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Dolby

DLB NYSE Application Software Financials FY2016–FY2025

Dolby's revenue rose 5.9% to $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 19.6%, down from 20.3% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $436 million, up 46.6%. It paid out $252 million in dividends and buybacks, 58% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.2%.

Last close · Oct 23, 2026

$62.85

0.7%
Value it Compare
Revenue Total sales reported in the income statement.
$1.3B
5.9% vs prior year
Operating margin Operating income as a share of revenue.
19.6%
0.6 pts
Net income Profit after all expenses, interest and tax.
$255M
2.6%
Free cash flow Cash from operations minus capital spending.
$436M
46.6%
Return on capital After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
11.4%
1.1 pts
Market cap Last close times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate.
$5.9B
Oct 23 close
P/E Last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters.
26.7x
On $2.35 EPS (TTM)

About these figures. Dolby has no borrowings, so debt is counted as zero.

What Dolby does

Dolby invents audio and video technologies and earns most of its money by licensing them. Its best-known are Dolby Atmos, a three-dimensional surround sound format, and Dolby Vision, a high dynamic range picture format. Device makers such as television, smartphone, PC and soundbar companies pay Dolby to build these technologies, and its audio codecs (which compress and decode sound), into their products. Dolby says about 1,000 manufacturers license its technology. Content creators and distributors use its tools to make and deliver films, shows, music and sports in these formats.

Licensing, covering branded technology and patents, brought in 93% of revenue in fiscal 2025. The rest came from products and services, such as Dolby Cinema and cinema equipment. By market, broadcast products such as televisions and set-top boxes made up 34% of licensing revenue, mobile 22%, consumer electronics 12% and PCs 12%. Dolby also gets fees for running patent pools, in which patent owners license their patents together.

Dolby depends on its intellectual property. As of September 26, 2025, it held approximately 28,400 issued and effective patents. The filing warns that the Dolby family and its affiliates may take actions in their own interests that other stockholders do not view as beneficial.

Legal name
Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
Fiscal year ends
September 26, 2025
Latest annual report
10-K · Nov 18, 2025
Accession · CIK
0001308547-25-000007
0001308547

Revenue and margins

Dolby had $1.3B of revenue in fiscal 2025, up 5.9% on the year before.

Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Gross Operating Net FCF
Margins, % of revenue
Gross Operating Net FCF

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, diluted EPS grew 4.2% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.

Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS

Returns on capital

After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.

Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
Return on capital Return on equity Return on assets

Cash flow

Free cash flow was $436M in fiscal 2025, 32.3% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.

Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations Capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations Capital spending

Dividends, buybacks and share count

Dolby returned $252M to shareholders in fiscal 2025, 58% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 0.2%.

Dividends and buybacks
Dividends Buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends Buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)

Value Dolby yourself

Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.

Discounted cash flow

Value per share

—

Adds net cash of $703M and divides by 97.5M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.

Earnings multiple

Value per share

—

Reference multiples: today 26.7x · peers 79.8x · sector 33.5x.

Balance sheet

Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Dolby can carry it.

Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
Cash Debt
Fiscal year endFY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Cash and short-term investments $1.3B$809M$885M$482M$703M
Debt incl. finance leases $0.0M$0.0M$0.0M$0.0M$0.0M
Net debt / EBITDA −2.9x−2.7x−3.0x−1.4x−2.0x
Debt / equity 0.0x0.0x0.0x0.0x0.0x
Interest coverage 719.0x524.4x———
Current ratio 5.6x4.7x3.5x2.9x3.2x
Quick ratio 5.5x4.6x3.4x2.8x3.1x
Total assets $3.1B$2.7B$3.0B$3.1B$3.2B
Total liabilities $502M$439M$608M$623M$596M
Shareholders' equity $2.6B$2.2B$2.4B$2.5B$2.6B
Net debt (− = net cash) −$1.3B−$809M−$885M−$482M−$703M

Insider trades

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. 'Plan' marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Bought, 12 months

