Graco's balance sheet pivoted toward deployment, with total debt tripling to $164.7M (D/E of 0.07) and goodwill surging to $793.8M from $575.7M a quarter prior, while cash fell to $139.8M from $712.2M two quarters earlier and the current ratio compressed from 3.56 to 2.12—a narrowing buffer that remains comfortable but warrants monitoring.
Graco Inc. (GGG) balance sheet — 30-year assets, liabilities & shareholders' equity history
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Dec'96 |
|---|
| Total Current Assets | 1.11B | 1.47B | 1.5B | 1.37B | 1.21B | 1.36B | 1.02B | 791.47M | 723.22M | 631.93M | 503.36M | 509.02M | 859.51M | 792.59M | 777M | 582.97M | 252.41M | 188.99M | 260.6M | 248.83M | 238.98M | 213.9M | 227.23M | 256.11M | 240.52M | 155.5M | 143.74M | 138M | 131.3M | 156.3M | 144.5M |
| Cash & Short-Term Investments | 139.82M | 624.08M | 675.34M | 537.95M | 339.2M | 624.3M | 378.91M | 220.97M | 132.12M | 103.66M | 52.37M | 52.3M | 445.42M | 442.05M | 457.93M | 303.15M | 9.59M | 5.41M | 12.12M | 4.92M | 5.87M | 18.66M | 60.55M | 112.12M | 103.33M | 26.53M | 11.07M | 6.6M | 3.6M | 13.5M | 6.5M |
| Cash Only | 139.82M | 624.08M | 675.34M | 537.95M | 339.2M | 624.3M | 378.91M | 220.97M | 132.12M | 103.66M | 52.37M | 52.3M | 23.66M | 19.76M | 31.12M | 303.15M | 9.59M | 5.41M | 12.12M | 4.92M | 5.87M | 18.66M | 60.55M | 112.12M | 103.33M | 26.53M | 11.07M | 6.6M | 3.6M | 13.5M | 6.5M |
| Short-Term Investments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 421.77M | 422.3M | 426.81M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Accounts Receivable | 446.14M | 393.75M | 362.53M | 354.44M | 346.01M | 325.13M | 314.95M | 267.35M | 274.61M | 254.08M | 218.37M | 225.51M | 214.94M | 183.29M | 172.14M | 150.91M | 124.59M | 100.82M | 127.5M | 140.49M | 134.1M | 122.85M | 109.08M | 98.85M | 93.62M | 85.44M | 85.84M | 79.7M | 80.1M | 86.1M | 83.5M |
| Days Sales Outstanding | 65.35 | 64.26 | 62.61 | 58.92 | 58.92 | 59.71 | 69.67 | 59.28 | 60.63 | 62.88 | 59.96 | 63.98 | 64.25 | 60.6 | 62.06 | 61.53 | 61.12 | 63.54 | 56.94 | 60.95 | 59.95 | 61.28 | 65.81 | 67.43 | 70.16 | 65.96 | 63.37 | 65.74 | 67.65 | 75.93 | 77.79 |
| Inventory | 463.83M | 401.14M | 404.68M | 438.35M | 476.79M | 382.3M | 285.7M | 273.23M | 283.98M | 239.35M | 201.61M | 202.14M | 159.8M | 133.79M | 121.55M | 105.35M | 91.62M | 58.66M | 91.6M | 74.74M | 76.31M | 56.55M | 40.22M | 29.02M | 30.31M | 30.33M | 33.08M | 37.7M | 34M | 43.9M | 41.5M |
| Days Inventory Outstanding | 137.02 | 137.68 | 149.07 | 154.65 | 160.24 | 146.32 | 131.14 | 126.84 | 134.48 | 128.15 | 118.49 | 122.6 | 105.21 | 98.34 | 96.04 | 97.33 | 98.18 | 74.76 | 86.82 | 69.25 | 72.82 | 58.58 | 53.07 | 41.98 | 46.7 | 46.51 | 52.94 | 69.99 | 62.36 | 81.17 | 82.73 |
