Does VALHI, INC. have an economic moat?

Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores VALHI, INC. (VHI) 37.1 out of 100 — below the Shallow-moat bar, so no moat. The four filters behind that score (each 0–100): pricing power 12, returns on capital 73, balance-sheet safety 15, capital discipline 44.

Is VHI stock trading below its intrinsic value?

Against a deliberately conservative owner-earnings model (9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth, capped at 4%), estimated intrinsic value is $32.73 per share versus a recent price of $13.89 — 58% below value. This is an educational estimate computed from primary SEC filings, not investment advice.

How has VHI's Moat Score changed over time?

The record logs 4 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 37.1 out of 100 (no moat). No tier changes on record yet. The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

The Moat Index

VALHI, INC.

VHI · Materials · $411.1M mkt cap · FY2025 filings · No moat ·

Doesn't clear the bar

No moat

The four filters

Pricing power12

Median gross margin 22.2% over 10y, variable.

Returns on capital73

Median ROIC 16.1%, above the 9% hurdle in 70% of years.

Balance-sheet safety15

Net debt/EBITDA 2.9x, interest coverage 1x.

Capital discipline44

Owner earnings trend unclear, share count flat.

Margin of safety

Above valueOn sale

58% below value

Owner earnings (normalized): $87.2M
Est. intrinsic value / share: $32.73
Recent price: $13.89
Discount to value: 58% below value

Conservative model: 9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth (capped at 4%), maintenance capex ≈ min(capex, D&A).

18 years of fundamentals

The business, in plain English

VALHI, INC. booked $2.1B of revenue in FY2025 in the Materials sector and kept 14.2% of it as gross profit — a thin-margin business by that measure. After every other cost, −2.8% of each revenue dollar reached the bottom line.

Across the filed record, revenue grew from $1.3B (FY2009) to $2.1B (FY2025) — about 3.1% a year compounded over 16 years.

It earned 3.6% on invested capital in FY2025, with a median of 13.5% across 16 filed years. The Returns on Capital filter above scores it 73/100.

The balance sheet carried $591.7M of total debt in FY2025. Balance-Sheet Safety scores it 15/100.

The share count fell 91.3% between FY2010 and FY2025 — management has been retiring shares, which concentrates each remaining owner's claim. Capital Discipline scores it 44/100.

Put together: Returns on Capital is the strongest of the four filters (73/100) and Pricing Power the weakest (12/100), which is how VHI lands at 37/100 — a None moat.

This breakdown is generated from the filed numbers and sub-scores above — no outside narrative, no estimates. Where a filing doesn’t disclose an input, the sentence that would need it is omitted instead of guessed.

RevenueSales, as filed$2.1B FY2025

Gross marginRevenue kept after cost of goods14.2% FY2025

Return on invested capitalOperating profit on the capital employed3.6% FY2025

Owner earningsCash an owner could take out−$37.8M FY2025

Gaps in a line mean that item isn’t in VHI’s filings for that year — the series is never interpolated or estimated. The Table view lists every filed value, including operating and net margins, total debt, and share count.

Moat Score history

Moat Score over timeLast scored reading of each day, on the 0–100 scale37.1 / 100

Tier changesSame-methodology crossings of the Wide / Narrow / Shallow bars

None yet — VHI has read No moat for every logged capture since Jul 17, 2026.

Scores are logged append-only and never overwritten — this record can’t be backfilled, which is exactly why it’s worth keeping.

Track record

How VALHI, INC.’s moat rated in each of the years we can reconstruct from its filings — scored only on what was knowable at the time — and what its price and returns did afterward. The score never saw a price; the two are joined only in hindsight, for education, not as a signal.

As-of Moat Score (dot colored by tier)Indexed price (total-return (dividends reinvested))Rated Wide-moat that year

How to read this: each dot is what the engine would have scored VHI on that December 31; the line below is its total-return price path (dividends reinvested) in the years since.

Two tracks, one timeline: the score has its own 0–100 scale (top), the price its own 100-based scale (bottom) — never a shared axis. The price path is a total-return (dividends reinvested) index built from the same data the forward returns use; gaps in the score line are years with no reconstructed rating (see the table for why). The Table view carries every value.

What followed, in the years it rated Wide

In the reconstructed history shown, VHI did not rate Wide-moat in any year, so there is no wide-moat track record to report. That absence is itself the honest answer — we don’t manufacture a comparison where the rating never earned one.

Materials context

#119 of 231 scored Materials companies, ranked by Moat Score.

Nearest peers by Moat Score

#117MLKN MillerKnoll, Inc.37.8 out of 100, No moatNo moat
#118RCKY ROCKY BRANDS, INC.37.2 out of 100, No moatNo moat
#120SWIM Latham Group, Inc.37.0 out of 100, No moatNo moat
#121NL NL INDUSTRIES, INC.36.9 out of 100, No moatNo moat

Compare VHI with its nearest peers →All Materials companies on the Index →

Common questions about VHI

Does VALHI, INC. have an economic moat?: Based on its FY2025 SEC filings, the Moat Index scores VALHI, INC. (VHI) 37.1 out of 100 — below the Shallow-moat bar, so no moat. The four filters behind that score (each 0–100): pricing power 12, returns on capital 73, balance-sheet safety 15, capital discipline 44.
Is VHI stock trading below its intrinsic value?: Against a deliberately conservative owner-earnings model (9% discount rate, 0% assumed growth, capped at 4%), estimated intrinsic value is $32.73 per share versus a recent price of $13.89 — 58% below value. This is an educational estimate computed from primary SEC filings, not investment advice.
How has VHI's Moat Score changed over time?: The record logs 4 readings since Jul 17, 2026; the latest reads 37.1 out of 100 (no moat). No tier changes on record yet. The history is append-only — readings are only ever added, never rewritten.

Embed this score on your site

One iframe, no script. The badge shows VHI’s live Moat Score, updates itself as new filings are scored, and links back here. How it works.

<iframe
  src="https://buylikebuffett.com/embed/VHI"
  width="340" height="150" style="border:0"
  title="VHI Moat Score — The Moat Index"
  loading="lazy"></iframe>

Scored from primary SEC filings via the public methodology. Educational only — not a recommendation to buy or sell VHI. See the disclaimer.