# Universal (UVV.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/UVV

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:32:48.237Z. Financial observations: FY1997–FY2027.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

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

Share price: $40.43 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

Estimated value: low $56.25 per share, central $63.36 per share, high $72.83 per share. Buy at or below the central value $63.36 per share. Valuation as of 2026-10-16T07:32:48.237Z; scenarios are not confidence intervals.

Expected annual return: 14.7% at the stated quote. About 14.7% a year at today's price (required return 10.0%). required return 10.0% a year (10% floor; US 10-year bond 5.1% + 4 points).

## Checklist

### understandable: pass

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

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 4

- Years with a net loss: 0

- Operating margin variation: 0.09×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2018: 0.08×

- FY2019: 0.07×

- FY2020: 0.07×

- FY2021: 0.07×

- FY2022: 0.08×

- FY2023: 0.07×

- FY2024: 0.08×

- FY2025: 0.08×

- FY2026: 0.07×

- LTM to Jun 2026: 0.06×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

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

- ROIC, median of available years: 7.6%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: 5.8%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: 1.6 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 18.5%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 16.8%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 2.0%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 4.6%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2018: 8.4%

- FY2019: 8.6%

- FY2020: 5.8%

- FY2021: 7.1%

- FY2022: 6.5%

- FY2023: 8.4%

- FY2024: 8.1%

- FY2025: 8.6%

- FY2026: 6.5%

- LTM to Jun 2026: 5.1%

### economics: fail

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- working capital as a share of revenue rose more than 10pp and ends positive

- Owner earnings / net income, 5-yr: 1.02×

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: $465M

- Net income, five-year total: $458M

- Return on incremental invested capital: 1.8%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 2.0 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 16.2 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 60.7%

Chart: Annual owner cash / profit; fiscal year observations.

- FY2022: 1.00×

- FY2023: 1.02×

- FY2024: 1.00×

- FY2025: 1.00×

- FY2026: 1.14×

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2017 to 2026 (9 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks unrelated to price (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: 8.6% vs 8.1%

- Per-share earnings: 4.14 to 3.78 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: -1.0%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 0.3%

- Market cap gain: -$475M

- Cumulative retained earnings: $102M

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: -1.0%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 0.3%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2017

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2026

- Per-share value growth: -1.1%

- Per-share value change: -$0.36

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: $4.14

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: $3.78

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): -0.40

- Average buyback yield: 2.1%

- Buyback history: 8 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: $344M

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: $933M

- ROIC, first three-year median: 8.6%

- ROIC, last three-year median: 8.1%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: $4.47

- FY2018: $4.14

- FY2019: $4.11

- FY2020: $2.86

- FY2021: $3.53

- FY2022: $3.47

- FY2023: $4.97

- FY2024: $4.78

- FY2025: $3.78

- FY2026: $1.30

### accounting: pass

- restructuring or one-time charges in at least three of five years

- Sloan accruals: -3.5%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.92×

- Restructuring years, last five: 4

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 5.5%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Operating cash / earnings: 3.96×

- Accounting red flags: 1

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.16×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2017: -6.8%

- FY2018: 1.0%

- FY2019: -2.8%

- FY2020: 2.9%

- FY2021: -5.7%

- FY2022: 1.6%

- FY2023: 5.1%

- FY2024: 6.6%

- FY2025: -7.8%

- FY2026: -3.5%

## Holders

- [Richard Pzena](https://gigainvestors.com/PIM): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Down 40% since Dec 2023 · sales -2.4%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:59:47.042Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

Price needs cash profits to shrink 5.3% a year for ten years

- 2025-11-07: Universal (UVV) Is Up 9.1% After Earnings Beat and Board Appointment - What's Changed ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/universal-uvv-9-1-earnings-141308525.html))

### Sales · FY2026–2027

sales -2.4%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/102037/000162828026039511/uvv-20260331.htm; observed 2026-06-01.

