The Western Union Company (WU) Key Metrics
WU valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 18, 2026- Market cap
- $1.92B
- Enterprise value
- $1.80B
- P/E (TTM)
- 5.0 10-yr median 9.1
- Forward P/E
- 3.9
- PEG ratio
- 10.21
- Price / sales
- 0.5 10-yr median 1.4
- Price / book
- 2.1 10-yr median 11.2
- EV / EBITDA
- 2.2 10-yr median 6.8
- Dividend yield
- 15.24% $0.94 a year
- Beta
- 0.55
WU key metrics, 2016–2025
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 · U.S. dollarsWU valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
WU returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
WU per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
WU financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
WU efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
WU valuation history
WU returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
WU debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
WU cash returned to shareholders
WU price vs earnings per share
WU key metrics
2016–2025| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $3.05B | $3.62B | $4.43B | $5.35B | $7.29B | $9.11B | $11.54B | $7.75B | $8.89B | $10.72B |
| Enterprise value | $3.07B | $3.31B | $5.67B | $6.84B | $9.37B | $10.83B | $11.49B | $7.75B | $11.09B | $13.13B |
| P/E ratio | 6.1 | 3.9 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 9.1 | 12.2 | 10.9 | 9.1 | — | 42.3 |
| Price / sales | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| Price / book | 3.2 | 3.7 | 9.3 | 11.2 | 20.5 | 48.8 | — | — | — | 11.9 |
| Price / free cash flow | 7.8 | 9.8 | 7.0 | 14.3 | 8.8 | 12.6 | 14.7 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 13.2 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 5.6 | 8.9 | 5.7 | 9.2 | 7.0 | 10.4 | 12.6 | 9.4 | 12.0 | 10.3 |
| EV / sales | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 |
| EV / EBITDA | 3.3 | 3.6 | 6.9 | 5.3 | 7.5 | 9.0 | 6.6 | 5.5 | 14.7 | 17.3 |
| EV / free cash flow | 7.8 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 18.3 | 11.3 | 15.0 | 14.6 | 16.1 | 19.6 | 16.2 |
| Earnings yield | 16.4% | 25.8% | 14.1% | 17.0% | 11.0% | 8.2% | 9.2% | 11.0% | −6.3% | 2.4% |
| Free cash flow yield | 12.9% | 10.2% | 14.3% | 7.0% | 11.4% | 7.9% | 6.8% | 6.2% | 6.4% | 7.6% |
| Dividend yield | 10.1% | 8.9% | 7.9% | 6.8% | 5.2% | 4.1% | 3.0% | 4.4% | 3.7% | 2.9% |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 17.8% | 14.0% | 14.8% | 13.7% | 10.9% | 6.7% | 7.7% | 9.7% | 9.3% | 7.6% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $9.31 | $10.60 | $11.92 | $13.77 | $17.84 | $21.94 | $26.78 | $17.06 | $19.01 | $21.72 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $12.34 | $12.34 | $11.72 | $11.52 | $12.40 | $11.64 | $12.28 | $12.30 | $11.81 | $10.99 |
| Earnings per share | $1.53 | $2.74 | $1.68 | $2.34 | $1.97 | $1.79 | $2.46 | $1.87 | −$1.19 | $0.51 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $1.66 | $1.19 | $2.11 | $1.50 | $2.56 | $2.11 | $2.12 | $1.81 | $1.59 | $2.11 |
| Free cash flow per share | $1.20 | $1.08 | $1.71 | $0.96 | $2.03 | $1.74 | $1.83 | $1.06 | $1.21 | $1.65 |
| Cash per share | $9.41 | $10.08 | $3.41 | $3.31 | $2.96 | $3.44 | $8.16 | $7.55 | $1.79 | $1.78 |
| Book value per share | $2.92 | $2.84 | $1.29 | $1.23 | $0.87 | $0.45 | −$0.09 | −$0.68 | −$1.05 | $1.83 |
| Tangible book value per share | −$4.57 | −$4.12 | −$5.21 | −$5.19 | −$5.13 | −$6.95 | −$7.20 | −$8.00 | −$8.13 | −$5.93 |
| Dividends per share | $0.94 | $0.94 | $0.94 | $0.94 | $0.93 | $0.89 | $0.79 | $0.75 | $0.70 | $0.63 |
| Capex per share | $0.46 | $0.11 | $0.40 | $0.54 | $0.52 | $0.38 | $0.30 | $0.75 | $0.38 | $0.47 |
| Debt per share | $9.47 | $9.18 | $6.74 | $7.15 | $8.03 | $7.58 | $8.06 | $7.56 | $6.48 | $6.66 |
| Shares outstanding | 327.6M | 341.1M | 371.8M | 388.4M | 408.9M | 415.2M | 430.9M | 454.4M | 467.9M | 493.5M |
