Is TDS a high-quality business?

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

What is Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.'s AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to TDS 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 TDS 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.

TDS - Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Buy DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $27.67 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Stable Earnings Power

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

F 27.8 / 100 pillar composite

Composite Grade

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

⚠ 3 of the last 5 fiscal years showed negative net income — AlphaQuality will not grade above F for persistent unprofitability in a stable earnings power business.

Grade overrides the 27.8 pillar composite because hard gates always win. Use the pillar breakdown below to see where the underlying numbers sit.

Profitability

Weight: 20%

F 13.4

5yr Avg ROIC 1.8% 19/100
Operating Margin Trend -2.09 pp/yr 0/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 15%

D- 28.6

5yr Avg ROE -1.2% 8/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR -0.2% 68/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 15%

F 15.0

5yr Revenue CAGR -30.7% 0/100
5yr EPS CAGR 0.0% 20/100
Revenue-Growth Years (5) 2/5 40/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 15%

F 16.2

5yr FCF Margin 0.9% 30/100
5yr FCF/NI Conversion -5.15x 0/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 20%

C- 45.4

Net Debt / EBITDA 2.15x 67/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) 1.79x 25/100
Altman Z-Score 1.65 31/100

Stability

Weight: 15%

C- 47.1

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.44 38/100
Piotroski F-Score 6 67/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 3/5 40/100

3 of 4 gurus held; 3 trimmed; 1 full exit.

Holders: 3 -1
Avg Δ position: -37.3%
New buys: 0
Full exits: 1

Dalio sold -100%
Cooperman decreased -62%
Wood decreased -48%

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.