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Compass Group

CMPGF
61
Restaurants · Consumer Cyclical
Price
$31.00
+0.00 (+0.00%)
Market Cap
$52.71B
Exchange
Other OTC
Winston Score
61
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Mar 31, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Exceptional
Cash Flow
Strong
Stability
Good
Valuation
Good
Dividends
Strong

Share count falling — buybacks

4.8% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 1.78B (2021) → 1.70B (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Compass Group is the world's largest contract food service company. It prepares and serves meals inside places like hospitals, schools, offices, sports stadiums, and military bases — not in restaurants people walk into off the street. Customers are the organizations that hire Compass to run their cafeterias and dining facilities, and Compass operates well-known food brands including Eurest, Chartwells, and Restaurant Associates.

Compass makes money by signing multi-year contracts with clients, then managing all the food purchasing, cooking, and serving on their behalf. It operates in over 40 countries, with strong presences in North America, Europe, and Australia, generating roughly $40 billion in annual revenue. Its scale gives it a purchasing advantage over smaller competitors, making it hard to undercut on price. The main growth driver is winning new outsourcing contracts as organizations that currently run their own cafeterias decide to hand that job to a specialist — though rising food and labor costs remain a persistent pressure on margins.

Growth Profile

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

Revenue Growth

+10.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+16.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

2.2%ownership

Relatively low insider ownership

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$2.6B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

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

Growth + cash flow

Compass Group is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 11%. 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
6.7%
Thin — 6.7% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
6.7%
Modest — 6.7% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
22.5%
Exceptional — 22.5% 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
+26.6%
Fast-growing sales (+26.6% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+40.0%
Earnings growing fast (+40.0% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
7/8 quarters
Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
180%
Turns 180% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
5.5%
Thin free cash flow (5.5%)

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
0.94
Moderate — manageable debt (0.94)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
7.00x
Adequate interest coverage (7.0x)

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

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
26.1x
Growth-priced — P/E 26.1

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+2.7
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow — slightly cheaper on forward P/E

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
2.13%
Moderate income — 2.13% yield

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

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+27.4%
Dividend growing fast (27.4% YoY)

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