| Other Current Assets | 63.81M | 52.91M | 54.9M | 20.52M | 24.92M | 21.4M | 21.93M | 16.45M | 17.75M | 30.18M | 20.3M | 19.23M | 28.49M | 25.57M | 23.22M | 20.73M | 26.6M | 24.1M | 24.83M | 23.75M | 20.68M | 15.83M | 17.37M | 16.12M | 13.26M | 13.19M | 13.76M | 14M | 13.6M | 12.8M | 13M |
| Total Non-Current Assets | 2.15B | 1.8B | 1.64B | 1.36B | 1.23B | 1.08B | 964.33M | 900.74M | 749.52M | 747.28M | 739.75M | 882.34M | 685.27M | 534.63M | 544.74M | 291.34M | 278.07M | 287.44M | 319.25M | 287.89M | 272.62M | 231.73M | 144.49M | 141.28M | 115.33M | 120.62M | 94.23M | 98M | 102.4M | 108.2M | 103.3M |
| Property, Plant & Equipment | 799.27M | 781.14M | 791.33M | 760.48M | 637.39M | 481.11M | 388.56M | 355.44M | 229.29M | 204.3M | 189.6M | 178.44M | 161.23M | 151.72M | 151.54M | 138.25M | 134.19M | 139.05M | 149.75M | 140.59M | 124.52M | 106.5M | 94.51M | 94.32M | 94.95M | 98.94M | 83.99M | 86.5M | 96.4M | 100.2M | 94.2M |
| Fixed Asset Turnover | 2.96x | 2.86x | 2.67x | 2.89x | 3.36x | 4.13x | 4.25x | 4.63x | 7.21x | 7.22x | 7.01x | 7.21x | 7.57x | 7.28x | 6.68x | 6.48x | 5.55x | 4.17x | 5.46x | 5.98x | 6.56x | 6.87x | 6.40x | 5.67x | 5.13x | 4.78x | 5.89x | 5.12x | 4.48x | 4.13x | 4.16x |
| Goodwill | 793.76M | 585.3M | 487.47M | 370.23M | 368.17M | 356.25M | 347.6M | 307.66M | 293.85M | 278.79M | 259.85M | 394.49M | 292.57M | 189.97M | 181.23M | 93.4M | 91.74M | 91.74M | 91.74M | 67.2M | 67.17M | 52.01M | 9.2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Intangible Assets | 434.29M | 303.85M | 236.16M | 128.86M | 137.51M | 149.74M | 160.67M | 162.62M | 166.31M | 183.06M | 178.34M | 227.99M | 176.28M | 147.94M | 151.77M | 18.12M | 28.34M | 40.17M | 52.23M | 42.91M | 50.33M | 39.48M | 8.96M | 19.82M | 11.86M | 14.27M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Long-Term Investments | 0 | 0 | 10.14M | 9.66M | 8.77M | 7.54M | 7.61M | 7.6M | 7.25M | 6.75M | 6.37M | 6.13M | 5.86M | 5.57M | 5.22M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21.65M | -20.68M | -14.04M | -15.63M | -14.91M | -12.02M | -1.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Current Assets | 100.36M | 96.12M | 69.76M | 25.59M | 24.35M | 29.15M | 34.06M | 28.09M | 20.77M | 23.46M | 18.95M | 18.32M | 20.35M | 19.08M | 16.42M | 11.82M | 9.11M | 8.11M | 6.61M | 37.19M | 30.6M | 33.74M | 31.82M | 27.15M | 8.51M | 7.4M | 10.24M | 11.5M | 6M | 8M | 9.1M |
| Total Assets | 3.26B | 3.27B | 3.14B | 2.72B | 2.44B | 2.44B | 1.99B | 1.69B | 1.47B | 1.38B | 1.24B | 1.39B | 1.54B | 1.33B | 1.32B | 874.31M | 530.47M | 476.43M | 579.85M | 536.72M | 511.6M | 445.63M | 371.71M | 397.39M | 355.85M | 276.11M | 237.98M | 236M | 233.7M | 264.5M | 247.8M |
| Asset Turnover | 0.71x | 0.68x | 0.67x | 0.81x | 0.88x | 0.81x | 0.83x | 0.97x | 1.12x | 1.07x | 1.07x | 0.92x | 0.79x | 0.83x | 0.77x | 1.02x | 1.40x | 1.22x | 1.41x | 1.57x | 1.60x | 1.64x | 1.63x | 1.35x | 1.37x | 1.71x | 2.08x | 1.88x | 1.85x | 1.56x | 1.58x |
