Principal Financial Group (PFG)
$110.75Dividend record not assessed — stored history is shorter than Graham's required window.
This company is priced attractively on some measures, but earnings growth and moderate price vs earnings do not meet Graham's strictest standard on this data. The dividend record was not evaluated with available history.
Classic uses stricter thresholds (current ratio 2.0×, 10 years of positive EPS, 20 years of dividends); modern relaxes those to 1.5×, 7 years, and 10 years.
This company is priced attractively on some measures, but earnings growth and moderate price vs earnings do not meet Graham's strictest standard on this data. The dividend record was not evaluated with available history.
✓1.Adequate size$15.6B revenue vs ≥ $500.0M required
Graham wanted only substantial, established companies — small firms are more fragile and volatile.
—2.Strong financial conditionGraham excluded financial companies from working-capital tests (N/A).
Graham excluded banks and insurers from working-capital tests — their balance sheets are not comparable to industrial companies.
—2a. Current ratio of at least 2.0Graham excluded financial companies from working-capital tests (N/A).
Current assets should comfortably exceed current liabilities, so the company can cover near-term obligations.
—2b. Long-term debt within net current assetsGraham excluded financial companies from working-capital tests (N/A).
Long-term debt should not exceed working capital — heavy debt loads make earnings and dividends less secure.
✓3.Earnings every year10 of 10 years positive (≥10 required)
Graham required uninterrupted profitability over a full economic cycle, proof the business survives downturns.
◌4.Unbroken dividendsNot evaluated6 years on file (≥20 required)
Graham's original 1973 test wanted 20 unbroken years; modern restatements of the rule accept a 10-year record.
Dividend history available covers 6 years; Graham's rule requires 20.
✕5.Earnings growth-18% vs ≥33% over 10 years
Per-share earnings should grow at least a third over ten years, showing the business is expanding, not stagnant.
✕6.Moderate price vs earnings22.9× vs ≤15× required (vs 3-yr avg earnings)
Paying too many multiples of earnings erodes the margin of safety, however good the company.
✕7.Moderate price overallP/E × P/B = 48.2 vs ≤22.5 required (P/E vs 3-yr avg earnings)
A combined check on both earnings and asset multiples — Graham's classic ceiling for a fairly priced stock.
✓1.Adequate size$15.6B revenue vs ≥ $500.0M required
Graham wanted only substantial, established companies — small firms are more fragile and volatile.
—2.Strong financial conditionGraham excluded financial companies from working-capital tests (N/A).
Graham excluded banks and insurers from working-capital tests — their balance sheets are not comparable to industrial companies.
—2a. Current ratio of at least 1.5Graham excluded financial companies from working-capital tests (N/A).
Current assets should comfortably exceed current liabilities, so the company can cover near-term obligations.
—2b. Long-term debt within net current assetsGraham excluded financial companies from working-capital tests (N/A).
Long-term debt should not exceed working capital — heavy debt loads make earnings and dividends less secure.
✓3.Earnings every year7 of 7 years positive (≥7 required)
Graham required uninterrupted profitability over a full economic cycle, proof the business survives downturns.
◌4.Unbroken dividendsNot evaluated6 years on file (≥10 required)
Graham's original 1973 test wanted 20 unbroken years; modern restatements of the rule accept a 10-year record.
Dividend history available covers 6 years; Graham's rule requires 10.
✕5.Earnings growth-18% vs ≥33% over 10 years
Per-share earnings should grow at least a third over ten years, showing the business is expanding, not stagnant.
✕6.Moderate price vs earnings22.9× vs ≤15× required (vs 3-yr avg earnings)
Paying too many multiples of earnings erodes the margin of safety, however good the company.
✕7.Moderate price overallP/E × P/B = 48.2 vs ≤22.5 required (P/E vs 3-yr avg earnings)
A combined check on both earnings and asset multiples — Graham's classic ceiling for a fairly priced stock.
Fair-value calculator
Graham's combined ceiling: 15× earnings · 1.5× book (defaults).
Price vs. Graham fair value, 10 years
Over the past 10 years, PFG's price has met Graham's fair value on 1978 trading days — most recently 2025-12-30.
10-year per-share record
| Year | EPS | Dividend | Book value/sh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4.50 | 1.61 | 35.1 |
| 2017 | 7.88 | 1.87 | 44.7 |
| 2018 | 5.36 | — | 39.3 |
| 2019 | 4.96 | — | 52.5 |
| 2020 | 5.05 | — | 60.3 |
| 2021 | 5.79 | — | 58.9 |
| 2022 | 18.63 | 2.56 | 38.2 |
| 2023 | 2.55 | 2.60 | 44.9 |
| 2024 | 6.68 | 2.85 | 47.0 |
| 2025 | 5.25 | 3.08 | 52.7 |
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