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PAC, Pacific Airport Group
A capital-intensive business, run on heavy physical assets that must be kept working and earn a return above what they cost to maintain.
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
The business in brief
read the 10-K →What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- What moves the needle
- Gross margin has run about 83% and operating margin about 47% through the cycle, a wide spread between price and the cost of what it sells — whether that advantage is durable pricing power or a margin that can erode is the question the record is for. The cash cycle has run negative through the cycle (a median of −124 days): the operation is paid before it pays, so working capital releases cash as the business grows rather than tying it up. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on debt terms & refinancing, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.
- Is it a good business?
- Return on capital has run high across the record (median 32%, above 15% in 9 of 10 years), though buybacks and expensed R&D and brands shrink the capital base, so the figure overstates the underlying economics. Customers and suppliers fund the business through negative working capital, a structural edge the ratio does not show. Whether these returns reflect real pricing power or an accounting artifact is the judgment the 10-K is for.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2015–2024
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2015’15 | 2016’16 | 2017’17 | 2018’18 | 2019’19 | 2020’20 | 2021’21 | 2022’22 | 2023’23 | 2024’24 | TTMTTMDec 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | |||||||||||
| MX$8.1B | MX$11.1B | MX$12.4B | MX$14.1B | MX$16.2B | MX$11.9B | MX$19.0B | MX$27.4B | MX$33.2B | MX$33.6B | MX$33.6B | RevenueRevenue |
| 81% | 84% | 83% | 83% | 83% | 78% | — | — | — | — | 92% | Gross marginGross mgn |
| MX$4.1B | MX$5.2B | MX$6.3B | MX$7.2B | MX$8.0B | MX$3.8B | MX$8.9B | MX$13.8B | MX$15.1B | MX$15.1B | MX$15.1B | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| 50.4% | 47.1% | 50.8% | 51.3% | 49.4% | 32.2% | 46.6% | 50.5% | 45.6% | 44.8% | 44.8% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| MX$2.7B | MX$3.3B | MX$4.6B | MX$5.0B | MX$5.4B | MX$2.0B | MX$6.0B | MX$9.0B | MX$9.5B | MX$8.6B | MX$8.6B | Net incomeNet inc. |
| 24% | 28% | 24% | 27% | 26% | 19% | 23% | 26% | 24% | 27% | 27% | Effective tax rateTax rate |
| Cash flow & returns | |||||||||||
| MX$4.9B | MX$5.6B | MX$6.2B | MX$7.2B | MX$8.2B | MX$3.6B | MX$11.1B | MX$12.5B | MX$13.9B | MX$16.7B | MX$16.7B | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| MX$1.2B | MX$1.3B | MX$1.4B | MX$1.6B | MX$1.8B | MX$2.0B | MX$2.1B | MX$2.3B | MX$2.5B | MX$3.1B | MX$3.1B | DepreciationDeprec. |
| MX$1.0B | MX$1.0B | MX$76M | MX$629M | MX$1.0B | (MX$403M) | MX$3.0B | MX$1.2B | MX$1.8B | MX$5.0B | MX$5.0B | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| MX$1.7B | MX$2.1B | MX$3.0B | MX$4.0B | MX$4.4B | — | — | MX$7.3B | MX$7.5B | — | MX$7.5B | Dividends paidDiv. paid |
| 14% | 18% | 27% | 28% | 36% | 21% | 60% | 73% | 60% | 55% | 55% | ROICROIC |