| Asset Growth % | 18.85% | 4.3% | 15.33% | 11.61% | -0.18% | 22.89% | 17.49% | 14.9% | 6.78% | 10.95% | -10.65% | -9.93% | 16.39% | 0.42% | 51.17% | 64.82% | 11.34% | -17.84% | 8.04% | 4.91% | 14.8% | 19.89% | -6.46% | 11.67% | 28.88% | 16.03% | 0.84% | 0.98% | -11.64% | 6.74% | 13.77% |
| Total Current Liabilities | 524.06M | 467.26M | 405.81M | 395.2M | 399.92M | 506.79M | 321.39M | 285.32M | 299.8M | 234.43M | 177.99M | 194.62M | 174.48M | 168.85M | 151.67M | 131.28M | 119.75M | 103.81M | 121.16M | 125.88M | 128.93M | 111.58M | 96.77M | 187.95M | 80.21M | 73.25M | 81.84M | 78.3M | 83M | 69M | 80.6M |
| Accounts Payable | 138.08M | 78.57M | 60.82M | 72.21M | 84.22M | 78.43M | 58.3M | 54.12M | 56.9M | 48.75M | 39.99M | 40.51M | 39.31M | 34.28M | 28.94M | 27.4M | 19.67M | 17.98M | 18.83M | 27.38M | 27.44M | 24.71M | 18.6M | 15.75M | 13.03M | 10.68M | 12.9M | 13.5M | 12M | 12.5M | 13.9M |
| Days Payables Outstanding | 33.16 | 26.97 | 22.4 | 25.48 | 28.3 | 30.02 | 26.76 | 25.12 | 26.95 | 26.1 | 23.5 | 24.57 | 25.88 | 25.2 | 22.87 | 25.32 | 21.08 | 22.92 | 17.85 | 25.37 | 26.19 | 25.6 | 24.54 | 22.79 | 20.08 | 16.37 | 20.64 | 25.06 | 22.01 | 23.11 | 27.71 |
| Short-Term Debt | 39.78M | 24.7M | 28.54M | 30.04M | 20.97M | 118.49M | 22.18M | 7.73M | 11.08M | 6.58M | 8.91M | 15.9M | 5.02M | 9.58M | 8.13M | 8.66M | 8.18M | 12.03M | 18.31M | 18.99M | 18.36M | 8.32M | 6.02M | 4.19M | 13.2M | 10.06M | 17.02M | 15.9M | 17.7M | 4.7M | 5.7M |
| Deferred Revenue (Current) | 190.08M | 0 | 52.52M | 51.58M | 50.75M | 60.55M | 41.69M | 33.14M | 39.99M | 22.63M | 9.4M | 9.45M | 8.92M | 11.69M | 10.62M | 45.63M | 47.52M | 12M | -7M | 21.41M | 21.77M | 0 | 0 | 35.55M | 31.04M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Current Liabilities | 160.77M | 290.57M | 63.56M | 149.84M | 141.51M | 139.24M | 102.77M | 102.6M | 121.01M | 104.43M | 76.64M | 76.19M | 83.39M | 70.89M | 22.7M | 20.9M | 56.26M | 57.83M | 65.93M | 36.95M | 52.9M | 51.04M | 72.15M | 132.46M | 22.94M | 52.52M | 51.92M | 48.9M | 53.3M | 51.8M | 61M |
| Current Ratio | 2.12x | 3.15x | 3.69x | 3.46x | 3.01x | 2.69x | 3.19x | 2.77x | 2.41x | 2.70x | 2.83x | 2.62x | 4.93x | 4.69x | 5.12x | 4.44x | 2.11x | 1.82x | 2.15x | 1.98x | 1.85x | 1.92x | 2.35x | 1.36x | 3.00x | 2.12x | 1.76x | 1.76x | 1.58x | 2.27x | 1.79x |
| Quick Ratio | 1.24x | 2.29x | 2.69x | 2.35x | 1.82x | 1.94x | 2.30x | 1.82x | 1.47x | 1.67x | 1.70x | 1.58x | 4.01x | 3.90x | 4.32x | 3.64x | 1.34x | 1.26x | 1.39x | 1.38x | 1.26x | 1.41x | 1.93x | 1.21x | 2.62x | 1.71x | 1.35x | 1.28x | 1.17x | 1.63x | 1.28x |
| Cash Conversion Cycle | 169.21 | 174.97 | 189.28 | 188.09 | 190.85 | 176.01 | 174.04 | 161 | 168.16 | 164.94 | 154.95 | 162.01 | 143.58 | 133.74 | 135.24 | 133.54 | 138.22 | 115.37 | 125.92 | 104.83 | 106.58 | 94.26 | 94.33 | 86.62 | 96.78 | 96.1 | 95.67 | 110.67 | 108 | 133.99 | 132.81 |