- FY2018: $2.0B 

- FY2019: $2.2B 

- FY2020: $1.9B 

- FY2021: $2.0B 

- FY2022: $2.1B 

- FY2023: $2.6B 

- FY2024: $2.7B 

- FY2025: $2.9B 

- FY2026: $2.9B 

- FY2027: $2.9B 

### Gross margin · FY2027

gross margin 16.8%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/102037/000162828026039511/uvv-20260331.htm; observed 2026-06-01.

- FY2018: 18.3% 

- FY2019: 18.3% 

- FY2020: 18.7% 

- FY2021: 19.5% 

- FY2022: 19.4% 

- FY2023: 17.8% 

- FY2024: 19.5% 

- FY2025: 18.6% 

- FY2026: 17.5% 

- FY2027: 16.8% 

## Owner memo

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

### How it makes money

Operates in tobacco; annual sales are USD 2.9 billion.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/102037/000162828026039511/uvv-20260331.htm (filed 2026-06-01); FY2026: revenue 2924470000; grossProfit 512015999; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-15); UVV.US: Universal Corporation, a business-to-business agriproducts company, provides leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients to food and beverage end markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Tobacco Operations and Ingredients Operations. The Tobacco Operations segment is involved in procuring, processing, packing of flue-cured, burley, dark air-cured, and oriental leaf tobacco for consumer product manufacturers, as well as provision of related services. This segment also offers specialty services, such as custom blending, chemical and physical testing of tobacco, service cutting, reconstituted leaf tobacco manufacturing, and just-in-time product delivery services; and liquid nicotine for tobacco products manufacturers, as well as recycled waste materials from tobacco production. The Ingredients Operations segment engages in the production of specialty plant-based ingredients, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, fruit and vegetable juices, concentrates, pomaces, ciders, purees, nutraceuticals, fruit fibers, seeds, seed powders, dehydrated products, botanical extracts, distillates, natural flavors, colors, and other value-added products for consumer-packaged goods manufacturers and retailers, as well as food, and beverage companies. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 17.5% to 19.5% during 2024–26; it earns 7.6% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 19.5%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 18.6%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/102037/000162828026039511/uvv-20260331.htm (filed 2026-06-01); FY2026: grossProfit / revenue = 17.5%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); 10-year return on capital observations [[2018,0.08393280667019255],[2019,0.08598817350087613],[2020,0.058201079218939404],[2021,0.071479442691636],[2022,0.06536786866686146],[2023,0.08441301512837554],[2024,0.08060849098126363],[2025,0.08584670734240352],[2026,0.06478850887283179],[2027,0.05091407694424998]]; median 0.07604396683644982. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Can it raise prices

Kept about a 19% gross margin through 2022 cost inflation.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/102037/000162828026039511/uvv-20260331.htm (filed 2026-06-01); Gross margin observations: [[2021,0.19462103897583743],[2022,0.19439332839259918],[2023,0.17833322437645535]]; range within 2 percentage points.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 10 of 10 years.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2017: growth capex 0; upkeep 35630000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 106585000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2018: growth capex 0; upkeep 34037000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 106461000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2019: growth capex 1656000; upkeep 37104000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 104121000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.015904572564612324.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2020: growth capex 0; upkeep 35227000; cash acquisitions 80180000; owner earnings 74832000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 1.0714667521915757.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2021: growth capex 12118435.142764881; upkeep 54035564.85723512; cash acquisitions 161751000; owner earnings 78107435.14276488. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 2.2260292483675346.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2022: growth capex 682000; upkeep 52521000; cash acquisitions 102462000; owner earnings 86577000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 1.1913556718297007.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2023: growth capex 0; upkeep 54674000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 126678000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2024: growth capex 7687000; upkeep 58326000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 119598000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.06427365006103782.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); FY2025: growth capex 2828000; upkeep 59773000; owner earnings 95047000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.029753700800656518.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/102037/000162828026039511/uvv-20260331.htm (filed 2026-06-01); FY2026: growth capex 0; upkeep 48829000; owner earnings 37245000. Growth capex / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); Dividend observations: [[2017,60889000],[2018,54699000],[2019,69883000],[2020,75368000],[2021,75177000],[2022,76436000],[2023,77391000],[2024,78402000],[2025,79686000],[2026,81299000]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 2.2% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-15); UVV.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 2.238 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-15.

