Is KSS a high-quality business?

AlphaMadera's AlphaQuality grade scores Kohl's Corporation on six pillars — profitability, capital efficiency, balance-sheet strength, growth durability, cash generation, and shareholder yield. The composite letter grade reflects how KSS compares to a Buffett-style quality bar.

What is Kohl's Corporation's AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to KSS based on a six-pillar quantitative model. The live page shows the composite grade plus each pillar's individual score with the underlying metrics.

What makes KSS a quality stock?

AlphaQuality looks at return on capital, free-cash-flow margins, debt-to-equity, revenue stability, dividend and buyback policy, and operating-margin trend. Stocks scoring well across all six pillars earn higher grades — the methodology favors compounders over cyclicals.

KSS - Kohl's Corporation

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Hold DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $18.00 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Stable Earnings Power

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

D 38.0 / 100 composite

Composite Grade

Composite of six pillars weighted for stable earnings power businesses. Purely quantitative — no stock price or analyst input.

Profitability

Weight: 20%

D- 32.4

5yr Avg ROIC 5.3% 37/100
Operating Margin Trend -0.89 pp/yr 23/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 15%

B- 67.5

5yr Avg ROE 8.0% 50/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR -6.1% 100/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 15%

F 8.1

5yr Revenue CAGR -5.5% 9/100
5yr EPS CAGR -21.8% 0/100
Revenue-Growth Years (5) 1/5 20/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 15%

C 56.9

5yr FCF Margin 3.4% 42/100
5yr FCF/NI Conversion 2.34x 75/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 20%

D- 27.2

Net Debt / EBITDA 4.50x 23/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) 2.17x 31/100
Altman Z-Score 1.64 31/100

Stability

Weight: 15%

D+ 42.3

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.44 38/100
Piotroski F-Score 6 67/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 4/5 20/100

5 of 5 gurus held; 1 new buy; 1 added; 2 trimmed.

Holders: 5 +1
Avg Δ position: -35.1%
New buys: 1
Full exits: 0

Laffont new
Dalio decreased -79%
Wood decreased -75%

How this is calculated

AlphaQuality grades six pillars from 0-100 and weights each by archetype:

Profitability (20%) — 5yr Avg ROIC, Operating Margin Trend
Capital Efficiency (15%) — 5yr Avg ROE, 5yr Share-Count CAGR
Growth Quality (15%) — 5yr Revenue CAGR, 5yr EPS CAGR, Revenue-Growth Years (5)
Cash Generation (15%) — 5yr FCF Margin, 5yr FCF/NI Conversion
Balance Sheet (20%) — Net Debt / EBITDA, Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int), Altman Z-Score
Stability (15%) — EPS Volatility (σ/μ), Piotroski F-Score, Negative-Revenue Years (5)

We deliberately ignore stock price, analyst targets, and consensus ratings so the grade is suitable for backtesting forward returns. A minimum of 5 fiscal years of audited statements is required; distressed and highly leveraged infrastructure businesses are declared ungradable rather than forced into a numeric score.