$0.0M

0 insiders

Sold, 12 months

$3.7M

5 insiders

Of sales under plans

77%

$2.8M

DateInsiderTradeSharesPriceValueFiling
Sep 1, 2026 John D CoulingSVP, Entertainment Sold plan 7,667 $61.05 $0.5M Form 4
Aug 25, 2026 Ryan NicholsonVP, CAO and Corp. Controller Sold 1,183 $65.28 $0.1M Form 4
Aug 14, 2026 Shriram RevankarSVP, Advanced Technology Group Sold plan 3,000 $62.71 $0.2M Form 4
Aug 10, 2026 Ryan NicholsonVP, CAO and Corp. Controller Sold 1,348 $62.04 $0.1M Form 4
Aug 4, 2026 Ryan NicholsonVP, CAO and Corp. Controller Sold 357 $60.63 $0.0M Form 4
Aug 3, 2026 John D CoulingSVP, Entertainment Sold plan 7,667 $60.00 $0.5M Form 4
Jul 1, 2026 John D CoulingSVP, Entertainment Sold plan 7,667 $53.20 $0.4M Form 4
Jun 1, 2026 John D CoulingSVP, Entertainment Sold plan 7,666 $55.63 $0.4M Form 4
May 22, 2026 Todd PendletonSVP, Chief Marketing Officer Sold 11,876 $54.55 $0.6M Form 4
May 15, 2026 Shriram RevankarSVP, Advanced Technology Group Sold plan 3,000 $54.90 $0.2M Form 4
May 12, 2026 Robert J ParkSVP & Chief Financial Officer Sold plan 4,895 $56.68 $0.3M Form 4
May 5, 2026 John D CoulingSVP, Entertainment Sold plan 7,666 $57.55 $0.4M Form 4

Piotroski F-score

Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.

TestFY23FY24FY25
Net income is positive ✓ ✓ ✓
Cash from operations is positive ✓ ✓ ✓
Return on assets rose ✓ ✓ ✕
Cash from operations exceeds net income ✓ ✓ ✓
Debt fell relative to assets ✕ ✕ ✕
Current ratio rose ✕ ✕ ✓
Share count didn't rise ✓ ✓ ✕
Gross margin rose ✕ ✓ ✕
Revenue rose relative to assets ✓ ✕ ✓
F-score 6 / 96 / 95 / 9
Accruals ratio −5.9%−2.2%−6.9%
Altman Z'' 9.559.009.78

Similar companies

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don't line up exactly.

CompanyMarket capGrowthOp. marginFCF marginROICP/EF-score
Dolby DLB $5.9B 5.9% 19.6% 32.3% 11.4% 26.7x 5
Guidewire Software GWRE $16.1B 22.7% 10.2% 25.6% 12.1% — 8 Compare →
Bentley Systems BSY $12.7B 11.0% 24.2% 34.6% 12.3% 43.6x 9 Compare →
Samsara IOT $26.5B 29.6% −3.3% 12.8% — — — Compare →
Bill BILL $5.1B 13.0% −4.4% 25.0% −1.7% — 4 Compare →

10 years of figures

US$ millions unless stated. Hover a ratio's name for its definition.