| Total Non-Current Liabilities | 269.13M | 153.08M | 149.27M | 102.58M | 179.33M | 227.06M | 382.83M | 381.96M | 421.06M | 421.72M | 491.3M | 561.18M | 774.27M | 524.01M | 715.95M | 420.29M | 146.61M | 162.97M | 291.06M | 166.17M | 51.67M | 46.37M | 44.1M | 39.63M | 30.23M | 29.12M | 45.28M | 94.8M | 141.4M | 38M | 41.1M |
| Long-Term Debt | 103.8M | 18.13M | 0 | 0 | 75M | 75M | 150M | 164.3M | 266.39M | 226.03M | 305.69M | 392.69M | 615M | 408.37M | 556.48M | 300M | 70.25M | 86.26M | 180M | 107.06M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.05M | 65.7M | 112.6M | 6.1M | 8.1M |
| Capital Lease Obligations | 39.22M | 18.13M | 12.28M | 11.79M | 21.06M | 23.53M | 29.22M | 24.18M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Deferred Tax Liabilities | 158.51M | 36.71M | 37.82M | 8.21M | 9.44M | 10.66M | 10.26M | 10.78M | 16.59M | 17.25M | 17.67M | 22.3M | 22.45M | 20.93M | 21.69M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.07M | 14.72M | 10.86M | 11.01M | 9.07M | 1.65M | 1.76M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Non-Current Liabilities | 96.15M | 80.11M | 99.17M | 82.58M | 64.39M | 117.88M | 193.35M | 182.71M | 138.09M | 178.43M | 167.95M | 146.19M | 136.81M | 94.7M | 137.78M | 120.29M | 76.35M | 76.7M | 111.06M | 46.04M | 36.95M | 35.51M | 33.09M | 30.57M | 28.58M | 27.36M | 27.23M | 29.1M | 28.8M | 31.9M | 33M |
| Total Liabilities | 793.18M | 620.34M | 555.08M | 497.78M | 579.25M | 733.86M | 704.22M | 667.28M | 720.87M | 656.14M | 669.29M | 755.8M | 948.75M | 692.86M | 867.62M | 551.57M | 266.36M | 266.78M | 412.22M | 292.05M | 180.6M | 157.95M | 140.88M | 227.58M | 110.44M | 102.37M | 127.12M | 173.1M | 224.4M | 107M | 121.7M |
| Total Debt | 164.67M | 60.96M | 48.65M | 50.06M | 126.59M | 226.11M | 212.59M | 203.9M | 277.47M | 232.61M | 314.6M | 408.6M | 620.02M | 417.95M | 564.61M | 308.66M | 78.44M | 98.29M | 198.31M | 126.05M | 18.36M | 8.32M | 6.02M | 4.19M | 13.2M | 10.06M | 35.07M | 81.6M | 130.3M | 10.8M | 13.8M |
| Net Debt | 24.86M | -563.13M | -626.68M | -487.89M | -212.61M | -398.19M | -166.32M | -17.08M | 145.36M | 128.95M | 262.23M | 356.3M | 596.36M | 398.2M | 533.49M | 5.51M | 68.85M | 92.88M | 186.19M | 121.13M | 12.49M | -10.34M | -54.53M | -107.93M | -90.13M | -16.47M | 24M | 75M | 126.7M | -2.7M | 7.3M |
| Debt / Equity | 0.07x | 0.02x | 0.02x | 0.02x | 0.07x | 0.13x | 0.17x | 0.20x | 0.37x | 0.32x | 0.55x | 0.64x | 1.04x | 0.66x | 1.24x | 0.96x | 0.30x | 0.47x | 1.18x | 0.52x | 0.06x | 0.03x | 0.03x | 0.02x | 0.05x | 0.06x | 0.32x | 1.30x | 14.01x | 0.07x | 0.11x |
| Debt / EBITDA | 0.23x | 0.08x | 0.07x | 0.07x | 0.20x | 0.38x | 0.48x | 0.43x | 0.57x | 0.57x | 1.94x | 1.18x | 1.80x | 1.32x | 2.14x | 1.22x | 0.42x | 0.90x | 0.89x | 0.48x | 0.07x | 0.04x | 0.03x | 0.03x | 0.10x | 0.08x | 0.28x | 0.76x | 1.44x | 0.14x | 0.21x |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 0.03x | -0.78x | -0.95x | -0.68x | -0.33x | -0.67x | -0.37x | -0.04x | 0.30x | 0.32x | 1.62x | 1.03x | 1.73x | 1.26x | 2.03x | 0.02x | 0.37x | 0.85x | 0.84x | 0.46x | 0.05x | -0.05x | -0.30x | -0.73x | -0.69x | -0.14x | 0.19x | 0.69x | 1.40x | -0.03x | 0.11x |