| 13% | 15% | 22% | 24% | 27% | 9% | 31% | 48% | 48% | 39% | 39% | Return on equityROE |
| 5% | 5% | 8% | 5% | 5% | — | — | 9% | 10% | — | 5% | Retained to equityRetained/eq |
| Balance sheet | |||||||||||
| MX$3.0B | MX$5.2B | MX$7.7B | MX$6.2B | MX$7.5B | MX$14.4B | MX$13.3B | MX$12.4B | MX$10.1B | MX$13.5B | MX$13.5B | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| MX$159M | MX$608M | MX$997M | MX$1.4B | MX$1.5B | MX$1.3B | MX$1.7B | MX$2.4B | MX$2.3B | MX$2.7B | MX$2.7B | ReceivablesReceiv. |
| — | — | — | MX$1.2B | MX$1.0B | MX$1.2B | MX$3.1B | MX$2.5B | MX$2.6B | MX$3.8B | MX$3.8B | Accounts payablePayables |
| MX$159M | MX$608M | MX$997M | MX$241M | MX$458M | MX$72M | (MX$1.4B) | (MX$104M) | (MX$307M) | (MX$1.1B) | (MX$1.1B) | Operating working capitalOper. WC |
| MX$3.4B | MX$6.0B | MX$9.0B | MX$7.8B | MX$9.4B | MX$16.8B | MX$16.4B | MX$15.5B | MX$13.7B | MX$17.5B | MX$17.5B | Current assetsCur. assets |
| MX$4.7B | MX$1.9B | MX$2.3B | MX$2.2B | MX$4.7B | MX$5.3B | MX$9.4B | MX$6.9B | MX$12.1B | MX$20.5B | MX$20.5B | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| 0.7× | 3.1× | 3.9× | 3.6× | 2.0× | 3.2× | 1.8× | 2.2× | 1.1× | 0.9× | 0.9× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| MX$31.5B | MX$36.1B | MX$39.5B | MX$39.6B | MX$41.6B | MX$51.4B | MX$55.3B | MX$60.5B | MX$67.4B | MX$81.7B | MX$81.7B | Total assetsAssets |
| MX$4.0B | MX$4.6B | MX$4.3B | MX$4.5B | MX$4.4B | MX$7.4B | MX$5.4B | MX$7.9B | MX$9.3B | MX$11.1B | MX$11.1B | Total debtDebt |
| MX$954M | (MX$574M) | (MX$3.5B) | (MX$1.6B) | (MX$3.1B) | (MX$7.1B) | (MX$8.0B) | (MX$4.5B) | (MX$743M) | (MX$2.4B) | (MX$2.4B) | Net debt / (cash)Net debt |
| 19.5× | 13.7× | 10.1× | 7.2× | 5.6× | 2.5× | 5.3× | 5.6× | 4.4× | 3.7× | 3.7× | Interest coverageInt. cov. |
| MX$21.3B | MX$21.3B | MX$21.0B | MX$20.7B | MX$19.6B | MX$21.8B | MX$19.3B | MX$18.6B | MX$19.8B | MX$22.3B | MX$22.3B | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| Per share | |||||||||||
| 525.58B | 525.58B | 525.58B | 525.58B | 525.58B | 525.58B | 519.37B | 508.37B | 505.28B | 505.28B | 561M | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| MX$0.02 | MX$0.02 | MX$0.02 | MX$0.03 | MX$0.03 | MX$0.02 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.05 | MX$0.07 | MX$0.07 | MX$59.92 | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| MX$0.01 | MX$0.01 | MX$0.01 | MX$0.01 | MX$0.01 | MX$0.00 | MX$0.01 | MX$0.02 | MX$0.02 | MX$0.02 | MX$15.35 | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| MX$0.00 | MX$0.00 | MX$0.01 | MX$0.01 | MX$0.01 | — | — | MX$0.01 | MX$0.01 | — | MX$13.37 | Dividends / shareDiv/sh |
| MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$0.04 | MX$39.83 | Book value / shareBVPS |
The diluted share count moved ×1/900.67 into TTM — shares retired, not a split the totals corroborate — and the per-share figures carry the counts as filed.
| 9-yr | 5-yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / share | +17.6%/yr | +16.6%/yr |
| EPS | +14.1%/yr | +10.8%/yr |
| Dividends / share | +20.6%/yr (8-yr) | +14.3%/yr |
| Book value / share | +1.0%/yr | +3.4%/yr |
The record, charted
FY2015–2024Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked.
