Louisiana-Pacific vs Advanced Drainage Systems
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Louisiana-Pacific and Advanced Drainage Systems side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Advanced Drainage Systems is the larger business, with $3.1B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $2.7B for Louisiana-Pacific.
- Advanced Drainage Systems grew revenue faster (5.0%, against −7.9%).
- Advanced Drainage Systems kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (20.3% operating margin, against 7.7%).
- Advanced Drainage Systems turned more of its sales into free cash flow (18.7% FCF margin, against 3.4%).
- Advanced Drainage Systems earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (15.8%, against 9.0%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Louisiana-Pacific’s earnings: a P/E of 92.3x against 22.7x for Advanced Drainage Systems.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Louisiana-Pacific
LPX
3/11
Piotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Advanced Drainage Systems
WMS
8/11
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equity
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | LPX FY25 | WMS FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $5.0B | $10.1B |
| Revenue | $2.7B | $3.1B |
| Free cash flow | $91.0M | $569M |
| Net income | $146M | $427M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −7.9% | 5.0% |
| 5-year growth | 2.5% | 9.0% |
| Share count change | −1.4% | 0.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 21.8% | 38.3% |
| Operating margin | 7.7% | 20.3% |
| Net margin | 5.4% | 14.0% |
| FCF margin | 3.4% | 18.7% |
| Return on capital | 9.0% | 15.8% |
| Return on equity | 8.6% | 25.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $56.0M | $1.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.2x | 1.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $139M | $148M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 92.3x | 22.7x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 4 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.