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BEST S.a.

BST.WA
54
Financial - Credit Services · Financial Services
Price
34.20 PLN
-0.40 (-1.16%)
Market Cap
974.0M PLN
Exchange
Warsaw Stock Exchange
Winston Score
54
Winston is curious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Mar 31, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Strong
Growth
Strong
Cash Flow
Weak
Stability
Mixed
Valuation
Good

Share count rising — dilution

+19.3% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 23.2M (2021) → 27.7M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

BEST S.A. is a Polish financial services company that buys unpaid debts from banks, telecom companies, and other businesses. When a customer stops paying a bill, BEST purchases that debt at a discount and then works to collect the money owed. The company operates in the debt purchasing and collection industry, which is sometimes called the non-performing loan (NPL) market.

BEST makes money by collecting more from debtors than it paid to acquire the debt portfolios, keeping the difference as profit. The company operates primarily in Poland, with some exposure to other Central and Eastern European markets, and its roughly $0.9 billion market cap makes it a mid-sized player in the regional NPL space. Its competitive position depends on its ability to accurately price debt portfolios and manage collections efficiently, but the main risk it faces is a tightening regulatory environment around debt collection practices in Poland, which could limit how aggressively it can pursue repayments.

Growth Profile

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

Revenue Growth

+73.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue accelerating

EPS Growth

+600.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Strong earnings growth

R&D Spend

0 PLN/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (7%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

0.7%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

229M PLN cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

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

Revenue accelerating

BEST S.a. grew revenue 73% year-over-year and the growth rate is speeding up. That's the kind of momentum growth investors look for — the question is whether margins can follow.

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
82.8%
Premium pricing power — 82.8% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
56.7%
Excellent — 56.7% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
10.5%
Below par — 10.5% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+74.6%
Fast-growing sales (+74.6% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+18.3%
Earnings growing fast (+18.3% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
-147%
Weak — only -147% of profit becomes cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
-35.1%
Burning cash (-35.1%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
1.34
Elevated debt (1.34)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
3.47x
Tight — interest eats into profit (3.5x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
7.5x
Attractive valuation — P/E 7.5

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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