The business behind the dividend
| Measure | LZB | Median | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 9.7% | 10.6% | Net income ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | Operating income ÷ (equity + total debt) |
| Owner earnings | $73.12m | $120.90m | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
| Free cash flow | $127.80m | $155.08m | Operating cash flow − capital expenditure |
| Operating margin | 6.1% | 14.3% | Operating income ÷ revenue |
| Net margin | 4.8% | 10.1% | Net income ÷ revenue |
| Debt to equity | — | — | Total debt ÷ shareholders’ equity |
| Interest cover | 246.58x | 4.22x | Operating income ÷ interest expense |
| Current ratio | 1.80x | 1.55x | Current assets ÷ current liabilities |
| Long-term debt to working capital | — | — | Long-term debt ÷ (current assets − current liabilities) |
| Cash conversion | 2.00x | 1.66x | Operating cash flow ÷ net income |
| Accruals | -5.0% | -3.1% | (Net income − operating cash flow) ÷ total assets |
Not computed here: Debt to equity, Long-term debt to working capital, Return on capital employed — why a blank is not a zero.
Ten years of it
The same measures, for every year the filings support. One year is a fact; a row is a business.
| Measure | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 9.7% | 9.8% | 12.2% | 16.0% | 18.5% | 13.8% | 11.1% | 10.0% | 13.2% | 14.6% | 12.2% |
| Return on capital employed | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16.9% | 19.0% | 21.1% | 22.6% | 21.1% |
| Operating margin | 6.1% | 6.4% | 7.4% | 9.0% | 8.8% | 7.9% | 7.0% | 7.4% | 8.2% | 8.8% | 7.4% |
| Net margin | 4.8% | 4.7% | 6.0% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.1% | 4.5% | 3.9% | 5.1% | 5.7% | 5.1% |
| Debt to equity | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.00x | 0.00x | 0.00x | 0.00x | 0.00x |
| Current ratio | 1.80x | 1.91x | 1.91x | 1.80x | 1.41x | 1.51x | 1.79x | 2.27x | 2.86x | 2.60x | 1.80x |
| Cash conversion | 2.00x | 1.88x | 1.29x | 1.36x | 0.53x | 2.91x | 2.12x | 2.20x | 1.43x | 1.72x | 1.72x |
How it compares in consumer discretionary
Among the 169 consumer discretionary companies here measured on free cash flow, La-Z-Boy pays out less than 96 of them. The median for that group is 33.1%, against this company’s 29.7%.
Closest on free cash flow
- Brady (BRC) 29.6%
- Sherwin Williams (SHW) 29.8%
- GAP (GAP) 30.0%
- Williams Sonoma (WSM) 30.0%
Same sector and same denominator, so the figures are comparable. All 197 in consumer discretionary →