WH Smith PLC

LSE:SMWH Stock Report

Market Cap: UK£1.5b

WH Smith Balance Sheet Health

Financial Health criteria checks 2/6

WH Smith has a total shareholder equity of £446.0M and total debt of £427.0M, which brings its debt-to-equity ratio to 95.7%. Its total assets and total liabilities are £1.9B and £1.4B respectively. WH Smith's EBIT is £213.0M making its interest coverage ratio 4.1. It has cash and short-term investments of £56.0M.

Key information

95.7%

Debt to equity ratio

UK£427.00m

Debt

Interest coverage ratio4.1x
CashUK£56.00m
EquityUK£446.00m
Total liabilitiesUK£1.42b
Total assetsUK£1.87b

Recent financial health updates

Here's Why WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

May 21
Here's Why WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

We Think WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

Jan 08
We Think WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

Here's Why WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

Jul 14
Here's Why WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

Dec 05
WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) A Risky Investment?

May 27
Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) A Risky Investment?

Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Using Too Much Debt?

Dec 09
Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Using Too Much Debt?

Recent updates

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year

Dec 18
WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Is Paying Out A Larger Dividend Than Last Year

WH Smith's (LON:SMWH) Shareholders Will Receive A Bigger Dividend Than Last Year

Dec 04
WH Smith's (LON:SMWH) Shareholders Will Receive A Bigger Dividend Than Last Year

Investors Appear Satisfied With WH Smith PLC's (LON:SMWH) Prospects

Nov 16
Investors Appear Satisfied With WH Smith PLC's (LON:SMWH) Prospects

Is Now The Time To Look At Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

Sep 24
Is Now The Time To Look At Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

WH Smith PLC's (LON:SMWH) P/E Is On The Mark

Aug 07
WH Smith PLC's (LON:SMWH) P/E Is On The Mark

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of £0.11

Jun 28
WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of £0.11

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Has Announced A Dividend Of £0.11

Jun 14
WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Has Announced A Dividend Of £0.11

Is Now The Time To Look At Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

Jun 12
Is Now The Time To Look At Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

Here's Why WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

May 21
Here's Why WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Will Pay A Dividend Of £0.11

Apr 28
WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Will Pay A Dividend Of £0.11

WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Shares Could Be 34% Above Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

Mar 21
WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Shares Could Be 34% Above Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

Is It Time To Consider Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

Feb 29
Is It Time To Consider Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

We Think WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

Jan 08
We Think WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Stay On Top Of Its Debt

We Think WH Smith's (LON:SMWH) Robust Earnings Are Conservative

Dec 18
We Think WH Smith's (LON:SMWH) Robust Earnings Are Conservative

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Has Announced That It Will Be Increasing Its Dividend To £0.208

Dec 13
WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Has Announced That It Will Be Increasing Its Dividend To £0.208

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Is Increasing Its Dividend To £0.208

Nov 16
WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Is Increasing Its Dividend To £0.208

Is WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Potentially Undervalued?

Nov 10
Is WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Potentially Undervalued?

A Look At The Fair Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Oct 04
A Look At The Fair Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Here's Why WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

Jul 14
Here's Why WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly

WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Shares Could Be 33% Above Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

Jun 22
WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Shares Could Be 33% Above Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

Is It Time To Consider Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

May 05
Is It Time To Consider Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Mar 18
A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

Jan 18
Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

Dec 05
WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly

Estimating The Fair Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Aug 25
Estimating The Fair Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

At UK£14.46, Is WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Worth Looking At Closely?

Aug 04
At UK£14.46, Is WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Worth Looking At Closely?

Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) A Risky Investment?

May 27
Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) A Risky Investment?

Should You Investigate WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) At UK£14.56?

May 03
Should You Investigate WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) At UK£14.56?

Calculating The Fair Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Apr 12
Calculating The Fair Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Is WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Potentially Undervalued?

Jan 26
Is WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Potentially Undervalued?

Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Jan 05
Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Using Too Much Debt?

Dec 09
Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Using Too Much Debt?

Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Sep 23
Calculating The Intrinsic Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

Aug 18
Is Now An Opportune Moment To Examine WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

Calculating The Fair Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Jun 25
Calculating The Fair Value Of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)

Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) A Risky Investment?

May 27
Is WH Smith (LON:SMWH) A Risky Investment?

WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Just Reported Interim Earnings: Have Analysts Changed Their Mind On The Stock?

May 01
WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Just Reported Interim Earnings: Have Analysts Changed Their Mind On The Stock?

What Type Of Shareholders Own The Most Number of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Shares?

Mar 17
What Type Of Shareholders Own The Most Number of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) Shares?

Is It Time To Consider Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

Feb 10
Is It Time To Consider Buying WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH)?

How Much Did WH Smith's(LON:SMWH) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Year?

Jan 20
How Much Did WH Smith's(LON:SMWH) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Year?

Are Investors Undervaluing WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) By 39%?

Dec 22
Are Investors Undervaluing WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) By 39%?

Does WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Dec 01
Does WH Smith (LON:SMWH) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Financial Position Analysis

Short Term Liabilities: SMWH's short term assets (£511.0M) do not cover its short term liabilities (£599.0M).

Long Term Liabilities: SMWH's short term assets (£511.0M) do not cover its long term liabilities (£824.0M).

Debt to Equity History and Analysis

Debt Level: SMWH's net debt to equity ratio (83.2%) is considered high.

Reducing Debt: SMWH's debt to equity ratio has increased from 90.7% to 95.7% over the past 5 years.

Debt Coverage: SMWH's debt is well covered by operating cash flow (64.4%).

Interest Coverage: SMWH's interest payments on its debt are well covered by EBIT (4.1x coverage).

Balance Sheet

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Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

DataLast Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis2024/12/25 10:59
End of Day Share Price 2024/12/24 00:00
Earnings2024/08/31
Annual Earnings2024/08/31

Data Sources

The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.

PackageDataTimeframeExample US Source *
Company Financials10 years
  • Income statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
Analyst Consensus Estimates+3 years
  • Forecast financials
  • Analyst price targets
Market Prices30 years
  • Stock prices
  • Dividends, Splits and Actions
Ownership10 years
  • Top shareholders
  • Insider trading
Management10 years
  • Leadership team
  • Board of directors
Key Developments10 years
  • Company announcements

* example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.

Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.

Analysis Model and Snowflake

Details of the analysis model used to generate this report is available on our Github page, we also have guides on how to use our reports and tutorials on Youtube.

Learn about the world class team who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Industry and Sector Metrics

Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on .

Analyst Sources

WH Smith PLC is covered by 35 analysts. 11 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.

AnalystInstitution
Richard TaylorBarclays
Benjamin Sandland-TaylorBerenberg
Ian MacdougallBlue Oar Securities