| Interest Coverage | 193.13x | 222.64x | 209.37x | 118.28x | 58.16x | 50.78x | 34.21x | 31.96x | 29.56x | 22.42x | 17.41x | 17.12x | 16.49x | 15.42x | 12.28x | 23.97x | 36.50x | 15.15x | 24.40x | 67.66x | 238.90x | 139.06x | - | 266.73x | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total Equity | 2.47B | 2.65B | 2.58B | 2.22B | 1.86B | 1.71B | 1.28B | 1.02B | 751.87M | 723.06M | 573.82M | 635.55M | 596.03M | 634.37M | 454.11M | 322.74M | 264.11M | 209.65M | 167.63M | 244.67M | 331M | 287.68M | 230.84M | 169.81M | 245.41M | 173.74M | 110.86M | 62.9M | 9.3M | 157.5M | 126.1M |
| Equity Growth % | 8.92% | 2.7% | 16.18% | 19.6% | 8.79% | 33.14% | 25.27% | 36.32% | 3.98% | 26.01% | -9.71% | 6.63% | -6.04% | 39.69% | 40.71% | 22.2% | 25.98% | 25.07% | -31.49% | -26.08% | 15.06% | 24.63% | 35.94% | -30.8% | 41.25% | 56.73% | 76.24% | 576.34% | -94.1% | 24.9% | 21.72% |
| Book Value per Share | 15.15 | 15.68 | 14.99 | 12.92 | 10.76 | 9.79 | 7.46 | 5.97 | 4.34 | 4.15 | 3.36 | 3.59 | 3.22 | 3.37 | 2.45 | 1.75 | 1.45 | 1.16 | 0.92 | 1.24 | 1.60 | 1.37 | 1.10 | 0.80 | 1.13 | 0.82 | 0.53 | 0.30 | 0.04 | 0.60 | 0.47 |
| Total Shareholders' Equity | 2.47B | 2.65B | 2.58B | 2.22B | 1.86B | 1.71B | 1.28B | 1.02B | 751.87M | 723.06M | 573.82M | 635.55M | 596.03M | 634.37M | 454.11M | 322.74M | 264.11M | 209.65M | 167.63M | 244.67M | 331M | 287.68M | 230.84M | 169.81M | 245.41M | 173.74M | 110.86M | 62.9M | 9.3M | 157.5M | 126.1M |
| Common Stock | 160.37M | 165.15M | 169.39M | 167.95M | 167.7M | 170.31M | 168.57M | 167.29M | 165.17M | 169.32M | 55.83M | 55.77M | 59.2M | 61M | 60.77M | 59.75M | 60.05M | 60M | 59.52M | 61.96M | 66.81M | 68.39M | 68.98M | 46.04M | 47.53M | 31.11M | 20.27M | 20.4M | 20.1M | 25.6M | 17M |
| Retained Earnings | 1.28B | 1.46B | 1.51B | 1.23B | 976.85M | 876.92M | 568.29M | 448.99M | 220.73M | 181.6M | 206.82M | 285.51M | 252.87M | 272.65M | 189.3M | 97.47M | 44.44M | 11.12M | 8.45M | 32.99M | 138.7M | 112.51M | 62.77M | 43.3M | 128.13M | 89.16M | 50.23M | 9.3M | -35.9M | 105M | 85.2M |
| Treasury Stock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Accumulated OCI | 8.11M | 37.51M | -49.57M | -34.99M | -69.38M | -80.17M | -124.17M | -169.79M | -144.86M | -127.79M | -142.23M | -104.5M | -100.74M | -46.35M | -83.75M | -76.48M | -52.44M | -51.73M | -74.49M | -6.7M | -5.12M | -4.05M | -1.09M | -930K | -1.53M | -797K | 394K | 1.5M | 2.4M | 1.6M | 3M |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying GGG stock.
As of 2025, Graco Inc. (GGG) had total assets of $3.27B including $1.47B in current assets.