### What the price says

The price assumes cash profits shrink 5.3% yearly over ten years; actual decline was 8.4%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-06-01); Ten-year compound average after fade. Initial solved rate -0.08774477081278637. Price 40.43; FX 1; discount 0.1; same standard ten-year fade to terminal 0.03. FY2016 owner earnings/share 3.54412434267557 → FY2026 1.4796694725495787. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

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

- 2016-10: $54.20 per share

- 2016-11: $55.05 per share

- 2016-12: $63.75 per share

- 2017-01: $68.00 per share

- 2017-02: $67.70 per share

- 2017-03: $70.75 per share

- 2017-04: $73.45 per share

- 2017-05: $66.40 per share

- 2017-06: $64.70 per share

- 2017-07: $63.95 per share

- 2017-08: $57.20 per share

- 2017-09: $57.30 per share

- 2017-10: $57.35 per share

- 2017-11: $53.35 per share

- 2017-12: $52.50 per share

- 2018-01: $48.00 per share

- 2018-02: $49.15 per share

- 2018-03: $48.50 per share

- 2018-04: $47.05 per share

- 2018-05: $66.15 per share

- 2018-06: $66.05 per share

- 2018-07: $69.10 per share

- 2018-08: $59.80 per share

- 2018-09: $65.00 per share

- 2018-10: $67.86 per share

- 2018-11: $63.40 per share

- 2018-12: $54.15 per share

- 2019-01: $57.70 per share

- 2019-02: $59.34 per share

- 2019-03: $57.63 per share

- 2019-04: $53.86 per share

- 2019-05: $56.52 per share

- 2019-06: $60.77 per share

- 2019-07: $59.50 per share

- 2019-08: $50.06 per share

- 2019-09: $54.81 per share

- 2019-10: $54.80 per share

- 2019-11: $52.22 per share

- 2019-12: $57.06 per share

- 2020-01: $53.15 per share

- 2020-02: $49.35 per share

- 2020-03: $44.21 per share

- 2020-04: $48.37 per share

- 2020-05: $44.06 per share

- 2020-06: $42.51 per share

- 2020-07: $42.16 per share

- 2020-08: $43.41 per share

- 2020-09: $41.88 per share

- 2020-10: $39.85 per share

- 2020-11: $45.51 per share

- 2020-12: $48.61 per share

- 2021-01: $45.87 per share

- 2021-02: $50.82 per share

- 2021-03: $58.99 per share

- 2021-04: $56.23 per share

- 2021-05: $56.04 per share

- 2021-06: $56.97 per share

- 2021-07: $52.16 per share

- 2021-08: $50.60 per share

- 2021-09: $48.33 per share

- 2021-10: $47.00 per share

- 2021-11: $46.57 per share

- 2021-12: $54.92 per share

- 2022-01: $54.43 per share

- 2022-02: $54.11 per share

- 2022-03: $58.07 per share

- 2022-04: $57.85 per share

- 2022-05: $63.68 per share

- 2022-06: $60.50 per share

- 2022-07: $55.91 per share

- 2022-08: $51.04 per share

- 2022-09: $46.04 per share

- 2022-10: $50.61 per share

- 2022-11: $56.91 per share

- 2022-12: $52.81 per share

- 2023-01: $54.37 per share

- 2023-02: $50.59 per share

- 2023-03: $52.89 per share

- 2023-04: $54.89 per share

- 2023-05: $51.55 per share

- 2023-06: $49.94 per share

- 2023-07: $50.57 per share

- 2023-08: $47.62 per share

- 2023-09: $47.21 per share

- 2023-10: $45.00 per share

- 2023-11: $56.26 per share

- 2023-12: $67.32 per share

- 2024-01: $57.95 per share