Where the cash went
ReinvestBuybacksDividendsAcquisitionsRetainedEach year's operating cash, by what management did with it: the mix, and how it drifts.
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
Will it survive?
- AdequateOperating income MX$15.1B ÷ interest expense MX$4.1B
What this means
Comfortable in a normal year, but below the margin of safety Graham looked for. Worth checking how stable the coverage has been across a full cycle.
- How heavy is the debt, net of cash? +MX$2.4BNet cashCash MX$13.5B − debt MX$11.1B
What this means
Cash and short-term investments exceed every dollar of debt by MX$2.4B, on net the company owes nothing, and can act from strength when others can't. Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- Negative, funded by othersDSO 29 + DIO 0 − DPO 522 days
What this means
Days cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. A negative cycle is a quiet moat: suppliers and customers fund the operation (Buffett's “float”), the company grows on other people's money. (Little or no inventory, a services / asset-light model, so the inventory leg is ~0.)
Is it a good business?
- Very high (≥25%) through the cycle10-yr median, range 14%–73%; 55% latest = NOPAT MX$10.9B ÷ invested capital MX$20.0BIndustry peers: median 10%
What this means
The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. The headline is the median of the last 10 years (it ran 55% most recently), so one peak or trough year doesn't set the verdict. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.
- Not enough dataIndustry peers: median 9%
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Cash-backedCash from ops MX$16.7B ÷ net income MX$8.6B
What this means
How much of reported profit showed up as operating cash. Above 1× is reassuring; well below suggests earnings lean on accruals. One year is noisy, growth and working-capital swings distort it, and this is operating cash, not free cash. Watch the multi-year trend.
How is the cash used?
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Investing or harvesting? —Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
Graham’s defensive tests · 2 of 5 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size —Revenue ≥ $2B (a dollar floor) · MX$33.6B
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's floor is a dollar figure — about $2B of revenue as a conservative modern stand-in. This company reports in its home currency and we carry no exchange rate, so we show the figure and leave the size bar for you to apply rather than convert it with a number we don't have.
- Strong liquidity MissCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 0.85×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Conservative debt MissDebt ≤ working capital · MX$11.1B vs (MX$3.0B) WC
What this means
Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.
- Earnings stability PassA profit every year (10-yr record) · no losses
What this means
Graham wanted earnings in each of the past ten years, the stability a defensive owner leans on.
- Dividend record MissUninterrupted dividends · 7 of 10 yrs
What this means
An unbroken dividend was Graham's mark of durability. He wanted twenty years; the filings show about ten, and a single suspension breaks the streak. Non-payers, many fine modern compounders, fall outside his defensive net by design.
- Earnings growth PassEarnings +33% over the record · +155%
What this means
At least a third more earnings than a decade ago, averaging three years at each end. Net income (not per-share), so stock splits don't distort it, buybacks and dilution show up in the share-count line instead.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are MX$0.02/share (latest year MX$0.02), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is MX$0.04/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Durability & moat, 2015–2024
Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.
- Profitable years 10 of 10
What this means
Never lost money over the record, the earnings stability Graham insisted on.
- Return on capital ≥ 15% 9 of 10 yrs
What this means
A moat shows up as a high return on invested capital that holds year after year, not one good vintage.
- Operating margin 49% → 47% (3-yr avg ends)
In the filing’s words The filing attributes gains to higher prices, but the margin in the record has not followed — the claim outruns the result here.
What this means
The recent-years average (47%) sits below the early years (49%), but the latest year (45%) is back near the early level: a cyclical trough dragging the window down, not a one-way slide. The through-cycle median is 47% — read it across the cycle, not on the dip.
- Reinvestment, incremental ROIC returns capital
What this means
The capital base barely grew: this business returns cash through dividends and buybacks rather than reinvesting. Judge it on the cash returned, not on compounding.
- Worst year 2020 · 32.2% op. margin
What this means
Stayed profitable even in its hardest year, the resilience that survives recessions.
