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S4 Capital

SFOR.L
29
Advertising Agencies · Communication Services
Price
50.80 GBp
+0.60 (+1.20%)
Market Cap
£336.8M
Exchange
London Stock Exchange
Winston Score
29
Winston is worried
Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak 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
Good
Valuation
Data not available
Dividends
Mixed

Share count rising — dilution

+22.3% over 4y

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

Diluted shares outstanding: 551.8M (2021) → 674.8M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

S4 Capital is a digital advertising and marketing services company. It helps large businesses — mostly big global brands and technology companies — with things like building websites, creating digital ads, and using data to target the right customers. It was founded in 2018 by Sir Martin Sorrell, who previously built WPP into one of the world's largest advertising groups.

The company makes money by charging clients fees for creative work, technology services, and data analytics, operating what it calls a "purely digital" model without traditional media buying. S4 Capital works across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, and has grown largely through acquisitions, combining agencies like MediaMonks and MightyHive under one roof. With a market cap around $0.3 billion and thin operating margins near 3%, the key risk is that the company took on significant debt during its acquisition-heavy growth phase, and it now faces pressure to improve profitability while competing against much larger, well-resourced agency holding groups.

Growth Profile

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

Revenue Growth

-4.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

+100.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

£0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (12%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

32.4%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

£189M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

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

Revenue declining

S4 Capital's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

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
14.7%
Thin — 14.7% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
2.6%
Thin — 2.6% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
4.9%
Weak — 4.9% 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
-6.1%
Shrinking sales (-6.1% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
N/A
Data not available
How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
5/8 quarters
Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
N/A
Data not available
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
13.1%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (13.1%)

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
0.50
Conservative — low debt load (0.50)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
1.74x
Dangerous — barely covers interest (1.7x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
N/M
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

Dividend
Dividend Yield
2.05%
Moderate income — 2.05% yield

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

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
N/A
Data not available

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