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The Sage Group

SGE.L
69
Software - Application · Technology
Price
1,098.00 GBp
+12.00 (+1.10%)
Market Cap
£9.85B
Exchange
London Stock Exchange
Winston Score
69
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
Exceptional
Growth
Good
Cash Flow
Exceptional
Stability
Mixed
Valuation
Strong
Dividends
Strong

Share count falling — buybacks

8.9% over 4y

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

Diluted shares outstanding: 1.09B (2021) → 993.0M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Sage Group is a British software company that makes accounting and business management tools for small and medium-sized businesses. Its core products include Sage 50, Sage Intacct, and Sage X3, which help companies track money, manage payroll, and handle day-to-day finances. Sage is one of the largest dedicated accounting software providers in the world for smaller businesses.

Sage earns most of its revenue through software subscriptions, and it has been shifting customers away from older one-time licenses toward recurring cloud-based plans. The company operates mainly in the UK, North America, and Europe, with over 6 million business customers globally. Its moat comes from the sticky nature of accounting software — businesses rarely switch once their financial data is embedded in a system. The key growth driver is accelerating that cloud migration, but the main risk is competition from faster-growing rivals like Xero and QuickBooks, which are aggressively targeting the same small business market.

Growth Profile

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

Revenue Growth

+9.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+131.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

£379M/ year

Rising (+10% vs prior year)

15.1% of revenue

In line with sector average (15%)

Investing heavily in future products and technology

Insider Activity

2.6%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

£693M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

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

Heavy R&D investment

The Sage Group is putting 15% of revenue into R&D and that number is rising. And they're generating enough cash to self-fund it.

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
89.1%
Premium pricing power — 89.1% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
22.3%
Excellent — 22.3% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
27.7%
Exceptional — 27.7% return on capital

ROIC above 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns more than 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
+57.3%
Earnings growing fast (+57.3% YoY)

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

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
4/8 quarters
Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
140%
Turns 140% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
19.2%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (19.2%)

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
8.78
Heavy debt load (8.78)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
8.90x
Comfortably covers interest (8.9x)

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

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
26.8x
Growth-priced — P/E 26.8

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

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+7.9
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (26.8 → 18.9)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
2.04%
Moderate income — 2.04% yield

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

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+13.2%
Dividend growing fast (13.2% YoY)

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