- Share count −0.4%/yr
What this means
Roughly flat share count, little dilution, little buyback.
- Dividend record rising
What this means
Paid and raised the dividend across the record, the continuity Graham prized.
Does AI threaten the moat?
Low contestabilityThe moat is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded, the kind AI cuts costs within but does not contest.
AI is unlikely to contest a moat that is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded; here it reads more as a cost tool than a threat.
Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of fiscal year-end, Dec 31, 2024Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
- Cash & short-term investmentsMX$13.5B
- ReceivablesMX$2.7B
- Other current assetsMX$1.3B
- Debt due within a yearMX$7.0B
- Accounts payableMX$3.8B
- Other current liabilitiesMX$9.6B
From the company's latest filing.
Inverting the record
Invert: instead of why Pacific Airport Group is a good business, the question is what would make owning it a mistake, and whether those marks are in the record. Disconfirming tests across 2015–2024.
1 of the 3 tests turned up something to look into; the other 2 came back clean.
- Look hereDid receivables and inventory outpace sales?2% → 8% of sales
Receivables and inventory grew from MX$159M to MX$2.7B while revenue grew 315%: working capital is climbing faster than sales (2% of revenue then, 8% now). That can mean customers paying slower, stock building up, or revenue pulled forward. The filing's cash-flow and receivables notes say which.
- Is it less profitable than it was?
- Did reported profit become cash?
Each test is read from the filings and is noisy alone; a flag can mark a cyclical trough or a year of heavy investment as easily as a problem. The filing says which.
Peers, Trucking & Logistics
The same industry, side by side on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.
| Company | Revenue | Gross margin | Op. margin | ROIC | Owner earn. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDXFedEx Corporation | $87.9B | 77% | 6.4% | 10% | 3% |
| DALDelta Air Lines Inc. | $63.4B | — | 9.6% | 16% | 9% |
| UALUnited Airlines Holdings | $59.1B | — | 7.9% | 12% | 9% |
| AALAmerican Airlines Group | $54.6B | — | 5.3% | 8% | 2% |
| PACPacific Airport Group | MX$33.6B | 83% | 48.3% | 32% | — |
| LUVSouthwest Airlines Co. | $28.1B | — | 7.6% | 11% | 11% |
| ALKAlaska Air | $14.2B | — | 6.3% | 7% | 10% |
| JBLUJetBlue Airways Corporation | $9.1B | — | -1.9% | -2% | 4% |
| Group median | — | — | 7.0% | 11% | — |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFEnter the home-market price, not the US ADR quote. Pacific Airport Group reports in MXN, and every figure here (owner earnings, book value, the share count) is on that MXN, ordinary-share basis. Enter the price on the same basis: the local-exchange quote per ordinary share in MXN. A US ADR price in dollars bundles the ADR-to-ordinary ratio and the exchange rate, so it will not reconcile with these figures and would throw the multiple off.
Pacific Airport Group is profitable, but its owner-earnings base could not be formed from this filing’s tagged data (operating cash flow or capital spending is missing), so the owner-earnings reverse-DCF has no base to grow. We read the price from both ends instead: type a price to see the profitability it demands, then set the mature margin you would believe and weigh the two against each other. Nothing leaves your browser unless you enter it in your notebook.
Revenue, delivered22%/yr’19→’24
Enter a price to run it.
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Two reads of one future. From your price: the owner earnings the company must reach, valued at a mature multiple and discounted back at your rate, expressed as the margin it implies on revenue grown at your rate. From your belief: the mature margin you would credit, set on the dial above. When the margin the price demands runs above the one you would believe, you are paying for a future taken on faith. For a deep cyclical at a trough, normalized through-cycle earnings are the better lens; this mode is for the genuinely unprofitable, and for the profitable business whose capital spending currently outruns its cash.
Manual order: ← PAAS its page in the Manual PAGS →
Industry order: ← OMAB the Trucking & Logistics chapter PSIG →