Download CSV
Fiscal yearFY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25
Income statement
Revenue $1.0B $1.1B $1.1B $1.2B $1.2B $1.3B $1.3B $1.3B $1.3B $1.3B
Gross profit $917M $962M $927M $1.1B $1.0B $1.2B $1.1B $1.1B $1.1B $1.2B
Research and development $220M $233M $237M $238M $239M $254M $261M $272M $264M $262M
Operating income $232M $247M $184M $257M $219M $344M $207M $216M $258M $265M
Interest expense $0.1M $0.1M $0.2M $0.2M $0.2M $0.5M $0.4M — — —
Pretax income $236M $255M $196M $282M $240M $355M $215M $250M $313M $304M
Income tax $49.5M $48.0M $154M $26.8M $8.1M $36.7M $31.4M $48.4M $48.2M $47.0M
Net income $186M $207M $41.7M $255M $231M $310M $184M $201M $262M $255M
Diluted EPS $1.81 $2.00 $0.39 $2.44 $2.25 $2.97 $1.81 $2.05 $2.69 $2.62
Diluted shares 0.10B 0.10B 0.11B 0.10B 0.10B 0.10B 0.10B 0.10B 0.10B 0.10B
Cash flow
Cash from operations $360M $378M $352M $328M $344M $448M $319M $367M $327M $472M
Capital expenditure $101M $99.6M $72.8M $96.3M $66.3M $54.5M $47.9M $30.3M $30.0M $36.3M
Free cash flow $259M $278M $279M $231M $278M $393M $271M $337M $297M $436M
Depreciation and amortization $85.2M $84.3M $81.3M $85.1M $90.9M $95.9M $88.5M $82.6M $75.6M $87.8M
Stock-based compensation $67.0M $65.3M $71.2M $76.6M $86.6M $99.7M $115M $119M $120M $129M
Acquisitions $0.0M $0.0M $22.9M $14.9M $0.0M $4.5M $38.2M $25.7M $488M $1.4M
Share buybacks $101M $100M $151M $341M $174M $246M $531M $149M $160M $125M
Dividends paid $48.4M $57.1M $66.2M $77.5M $88.6M $89.2M $100M $103M $115M $127M
Dividends and buybacks $149M $157M $217M $418M $262M $335M $631M $253M $275M $252M
Balance sheet
Cash and short-term investments $641M $882M $1.1B $916M $1.1B $1.3B $809M $885M $482M $703M
Total debt $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M
Finance lease liabilities $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M $0.0M
Current assets $760M $1.0B $1.5B $1.4B $1.5B $1.8B $1.3B $1.5B $1.2B $1.4B
Current liabilities $213M $246M $285M $307M $267M $316M $278M $422M $418M $438M
Inventory $16.4M $25.1M $26.2M $32.3M $25.5M $11.0M $23.5M $35.6M $33.7M $30.4M
Property and equipment, net $444M $485M $514M $537M $542M $534M $514M $482M $479M $471M
Total assets $2.3B $2.5B $2.9B $2.8B $2.9B $3.1B $2.7B $3.0B $3.1B $3.2B
Total liabilities $331M $390M $495M $509M $479M $502M $439M $608M $623M $596M
Shareholders' equity $2.0B $2.1B $2.4B $2.3B $2.4B $2.6B $2.2B $2.4B $2.5B $2.6B
Margins
Gross margin 89.4% 89.0% 87.9% 87.0% 87.4% 89.9% 88.7% 88.3% 89.0% 88.1%
Operating margin 22.6% 22.9% 17.4% 20.7% 18.8% 26.9% 16.5% 16.6% 20.3% 19.6%
EBITDA margin 30.9% 30.7% 25.1% 27.6% 26.7% 34.4% 23.5% 23.0% 26.2% 26.2%
Net margin 18.1% 19.1% 4.0% 20.6% 19.9% 24.2% 14.7% 15.4% 20.6% 18.9%
FCF margin 25.3% 25.8% 26.5% 18.6% 23.9% 30.7% 21.6% 25.9% 23.3% 32.3%
Returns
Return on capital 13.4% 12.9% 6.6% 17.4% 15.6% 23.2% 12.7% 11.9% 12.5% 11.4%
Return on capital employed 11.5% 11.3% 7.5% 10.1% 8.5% 12.7% 7.9% 8.7% 9.8% 9.7%
Return on equity 9.8% 10.1% 1.9% 10.9% 9.8% 12.3% 7.6% 8.7% 10.8% 10.0%
Return on assets 8.4% 8.5% 1.6% 9.0% 8.1% 10.3% 6.4% 7.1% 8.6% 8.1%
Growth
Revenue growth 5.7% 5.3% −2.4% 17.7% −6.4% 10.3% −2.1% 3.7% −2.0% 5.9%
Net income growth 2.5% 11.1% −79.8% 511.2% −9.3% 34.1% −40.7% 9.0% 30.5% −2.6%
EPS growth 3.4% 10.5% −80.5% 525.6% −7.8% 32.0% −39.1% 13.3% 31.2% −2.6%
FCF growth 70.8% 7.3% 0.4% −17.2% 19.9% 41.7% −31.2% 24.4% −11.7% 46.6%
Share count change −1.4% 0.8% 3.6% −2.3% −1.6% 1.6% −2.5% −4.2% −0.4% 0.2%
Financial health
Net debt / EBITDA −2.0x −2.7x −4.1x −2.7x −3.6x −2.9x −2.7x −3.0x −1.4x −2.0x
Debt / equity 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x 0.0x
Interest coverage 1,854.4x 1,945.9x 926.8x 1,512.2x 1,176.0x 719.0x 524.4x — — —
Current ratio 3.6x 4.1x 5.3x 4.5x 5.8x 5.6x 4.7x 3.5x 2.9x 3.2x
Quick ratio 3.5x 4.0x 5.2x 4.4x 5.7x 5.5x 4.6x 3.4x 2.8x 3.1x
Capital allocation
Capex / revenue 9.8% 9.2% 6.9% 7.8% 5.7% 4.3% 3.8% 2.3% 2.4% 2.7%
Stock comp / revenue 6.5% 6.1% 6.8% 6.2% 7.5% 7.8% 9.2% 9.1% 9.4% 9.5%
Payouts / FCF 57.6% 56.5% 77.5% 180.7% 94.5% 85.2% 233.0% 75.0% 92.4% 57.7%
Quality scores
Piotroski F-score 4.0 5.0 4.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 4.0 6.0 6.0 5.0
Altman Z'' 12.0 11.8 10.9 10.6 11.5 12.0 11.2 9.6 9.0 9.8
Accruals ratio −7.8% −7.1% −11.5% −2.6% −3.9% −4.6% −4.6% −5.9% −2.2% −6.9%

Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001308547). Data updated October 11, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.

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