International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF) stock analysis
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF) clears 2 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 1 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 1 of 5 Lynch-style checks. At $93.83 it trades 158.4% above this site's neutral DCF value (a margin of safety of -158.4%). Its earnings quality rates Strong and it returns +1.5% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does International Flavors & Fragrances do?
International Flavors & Fragrances makes flavors, scents and ingredients used in food, drinks, perfumes and household goods.
Brands and businesses it owns
- IFF
- Frutarom
What stands out about International Flavors & Fragrances?
- The share price implies 32.8% yearly growth. At $93.83, IFF's free cash flow of $2.13 per share would have to grow 32.8% a year, fading to 2.5% by year 10, for this site's DCF (10% discount rate) to match the price. This site's baseline starts at 8%, so the price asks for more growth than the baseline. Change the assumptions.
- Misses 4 of the 8 value filters. It fails Market Cap > $25B ($23.6B), Trailing P/E < 25 (81.55) and PEG Ratio < 1.5 (65.10) and 1 more; the other 2 pass and 2 were not evaluated. See every filter.
- Weakest against peers: revenue growth. At −11.7% (peer median 6.2%) it ranks 15th of 16 among materials stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Short interest is elevated. 6.3% of the float is sold short, 8.8 days to cover, above this site's 5% flag. See the figures.
- Dividend raises 3 of 6 flags. Its trailing yield is 1.73%. See the Sustainable Dividend Screener.
How has International Flavors & Fragrances' share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is International Flavors & Fragrances undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) -158.4%
- P/E vs. its own history 81.6x · near the cheap end Real range: 81.1x–131.2x over 2 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 4.04/5 24 analysts this month: 7 strong buy, 11 buy, 6 hold, 0 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub). Up from 4.00 last month.
- Altman Z″-Score (bankruptcy risk) 1.20 · Grey zone
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Strong · all 5 checks clean Beneish M-score −2.55 · accruals −4.5% of assets · stock comp 0.8% of revenue · share count +0.2% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +1.5% net Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 1.7% + buybacks 0.2% − stock comp 0.4%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count rose 214%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) Profit did not grow in 10 years Operating profit $563M → −$575M, capital needed $5.6B → $24B, 2016–2025 (3-year averages); return on capital now −2% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. Cyclical: the answer depends on where in its cycle the window starts and ends. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 65.1 · Well above fair P/E 81.6× ÷ 1.3% a year of growth behind it. 443rd lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 2 of 4 · misses capital-light, price Capital-light growth: not cleared (profit grew -1.0×, under 2×); Profit is real: cleared; Cash to owners: cleared; Fair price (PEG): not cleared (PEG 65.1, over 1.5). See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Value trap check Clear
- Munger's Inversion Check 4 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 1 of 7 measures above the median Compared with the 15 other materials stocks this site tracks: 1 in the top third, 3 in the bottom third.
- Dividend payout sustainability 3/6 flags
How does International Flavors & Fragrances compare with its peers?
1 of 7 measure sits above the median of the 15 other materials stocks tracked here, 1 in the top third and 3 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 31.4× 81.6× ✕11th of 12
- Free-cash-flow yieldhigher is cheaper · peer median 4.3% 2.3% ✕13th of 16
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 13% 2% –11th of 16
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 7.8% 2.9% –11th of 16
- Revenue growthhigher is better, year on year · peer median 6.2% −11.7% ✕15th of 16
- Debt / equitylower is safer · peer median 0.54 0.41 ✓5th of 16
- Dividend yieldamong dividend payers · peer median 1.75% 1.73% –9th of 16
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and IFF doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: IFF carries a conservative amount of debt relative to equity. Where it comes up short: IFF isn't clearing the return-on-equity bar he'd want to see right now, and its five-year average return on equity falls short too, so this isn't just a one-off dip, runs thinner pretax margins than he'd like to see, hasn't grown earnings per share fast enough over five years to impress him, doesn't cover its interest expense as comfortably as he'd want, is trading above what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth right now, and trades rich relative to owner earnings, the real cash the business could pay out.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✕
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- Pretax margin > 15% ✕
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✕
- Interest coverage > 5x ✕
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✕
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✕
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2025
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and IFF falls short of his bar. In its favor: IFF isn't leaning on debt to fund that growth. Where it comes up short: IFF fails his signature PEG test, he'd call this pricey for the growth on offer, is growing earnings outside the 10–25% range he considered the sustainable sweet spot, is asking investors to pay a steep multiple for that growth, and isn't generating free cash flow to match the growth story.
