WMSADVANCED DRAINAGE SYSTEMS, INC.

Plastics Foam Products

Revenue: $3.1B; 5.0% YoY
Operating margin: 20.3%; 10% YoY
EBITDA: $835M; 0.6% YoY
Market cap: $9.7B
Employees: 2,025; $2M revenue each
Net debt / EBITDA: 1.8×; $1.5B net debt
AI in 10-K: 1.1; mentions per 10K words

Takeover score 2 of 13

Fixable underperformance 1 of 7

TSR below peersYes
3 of 5 years
3+ of last 5 years
High CEO pay despite TSRNo
—
Median CEO pay ≥ $15M while TSR trails
Earnings not backed by cashNo
191% of net income
Cash flow under 80% of net income
Dilutive SBCNo
1% of revenue
Over 10% of revenue
Payouts exceed cash flowNo
18% of cash flow
Buybacks + dividends over cash flow
Goodwill-heavyNo
23% of assets
Over 40% of assets
Shareholder dissentNo
92% lowest support
Any vote under 80% support

Buyer economics 0 of 4

Low revenue per employeeNo
$2M · 75th pct
Bottom quartile of its SIC industry
Quiet on AINo
1.1 per 10K words · 35th pct
Bottom quartile of AI mentions in 10-Ks
Net cashNo
1.8× EBITDA net debt
More cash than debt, positive EBITDA
Buyout-sizedNo
$9.7B market cap
Market cap $500M–$5B

Catalysts 1 of 2

Active 13DNo
0 filings
Active-intent 13D in 18 months
Net insider sellingYes
−$15M net
Net sales over $10M in 12 months

Financials

Metric	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	FY2026	YoY	Trend
Revenue	$2.8B	$3.1B	$2.9B	$2.9B	$3.1B	5.0%
Operating income	$412M	$719M	$732M	$657M	$619M	5.8%
Net income	$275M	$511M	$513M	$453M	$429M	5.3%
Operating cash flow	$275M	$708M	$718M	$581M	$819M	41%
Capex	$149M	$167M	$184M	$213M	$250M	17%
Stock-based comp	$24M	$22M	$32M	$27M	$32M	22%
Buybacks	$292M	$575M	$207M	$70M	$92M	32%
Dividends	$37M	$40M	$44M	$50M	$56M	13%

Deal filings

None.

13D filers

Filed	Filer	Form	Stake	Intent
Sep 9, 2022	Berkshire Partners Holdings LLC	SC 13D/A	0.7%	Passive
Aug 18, 2022	Berkshire Partners Holdings LLC	SC 13D/A	5.0%	Passive
Jun 14, 2022	Berkshire Partners Holdings LLC	SC 13D/A	6.2%	Passive
Dec 16, 2021	Berkshire Partners Holdings LLC	SC 13D/A	9.1%	Active
Sep 16, 2021	Berkshire Partners Holdings LLC	SC 13D/A	11.2%	Active
Jul 26, 2021	Berkshire Partners Holdings LLC	SC 13D/A	23.1%	Active
Mar 12, 2021	Berkshire Partners Holdings LLC	SC 13D/A	13.2%	Passive
Dec 14, 2020	Berkshire Partners Holdings LLC	SC 13D/A	15.4%	Passive

Insider trading

Open-market buys, 12 mo: $0 · 0
Open-market sells, 12 mo: $15M · 9
Net: −$15M

Pay vs performance

Year	CEO total comp	Comp actually paid	TSR (indexed)	Peer TSR
FY2026	—	—	136	209
FY2025	—	—	107	146
FY2024	—	—	169	157
FY2023	—	—	82	109
FY2022	—	—	115	101