Sinclair
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 1/4
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $63.00m | positive | ✓ |
| Return on equity | -25.3% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 9.87x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 5.5% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 0/3
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 3.6% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | — | median 1.78x | — |
| Operating margin | 5.5% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 9.87x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 0/3
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 3.6% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Return on equity | -25.3% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Operating margin | 5.5% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 0/2
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -25.3% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 9.87x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | — | median 1.78x | — |
Passes 0 of 2. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 0/3
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 5.5% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Net margin | -3.5% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
| Return on capital employed | 3.6% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 1/2
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 2.42x | median 1.25x | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 9.87x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 1/2
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 2.42x | 2.00x published | ✓ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 4.36x | 1.00x published | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 0/1
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | 3.6% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 0/2
| Measure | SBGI | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 9.87x | median 0.79x | ✗ |
| Net margin | -3.5% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Sinclair. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | negative | whyLost $1.61 per share — no earnings to pay from. |
| Operating cash flow | 36.5% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | 60.0% | whyAfter maintaining the business. |
Spread between highest and lowest: 23.5 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 6 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 6/50Direction 0/30Stability 0/20
Against its own history: 60.0% this year vs 34.9% median over the prior 4. A gap this size is usually a one-off — acquisition, settlement, cyclical trough — not a dividend that stopped being funded. The rating reads the latest year; the table shows the trend.
Free cash flow payout, last 5 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 60.0% |
| 2024-12-31 | 471.4% |
| 2023-12-31 | 45.5% |
| 2022-12-31 | 10.1% |
| 2021-12-31 | 24.3% |
12% of the 25 communications here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.998 ÷ diluted EPS $-1.61
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $69.0m ÷ operating cash flow $189m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $69.0m ÷ (operating cash flow $189m − capex $74.0m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-27 · accession 0001971213-26-000012
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Caveats on this company
- DPS derived from dividends paid ($1.00); no per-share tag filed
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
What the free cash flow payout ratio measures, and where every company here sits on it.
Also on: rated not covered · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Sinclair files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.