Graco Inc. (GGG) carries total debt of $61.0M, offset by $624.1M in cash and short-term investments. Comparing total debt to cash helps evaluate the company's debt burden and net leverage.
Graco Inc. (GGG) has total shareholders' equity (book value) of $2.65B ($15.68 book value per share). Book value represents the net worth of the company belonging to common stock holders.
Graco Inc. (GGG) reported a current ratio of 3.15x. A current ratio above 1.0x indicates that the company has more current assets than current liabilities, suggesting sufficient short-term liquidity.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Acquisition-driven cash depletion
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Balance Sheet Shifts Toward Deployment
Graco's balance sheet pivoted in 2026Q3, with total assets reaching $3.3B against a $793.2M liability load—the highest in the 10-quarter window—suggesting the previously dormant posture is giving way to more active capital deployment, per Graco's quarterly balance sheet disclosures.
Equity held near $2.5B even as liabilities climbed sharply over two quarters, implying the asset expansion was financed by a mix of cash drawdown and incremental borrowing rather than by retained profit accumulation. PPE net remained essentially flat at $799.3M while goodwill rose materially, which suggests the balance sheet is being reshaped through acquisition rather than through organic reinvestment in productive capacity. Investors should monitor whether this one-quarter inflection marks a durable change in capital posture or a single transactional event.
Leverage Creep From a Zero Base
Based on Graco's reported balance sheet, total debt tripled to $164.7M in 2026Q3 from $45.2M a quarter earlier, lifting D/E to 0.07—still trivially low versus ITW's 2.78—yet the direction appears to mark a shift away from the near-zero leverage stance.
Even at 0.07, leverage remains far below the peer set, so borrowing appears strategically optional rather than necessity-driven and refinancing risk looks negligible. The more informative signal is that debt rose roughly $119M in a single quarter alongside a steep cash decline, which may indicate the draw was taken to part-fund an acquisition rather than to support operations. Should debt ratchet higher again in coming quarters while cash stays depressed, the historical case for a structurally unlevered quality compounder would need revisiting.
Goodwill Overtakes the Asset Story
Goodwill surged to $793.8M in 2026Q3 from $575.7M in 2026Q2, an acquisition-driven step-up that now represents roughly 24% of total assets and materially raises the stakes on integration execution, according to Graco's disclosed balance sheet.
Goodwill now sits essentially level with net PPE of $799.3M, a notable configuration for a manufacturer whose competitive position has been framed around physical distribution reach and an installed equipment base. Cumulatively, goodwill expanded by roughly $430M over the 10-quarter window while PPE was flat to slightly higher, suggesting inorganic expansion is carrying asset growth rather than plant investment. That concentration shifts the impairment risk profile away from utilization of physical assets and toward the durability of acquired revenue streams, which warrants scrutiny if the Industrial and Process end-markets soften.
Liquidity Buffer Narrows Materially
Cash plummeted to $139.8M in 2026Q3 from $712.2M two quarters prior, while the current ratio compressed to 2.12 from 3.56, indicating the liquidity buffer has narrowed materially even though it remains comfortable by industrial standards, per Graco's quarterly filings.
The 2.12 current ratio is the weakest reading in the window and down from 4.47 in 2024Q3, implying working capital slack has been consumed rather than replenished. With cash of $139.8M now below total debt of $164.7M, the company appears to have moved from a substantial net cash position to roughly neutral, which reduces the practical flexibility available for opportunistic M&A or buybacks at current levels. The level still looks adequate to absorb a demand shock; it is the trajectory, rather than the absolute figure, that gives an analyst pause.
Equity Cushion May Overstate Strength
Retained earnings fell to $1.3B in 2026Q2 from $1.5B in 2026Q1, a $200M decline that suggests purchase accounting or equity reclassification rather than operating losses may be quietly reshaping reported equity, per Graco's reported equity figures.
Equity slipped from $2.7B to $2.5B between 2026Q1 and 2026Q3 even as total assets grew, a combination that suggests repurchases and the retained earnings decline are outpacing internally generated capital at the margin. Because prior cash flow work shows cumulative deployment of roughly $2.19B against about $1.47B of free cash flow over the period, the headline equity cushion may reflect consumption of accumulated reserves rather than fresh compounding. Layered on stock-based compensation drifting about 10.9% higher year over year, reported book value could flatter the true per-share capital base, so investors should treat the $2.5B equity figure as an approximate rather than a precise measure of shareholder capital.