Fact based stock research
USS (TSE:4732)

JP3944130008

How to read the free ranks

For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

USS stock research in summary

ussnet.co.jp

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with investment alternatives), USS (Automotive Retail, Japan) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of USS are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 45 (worse than 55% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 49) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 96), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 73, is a buy recommendation based on USS's financial characteristics. As the company USS's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 45) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 49), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 96) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	45
Growth Rank	49
Safety Rank	96
Combined Rank	73

Country	Japan
Industry	Automotive Retail
Index
Size class	Medium

20-Feb-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.

Why popular stocks have low ratings

It’s easier said than done. When your stock drops, it’s easy to want to sell it and find a better performer. Think twice, or even three times, before trading. Those fees (especially the hidden ones) can eat up your gains.

Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: USS

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	65	42	45	45
GROWTH
GROWTH	57	35	49	49
SAFETY
SAFETY	87	89	96	96
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	68	46	81	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	96	51	77	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 20-Feb-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Dec-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better USS is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	65	42	45	45
GROWTH
GROWTH	57	35	49	49
SAFETY
SAFETY	87	89	96	96
COMBINED
COMBINED	87	53	73	73

Last update of combined financial performance: 20-Feb-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of USS the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 45 (worse than 55% compared with alternatives), USS shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for USS. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 68 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 68% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning USS's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 47, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 47% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 95% of alternatives (only 5% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 21% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 45, is a hold recommendation based on USS's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	27	5	5	5
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	71	57	68	68
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	70	49	47	47
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	77	72	79	79
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	65	42	45	45

Last update of Value Rank: 20-Feb-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of USS; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 49 (better than 49% compared with alternatives), USS shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for USS. Capital Growth has a rank of 100, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital more than 32% of its competitors. Investors welcomed this, visible in the Stock Returns rank of 59 (above 59% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has only a rank of 26, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 74% of its competitors, and Profit Growth is also low at a rank of 32. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 49, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. This is an ambiguous picture. Revenue growth and capital growth are strong, but the growth in profit, which seems good, can also be an indication that growth momentum may be negative. The fact that stock returns have been above average doesn't help much, as stock returns are less reliable in showing a company’s future growth potential. Prices may perform well for the simple reason that investors were too pessimistic in the past and are now correcting their opinions and moving the stock price to a more reasonable level. As the growth picture is mixed for USS, investors may want to look at value and sentiment indicators for a well-rounded picture of this stock. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	10	8	26	26
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	100	27	32	32
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	25	87	100	100
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	59	77	59	59
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	57	35	49	49

Last update of Growth Rank: 20-Feb-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of USS.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives) for 2025, the company USS has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of USS is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, where all three are above average for USS. Leverage is at 95, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 95% of its competitors. Refinancing is at a rank of 54, meaning that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 54% of its competitors. Finally, Liquidity is also good at a rank of 100, which means that the company generates more profit to service its debt than 100% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 96 (better than 96% compared with alternatives), USS has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. These three positive financing indicators signal that the company is less likely to default on its debt obligations. However, it also means that its shareholder returns will be more modest if things go well. A low safety means fewer troubles in downtimes and less upside in good times. Investors may not have a debt issue with USS but they should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	83	89	95	95
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	52	44	54	54
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	96	100	100	100
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	87	89	96	96

Last update of Safety Rank: 20-Feb-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of USS and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	16	34	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	50	50	77	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	96	98	95	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	60	17	60	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	68	46	81	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 20-Feb-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for USS.
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