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Deep Value: cash covers about 94% of the stock price

This company holds roughly $817M in cash and investments — about 94% of its entire stock-market value, based on its latest quarterly filing. You're paying very little for the actual business. Sometimes that's a genuine bargain or a takeover target, sometimes it's cheap for a reason. Not a buy signal on its own — always ask why it's this cheap.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. logo

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V.

VLRS
21
Airlines, Airports & Air Services · Industrials
Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
Winston Score
21
Winston is worried
Weak fundamentals across most pillars.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Weak
Growth
Mixed
Cash Flow
Mixed
Stability
Weak
Valuation
Data not available

Winston Score History

The full picture

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, known as Volaris, is a Mexican low-cost airline that sells cheap flights to everyday travelers. It operates routes across Mexico, the United States, and Central America, connecting cities like Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Tijuana to dozens of destinations. Volaris is one of Mexico's largest airlines by passengers carried and focuses almost entirely on budget-conscious flyers.

Volaris makes money by selling airline tickets, but like most low-cost carriers, it also earns a significant chunk of revenue from add-on fees — things like checked bags, seat selection, and priority boarding. The airline operates mainly in Mexico and on cross-border routes to the U.S., where it benefits from strong demand tied to Mexican migration patterns. Its thin margins, reflected in a gross margin below 6%, highlight the main risk: fuel costs, peso depreciation, and intense competition from rivals like Aeromexico and VivaAerobus can quickly erase profits if conditions shift.

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Growth Profile

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

Revenue Growth

+24.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-100.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

24.6%ownership

Rising

Insiders increasing their stake — aligned with shareholders

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$817M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

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

Growth + cash flow

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 24%. 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.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
-6.8%
Thin — -6.8% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
-11.5%
Losing money on operations — -11.5%
Return on the money invested
ROCE
1.6%
Weak — 1.6% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+9.1%
Steady sales growth (+9.1% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
N/A
Data not available
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
N/A
Data not available
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
15.3%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (15.3%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
10.18
Heavy debt load (10.18)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
0.04x
Dangerous — barely covers interest (0.0x)

Interest coverage below 1. Their profits don't cover the interest bill.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
N/M
no trend
Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful
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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