- 2024-02: $48.01 per share

- 2024-03: $51.72 per share

- 2024-04: $51.43 per share

- 2024-05: $47.96 per share

- 2024-06: $48.19 per share

- 2024-07: $53.42 per share

- 2024-08: $54.30 per share

- 2024-09: $53.11 per share

- 2024-10: $50.92 per share

- 2024-11: $57.12 per share

- 2024-12: $54.84 per share

- 2025-01: $53.12 per share

- 2025-02: $53.61 per share

- 2025-03: $56.05 per share

- 2025-04: $58.27 per share

- 2025-05: $65.39 per share

- 2025-06: $58.24 per share

- 2025-07: $54.47 per share

- 2025-08: $55.95 per share

- 2025-09: $55.87 per share

- 2025-10: $50.68 per share

- 2025-11: $52.76 per share

- 2025-12: $52.75 per share

- 2026-01: $56.59 per share

- 2026-02: $53.73 per share

- 2026-03: $52.70 per share

- 2026-04: $53.58 per share

- 2026-05: $51.87 per share

- 2026-06: $52.17 per share

- 2026-07: $52.69 per share

- 2026-08: $45.50 per share

- 2026-09: $41.79 per share

- 2026-10: $40.43 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2017: low $59.22 per share, central $65.97 per share, high $74.97 per share

- FY2018: low $52.43 per share, central $58.62 per share, high $66.85 per share

- FY2019: low $54.92 per share, central $61.11 per share, high $69.36 per share

- FY2020: low $41.63 per share, central $46.99 per share, high $54.13 per share

- FY2021: low $47.24 per share, central $52.88 per share, high $60.38 per share

- FY2022: low $39.56 per share, central $44.79 per share, high $51.76 per share

- FY2023: low $46.88 per share, central $53.27 per share, high $61.78 per share

- FY2024: low $49.40 per share, central $56.21 per share, high $65.27 per share

- FY2025: low $62.72 per share, central $72.70 per share, high $83.29 per share

- FY2026: low $52.41 per share, central $59.62 per share, high $69.21 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

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/102037/000162828026039511/uvv-20260331.htm); period 2026-03-31, filed 2026-06-01.

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

- [Richard Pzena](https://gigainvestors.com/PIM): 363,477 UVV shares; USD 18,963,000 reported position value; 0.06% of portfolio; add; quarter 2026 Q2.

# UVV — Universal Corp.

Held by 1 investor · USD 18,963,000 total · 2026 Q2 · reported price USD 52.17 (split-adjusted).
Page: https://gigainvestors.com/s/UVV

## Holders (2026 Q2)

| Investor | Value | % of their portfolio | This quarter |
|---|---:|---:|---|
| Richard Pzena (https://gigainvestors.com/PIM) | USD 18,963,000 | 0.1% | add +10.32% |

## Total held by quarter

- 2024 Q1: USD 55,338,538 · 1 holder · USD 51.72
- 2024 Q2: USD 49,729,911 · 1 holder · USD 48.19
- 2024 Q3: USD 49,332,286 · 1 holder · USD 53.11
- 2024 Q4: USD 50,199,439 · 1 holder · USD 54.84
- 2025 Q1: USD 51,108,296 · 1 holder · USD 56.05
- 2025 Q2: USD 28,944,057 · 1 holder · USD 58.24
- 2025 Q3: USD 18,856,348 · 1 holder · USD 55.87
- 2025 Q4: USD 17,285,015 · 1 holder · USD 52.75
- 2026 Q1: USD 17,364,018 · 1 holder · USD 52.70
- 2026 Q2: USD 18,963,000 · 1 holder · USD 52.17