# Helios Towers (HTWS.LSE)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/HTWS.LSE

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:39:18.908Z. Financial observations: FY2019–FY2025.

Listing currency: GBX. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: GBX 217.80 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 0 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 7 years

- Years with declining revenue: 0

- Years with a net loss: 5

- Operating margin variation: 0.61×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2019: -0.01×

- FY2020: 0.14×

- FY2021: 0.13×

- FY2022: 0.14×

- FY2023: 0.20×

- FY2024: 0.31×

- FY2025: 0.33×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- ROIC, median of available years: 5.4%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: 3.9%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: -12.6 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 35.7%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 48.4%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 27.2%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: -7.3%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2019: -0.5%

- FY2020: 5.4%

- FY2021: 4.2%

- FY2022: 3.9%

- FY2023: 6.9%

- FY2024: 9.0%

- FY2025: 10.5%

### economics: fail

- Cash conversion uses consolidated free cash flow after all capital expenditure and consolidated net income (informational).

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: Yes

- Owner earnings, five-year total: -$275M

- Net income, five-year total: -$373M

- Return on incremental invested capital: >100%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: -5.7 pp

### management: pass

- buybacks leaned toward cheaper years (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 4.2% vs 9.0%

- Per-share earnings: -0.15 to 0.03 (three-year endpoint medians)

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 3.4%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 3.4%

- Per-share value change: $0.18

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: -$0.15

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $0.03

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): 1.00

- Average buyback yield: 0.5%

- Buyback history: 2 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: No

- ROIC, first three-year median: 4.2%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 9.0%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2019: -$0.15

- FY2020: -$0.04

- FY2021: -$0.15

- FY2022: -$0.16

- FY2023: -$0.09

- FY2024: $0.03

- FY2025: $0.03

### accounting: pass

- Sloan accruals: -9.1%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.98×

- Restructuring years, last five: 0

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 2.6%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 6.86×

- Accounting red flags: 0

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 13.11×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2019: -14.2%

- FY2020: -6.7%

- FY2021: -9.9%

- FY2022: -10.4%

- FY2023: -11.3%

- FY2024: -7.1%

- FY2025: -9.1%

## Holders

## Price story

Up 260% since Oct 2023 · sales +7.8%

Story as of 2026-10-16T10:00:10.714Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

- 2025-11-06: Helios Towers beats Q3 forecast, unveils $400 million shareholder returns plan ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/helios-towers-beats-q3-forecast-125235550.html))

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +7.8%; source https://filings.xbrl.org/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31/reports/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31-T01.xhtml; observed 2026-04-07.

- FY2019: $388M 

- FY2020: $414M 

- FY2021: $449M 

- FY2022: $561M 

- FY2023: $721M 

- FY2024: $792M 

- FY2025: $854M 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 51.5%; source https://filings.xbrl.org/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31/reports/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31-T01.xhtml; observed 2026-04-07.

- FY2019: 32.5% 

- FY2020: 35.7% 

- FY2021: 34.2% 

- FY2022: 34.7% 

- FY2023: 37.5% 

- FY2024: 48.4% 

- FY2025: 51.5% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in telecom services; annual sales are USD 854.1 million.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31-T01.json (filed 2026-04-07); FY2025: revenue 854100000; grossProfit 439900000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); HTWS.LSE: Helios Towers plc, an independent tower company, acquires, builds, and operates telecommunications towers. It offers colocation lease-up, build-to-suit, sale and leaseback, in-building, small cells/outdoor distributed antenna systems, and other managed services. The company also provides passive infrastructure solutions, including site selection and preparation, maintenance, security, and power management; and engages in hosting active equipment, such as antennae. It operates a network of sites and tenancies in Tanzania, Senegal, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, South Africa, Ghana, Madagascar, and Oman. Helios Towers plc was founded in 2009 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 37.5% to 51.5% during 2023–25; it earns 5.4% on its capital.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30/2024-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2024-12-31-T01.json (filed 2026-04-07); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 37.5%.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31-T01.json (filed 2026-04-07); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 48.4%.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31-T01.json (filed 2026-04-07); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 51.5%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-07); 7-year return on capital observations [[2019,-0.004674556213017752],[2020,0.05438615798483737],[2021,0.042422863383999275],[2022,0.038794642857142854],[2023,0.06894391016068335],[2024,0.09031712352333983],[2025,0.10524780109007577]]; median 0.05438615798483737. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid no dividends in 7 years; bought back USD 23.8 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-07); Dividend observations: [[2019,0],[2020,0],[2021,0],[2022,0],[2023,0],[2024,0],[2025,0]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://filings.xbrl.org/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31-T01.json (filed 2026-04-07); FY2025: cash repurchases 23800000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 3.6% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); HTWS.LSE SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 3.6189999999999998 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price is 4 times annual sales; cash earnings are negative.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-04-07); Closing price 217.8 GBX; reporting-to-trading FX 75.34943299551671; FY2025 annual sales per share 0.7237264275667747; price multiple 3.993957647391983. FY2025 cash earnings/share -0.006424073870613523. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (GBX per share)

