SPH SUBURBAN PROPANE PARTNERS LP

NYSE Retail-Miscellaneous Retail DE CIK: 0001005210
AI RATING
HOLD
68% Confidence

Investment Thesis

SPH demonstrates strong profitability with excellent net income growth of 43.7% YoY and healthy operating margins of 24.5%, indicating solid operational performance. However, tight liquidity metrics (1.08x current ratio, 0.82x quick ratio) combined with minimal cash reserves ($4.3M) and a significant gap between reported earnings and operating cash flow raise concerns about financial flexibility and earnings quality.

Strengths

  • + Exceptional earnings growth of 43.7% YoY with EPS growth of 42.1%
  • + Strong net margin of 19.9% and operating margin of 24.5% indicating pricing power and operational efficiency
  • + Positive free cash flow of $24.1M and adequate interest coverage of 5.7x demonstrating debt serviceability

Risks

  • ! Severely constrained liquidity with $4.3M cash against $1.3B long-term debt and 0.82x quick ratio limiting operational flexibility
  • ! Significant divergence between net income ($183.3M) and operating cash flow ($68.6M) suggests potential working capital issues or earnings quality concerns
  • ! High leverage with total liabilities of $1.7B against total assets of $2.4B leaves limited margin for error in downturns

Key Metrics to Watch

Financial Metrics

Revenue
921.6M
Net Income
183.3M
EPS (Diluted)
$2.75
Free Cash Flow
24.1M
Total Assets
2.4B
Cash
4.3M

Profitability Ratios

Gross Margin N/A
Operating Margin 24.5%
Net Margin 19.9%
ROE N/A
ROA 7.6%
FCF Margin 2.6%

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Current Ratio
1.08x
Quick Ratio
0.82x
Debt/Equity
N/A
Debt/Assets
69.3%
Interest Coverage
5.72x
Long-term Debt
1.3B
Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI based on publicly available SEC EDGAR filings. It does not include stock price data and should not be considered financial advice. All fundamental data is sourced from SEC public domain filings. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
Data Source: SEC EDGAR | Analysis Date: 2026-05-09T13:11:07.020005 | Data as of: 2026-03-28 | Powered by Claude AI