CDW Value Scorecard - CDW Corporation

Value Scorecard · run 2026-10-18

13 value checks: 12 scored 1 to 5, plus moat evidence

26/60

low-moderate value score

Earnings & returns

EPS Trend

2/5

Diluted EPS: $8.13 (2022), $8.10 (2023), $7.97 (2024), $8.08 (2025). It ended at or below 2022; the framework scores that as 2.

ROE Trend

5/5

ROE (net income / common equity): 69.5% (2022), 54.1% (2023), 45.8% (2024), 40.9% (2025). Median 49.9%, lowest 40.9%; the framework scores a median above 20% as 5.

ROIC

4/5

ROIC of 18.8%: operating income of $1.66B divided by $8.80B of capital (total assets $16.03B minus current liabilities $7.23B), fiscal year to Dec 31, 2025, as filed in the 10-K (SEC EDGAR). The framework scores 15-20% as 4.

Profit Margins

2/5

Net margin of 4.6%; the framework scores 0-5% as 2; gross margin 21.4%, operating margin 7.3%.

Balance sheet & cash

Debt-to-Equity

1/5

Debt-to-equity of 2.63; the framework scores above 2.5 as 1 (total debt $6.43B, total cash $361.80M).

Free Cash Flow

2/5

Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditure): $1.21B (2022), $1.45B (2023), $1.15B (2024), $1.09B (2025). It ended at or below 2022; the framework scores that as 2.

Retained Earnings

1/5

Retained earnings, as filed in the 10-Ks (SEC EDGAR): -$1.76B (2022), -$1.53B (2023), -$1.32B (2024), -$1.27B (2025). The latest balance is negative (an accumulated deficit); the framework scores that as 1.

Valuation models

Graham IV

1/5

IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y) = $8.32 x (8.5 + 2 x 0.0) x (4.4 / 4.5) = $69.15 (EPS CAGR -0.1% floored at 0%; the formula returns a negative value below -4.25% growth). Current price $150.48; price is 117.6% above the model value.

DCF Value

1/5

FCF/share = $5.414, stage 1 growth = 2.4% for 5 years, terminal growth = 3%, discount rate = 10%. Stage 1 PV = $21.95, PV of terminal value = $55.69, DCF value = $77.64. Current price $150.48; price is 93.8% above the model value.

Margin of Safety

1/5

Graham value $69.15 (price is 117.6% above the model value); DCF value $77.64 (price is 93.8% above the model value).

Price-to-Book

1/5

P/B of 7.72; the framework scores above 5.0 as 1.

Business quality

Moat Evidence

Not scored

A moat (a brand, a network, switching costs, patents, scale, a licence) is not a number in the filings, so Valerius doesn’t score it. Below are the figures and the words moat analysis starts from, from the company’s own 10-K filings. The conclusion is yours.

Return on capital, each year

Above 15% in 10 of 10 years (2016-2025); lowest 17.5%, highest 25.1%.

Gross margin, each year

Between 16.5% and 21.9% over 10 years (a range of 5.4 points).

Competition, in the company’s own words · 10-K filed Feb 20, 2026

The market for technology products, solutions, and services is highly competitive and subject to economic conditions and rapid technological changes. This competitive environment includes the ability to tailor solutions to customer needs, the quality and breadth of product and service offerings, knowledge and expertise of sales force, customer service, price, product availability, speed of delivery, and credit

The opening of the company’s “Competition” section in its 10-K, quoted word for word, not summarized or edited. It is the company’s own description, not Valerius’s view, and may include the company’s expectations. Open the filing.

Return on capital = operating income / (total assets − current liabilities), the ROIC row’s definition; 15% is the framework’s return threshold. Gross margin = gross profit / revenue. Both from each year’s 10-K via SEC EDGAR. Moat analysis commonly looks at whether returns and margins held up over many years. These figures don’t say whether the company has an advantage, what it is, or whether it will last.

Capital Allocation

5/5

Capital allocation, 2022-2025: dividends or buybacks paid in every year (pass); $2.92B paid out against $4.90B of free cash flow (pass); total debt $6.10B to $5.79B, down 5.1%, 3.0x EBITDA (pass: not up more than 10%); shares outstanding 0.14B to 0.13B, down 4.5% (pass). 4 of 4 tests passed; the framework scores that as 5.

Filings

Company notices to the SEC

Not scored

Three kinds of event the company reported to the SEC in the last 5 years, from its filings on SEC EDGAR.

These are events the company reported to the SEC. An auditor change or a late filing can have many causes; each date links to the filing, where the company explains it. Valerius does not score these.

How the Graham and DCF values were calculated

  Graham Formula:
    IV = EPS x (8.5 + 2g) x (4.4 / Y)
    EPS = $8.32, g = 0.0%, Y = 4.5
    g floored at 0.0% (3-year EPS CAGR was -0.1%; below -4.25% the formula returns a negative value)
    IV = $69.15
    Current price $150.48 vs Graham value $69.15 — price is 117.6% above the model value.

  DCF:
    FCF/share = $5.414
    Stage 1 growth = 2.4% for 5 years | terminal growth = 3.0% | discount rate = 10.0%
      Y1: $5.543 → PV $5.040
      Y2: $5.677 → PV $4.691
      Y3: $5.813 → PV $4.367
      Y4: $5.952 → PV $4.065
      Y5: $6.095 → PV $3.785
    Stage 1 PV sum = $21.95
    Terminal value at end of Y5 = $89.69
    PV of terminal value = $55.69
    DCF value = $77.64
    Current price $150.48 vs DCF value $77.64 — price is 93.8% above the model value.

Data from yfinance summary figures and financial statements, and from the company’s 10-K filings via SEC EDGAR; computed at a price of $150.48. Every score is calculated from the figures by the framework’s fixed rules, and the explanation beside it is generated from the same figures: Graham value, DCF value, margin of safety, ROIC, profit margins, debt-to-equity, price-to-book, EPS trend, ROE trend, free cash flow, retained earnings and capital allocation. No AI is involved in this scorecard. The moat is shown as evidence, without a score. Read each score with the figures beside it. Intrinsic value calculations are model outputs based on stated assumptions, not predictions.

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