- PEG < 1 ✕
- EPS growth 10%-25% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- P/E < 27 ✕
- Price/FCF < 30 ✕
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does International Flavors & Fragrances pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $23.6B
- Trailing P/E < 25 81.55
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 65.10
- Price/Book < 8 1.69
- Price/Sales < 7 2.37
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% -91.8%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
What is International Flavors & Fragrances' margin of safety?
History tracking starts this week - check back in a future week to see how this has moved.
Where is International Flavors & Fragrances in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in International Flavors & Fragrances?
16,133,948 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with International Flavors & Fragrances? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case -53%
- Short interest under 5% of float 6.3%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 2/6 passed
- Price run-up backed by value, not just momentum +57% off 52wk low
- Debt/equity stable since 2016 0.81 → 0.42
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have International Flavors & Fragrances shareholders gained per year?
Not enough clean earnings history to compute this for IFF yet - a loss year in the window breaks the growth math rather than faking a number through it.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from IFF's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do International Flavors & Fragrances' 10-year financials show?
From IFF's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about International Flavors & Fragrances
What kind of company is International Flavors & Fragrances?
International Flavors & Fragrances makes flavors, scents and ingredients used in food, drinks, perfumes and household goods. Brands and businesses it owns include IFF and Frutarom. This site groups it with Chemicals stocks.
Is International Flavors & Fragrances trading above or below its DCF value?
At $93.83, IFF trades 158.4% above this site's neutral DCF value of $36.31 per share, a margin of safety of −158.4%. That DCF projects free cash flow for 10 years, with growth starting at 8% and fading to 2.5%, discounted at 10%; it is one set of assumptions, not a forecast. Test your own in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does International Flavors & Fragrances pass?
IFF passes 2 of 8. It passes Price/Book < 8 (1.69) and Price/Sales < 7 (2.37). It misses Market Cap > $25B ($23.6B), Trailing P/E < 25 (81.55), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (65.10) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (-91.8%). vs 50-day MA (±12%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) were not evaluated, because the moving-average checks only run on stocks that clear the fundamentals first. The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
How much cash does International Flavors & Fragrances return to shareholders?
IFF's net shareholder yield is +1.5%: the cash it returns through dividends and buybacks, minus stock-based compensation, as a share of its market value. Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 1.7% + buybacks 0.2% − stock comp 0.4%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count rose 214%. Its trailing dividend yield is 1.73%, paid out of 75% of its free cash flow; the dividend-sustainability check raises 3 of 6 flags (a risky earnings payout, weak interest coverage and declining revenue). See Shareholder Yield Leaders and the Sustainable Dividend Screener.
When does International Flavors & Fragrances report earnings next?
International Flavors & Fragrances's next earnings report is expected on November 3, 2026 after the market closes, with analysts expecting earnings of $0.82 per share. Dates come from the Finnhub earnings calendar and can move. In its last 4 quarters it beat the estimate 2 times, by an average of −3.4%.
How heavily is International Flavors & Fragrances stock sold short?
As of September 30, 2026, 6.3% of IFF's float was sold short (16,133,948 shares, 8.8 days to cover), down 1.0% from the prior reporting period. FINRA publishes short interest twice a month, so it changes about every two weeks; this site flags anything above 5% of the float.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: International Flavors & Fragrances's 10-K annual report for the year ended Dec 31, 2025, filed Feb 27, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this International Flavors & Fragrances Inc analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.