- 2019-10: GBX 120.00 per share

- 2019-11: GBX 125.00 per share

- 2019-12: GBX 158.00 per share

- 2020-01: GBX 147.10 per share

- 2020-02: GBX 122.30 per share

- 2020-03: GBX 138.50 per share

- 2020-04: GBX 125.20 per share

- 2020-05: GBX 150.20 per share

- 2020-06: GBX 148.60 per share

- 2020-07: GBX 156.00 per share

- 2020-08: GBX 153.00 per share

- 2020-09: GBX 156.60 per share

- 2020-10: GBX 161.20 per share

- 2020-11: GBX 146.60 per share

- 2020-12: GBX 153.00 per share

- 2021-01: GBX 159.60 per share

- 2021-02: GBX 161.60 per share

- 2021-03: GBX 169.00 per share

- 2021-04: GBX 171.20 per share

- 2021-05: GBX 167.00 per share

- 2021-06: GBX 163.00 per share

- 2021-07: GBX 163.60 per share

- 2021-08: GBX 175.00 per share

- 2021-09: GBX 181.00 per share

- 2021-10: GBX 154.40 per share

- 2021-11: GBX 164.20 per share

- 2021-12: GBX 172.00 per share

- 2022-01: GBX 153.60 per share

- 2022-02: GBX 145.60 per share

- 2022-03: GBX 115.40 per share

- 2022-04: GBX 112.10 per share

- 2022-05: GBX 113.80 per share

- 2022-06: GBX 120.90 per share

- 2022-07: GBX 144.30 per share

- 2022-08: GBX 124.20 per share

- 2022-09: GBX 112.90 per share

- 2022-10: GBX 125.50 per share

- 2022-11: GBX 115.10 per share

- 2022-12: GBX 106.10 per share

- 2023-01: GBX 107.00 per share

- 2023-02: GBX 110.30 per share

- 2023-03: GBX 104.40 per share

- 2023-04: GBX 104.30 per share

- 2023-05: GBX 90.15 per share

- 2023-06: GBX 93.10 per share

- 2023-07: GBX 90.45 per share

- 2023-08: GBX 91.15 per share

- 2023-09: GBX 73.40 per share

- 2023-10: GBX 60.55 per share

- 2023-11: GBX 71.45 per share

- 2023-12: GBX 89.00 per share

- 2024-01: GBX 79.10 per share

- 2024-02: GBX 75.45 per share

- 2024-03: GBX 94.90 per share

- 2024-04: GBX 98.80 per share

- 2024-05: GBX 124.80 per share

- 2024-06: GBX 116.40 per share

- 2024-07: GBX 126.60 per share

- 2024-08: GBX 113.40 per share

- 2024-09: GBX 114.60 per share

- 2024-10: GBX 106.40 per share

- 2024-11: GBX 98.40 per share

- 2024-12: GBX 91.50 per share

- 2025-01: GBX 95.00 per share

- 2025-02: GBX 97.70 per share

- 2025-03: GBX 106.60 per share

- 2025-04: GBX 107.20 per share

- 2025-05: GBX 119.80 per share

- 2025-06: GBX 121.60 per share

- 2025-07: GBX 119.00 per share

- 2025-08: GBX 131.20 per share

- 2025-09: GBX 149.00 per share

- 2025-10: GBX 149.60 per share

- 2025-11: GBX 159.60 per share

- 2025-12: GBX 164.60 per share

- 2026-01: GBX 173.00 per share

- 2026-02: GBX 200.50 per share

- 2026-03: GBX 180.00 per share

- 2026-04: GBX 199.80 per share

- 2026-05: GBX 234.60 per share

- 2026-06: GBX 200.20 per share

- 2026-07: GBX 195.80 per share

- 2026-08: GBX 202.40 per share

- 2026-09: GBX 212.80 per share

- 2026-10: GBX 217.80 per share

## Annual estimated value (GBX per share)

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

Prior published observations retained from 2026-10-15T06:44:58.943Z where newer inputs omit a numeric field or fiscal period.

## Sources

[Original ESEF filing](https://filings.xbrl.org/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30/2025-12-31/ESEF/GB/0/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31/reports/213800DGC7GS4XCHCU30-2025-12-31-T01.xhtml); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-04-07.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.

## Reported holder observations