Bastei Lübbe AG

BST.DE

Publishing · Communication Services

Exchange

Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Winston Score

Winston is curious

A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Strong

Growth

Mixed

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Exceptional

Valuation

Strong

Dividends

Strong

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Winston Score History

The full picture

Bastei Lübbe is a German publishing company that creates and sells books, audiobooks, and digital content. It publishes fiction and non-fiction titles across genres like thriller, romance, and fantasy, selling to everyday readers in Germany and other German-speaking countries. The company owns the well-known Bastei Lübbe brand and has been in the publishing business for over 60 years.

The company earns money by selling physical books through retailers, licensing content, and growing its digital and audiobook offerings through platforms like its own lesejury.de community and third-party services. It operates mainly in the German-speaking market, which limits its geographic reach compared to larger global publishers. With a market cap of around €100 million, it is a small player in a competitive industry, and its main challenge is adapting to the ongoing shift away from print books toward digital formats and streaming-style content consumption.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+12.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-127.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

74.1%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

€22M cash & investments

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Bastei Lübbe AG is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 12%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

50.8%

Healthy — 50.8% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

26.3%

Excellent — 26.3% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

19.8%

Strong — 19.8% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+8.8%

Steady sales growth (+8.8% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-36.5%

Earnings shrinking (-36.5% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

2/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

168%

Turns 168% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

7.8%

Modest free cash flow (7.8%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.07

Conservative — low debt load (0.07)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

61.41x

Comfortably covers interest (61.4x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

14.7x

no trend

Attractive valuation — P/E 14.7

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+4.2

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (14.7 → 10.4)

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

2.71%

no trend

Moderate income — 2.71% yield

Standard yield zone for stable dividend payers. A meaningful piece of total return.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+12.4%

no trend

Dividend growing fast (12.4% YoY)

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