining in Q2.
- −2Public sectorEducation grew only 0.7% in Q2, and the company cites changed federal procurement policy and US government shutdowns as risks for the Government segment (13% of sales).
- −1Short interest7.5% of the free float is sold short (5.95 days to cover); the stock fell about 9% the day after Q2.
Plus
Only documented strengths. · 1 finding+1 of +15
- +1Raised guidanceAfter Q2, non-GAAP EPS growth is expected at the high end of 'high single digit' and 200-300 bp of outperformance vs the US IT market (secondary source).
Caveats
What the score does not capture, or where the data is weak.
Industry: CDW is an IT reseller and integrator (72% hardware, 19% software, 9% services); the closest category is Tech hardware & optics. Q3 2026 is reported on 3 Nov and is not included. The guidance increase has only been seen in a secondary summary (Quartr); the company's own release gives no figures for the year. No peer multiples (Insight, SHI) have been retrieved.
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