| Change in shares outstanding | −4.0% | −8.3% | −4.3% | −5.0% | −1.5% | −3.6% | −5.2% | −2.9% | −5.2% | −4.5% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 51.9% | 129.0% | 130.9% | 218.5% | 297.2% | — | — | — | — | 21.9% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 76.2% | 61.0% | 37.2% | 36.3% | 44.6% | 92.5% | — | — | 9.4% | 9.4% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 6.0% | 11.3% | 7.5% | 10.5% | 8.8% | 8.2% | 11.9% | 9.3% | −6.0% | 2.7% |
| Return on tangible assets | 8.5% | 15.6% | 10.8% | 15.2% | 12.6% | 11.6% | 18.6% | 15.0% | −9.4% | 4.5% |
| Free cash flow margin | 9.7% | 8.8% | 14.6% | 8.3% | 16.4% | 14.9% | 14.9% | 8.6% | 10.2% | 15.0% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 1.09 | 0.43 | 1.25 | 0.64 | 1.30 | 1.18 | 0.86 | 0.96 | — | 4.11 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $3.10B | $3.13B | $2.50B | $2.78B | $3.28B | $3.15B | $3.47B | $3.43B | $3.03B | $3.29B |
| Cash & short-term investments | $3.08B | $3.44B | $1.27B | $1.29B | $1.21B | $1.43B | $3.52B | $3.43B | $838.2M | $877.5M |
| Net debt | $22.0M | −$305.9M | $1.24B | $1.49B | $2.08B | $1.72B | −$45.5M | $1.9M | $2.20B | $2.41B |
| Debt / equity | 3.24 | 3.23 | 5.23 | 5.81 | 9.23 | 16.87 | — | — | — | 3.64 |
| Debt / assets | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.31 | 0.33 | 0.37 | 0.33 | 0.40 | 0.38 | 0.33 | 0.35 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.02 | −0.33 | 1.51 | 1.15 | 1.66 | 1.43 | −0.03 | 0.00 | 2.92 | 3.18 |
| Current ratio | 1.13 | 7.12 | 1.03 | 0.84 | 2.01 | 1.00 | 0.87 | 0.75 | 0.43 | 0.57 |
| Quick ratio | 1.13 | 7.12 | 0.30 | 0.84 | 2.01 | 0.78 | 0.83 | 0.99 | 1.31 | 1.55 |
| Interest coverage | 5.5 | 6.1 | 7.8 | 8.8 | 10.6 | 8.2 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 3.2 |
| Working capital | $566.9M | $4.45B | $156.1M | −$304.3M | $1.34B | −$1.6M | −$733.3M | −$1.61B | −$1.13B | −$659.4M |
| Invested capital | $979.8M | $663.0M | $1.72B | $1.97B | $2.43B | $1.91B | −$85.0M | −$307.9M | $1.70B | $3.31B |
| Tangible asset value | −$1.50B | −$1.41B | −$1.94B | −$2.01B | −$2.10B | −$2.88B | −$3.10B | −$3.63B | −$3.81B | −$2.92B |
| Net current asset value | −$2.35B | −$2.23B | −$2.76B | −$6.47B | −$5.81B | −$7.88B | −$3.85B | −$4.36B | −$8.88B | −$7.64B |
| Graham number | $10.02 | $13.23 | $6.99 | $8.06 | $6.21 | $4.26 | — | — | — | $4.59 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$9.36 | −$8.55 | −$9.13 | −$17.33 | −$15.60 | −$16.56 | −$9.85 | −$12.36 | −$18.33 | −$15.00 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | $309.0M | $321.5M | $349.0M | $364.2M | $381.6M | $370.3M | $340.8M | $341.7M | $325.6M | $312.2M |
| Share buybacks (net) | $234.6M | $186.2M | $308.4M | $369.9M | $409.9M | $239.7M | $552.6M | $412.4M | $502.8M | $501.6M |
| Dividend payout ratio | 61.8% | 34.4% | 55.8% | 40.0% | 47.4% | 49.8% | 32.2% | 40.1% | — | 123.3% |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 138.4% | 137.6% | 103.5% | 196.6% | 95.3% | 84.6% | 113.5% | 156.4% | 146.6% | 100.2% |
| Capex / revenue | 3.7% | 0.9% | 3.4% | 4.7% | 4.2% | 3.2% | 2.4% | 6.1% | 3.2% | 4.2% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 27.7% | 9.2% | 18.9% | 35.8% | 20.5% | 17.9% | 14.0% | 41.3% | 23.9% | 22.1% |
| Capex / depreciation | 0.91 | 0.21 | 0.81 | 1.13 | 1.03 | 0.70 | 0.50 | 1.28 | 0.67 | 0.87 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | — | — | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 0.9% | −10.1% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| R&D / revenue | — | — | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| SG&A / revenue | 18.4% | 20.5% | 20.4% | 21.5% | 20.7% | 21.5% | 24.0% | 20.9% | 22.3% | 30.8% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 135.4 | 135.7 | 145.2 | — | 83.1 | 89.3 | 89.2 | 95.6 | 95.8 | 80.7 |
| Days of inventory on hand | — | — | 480.1 | — | — | 34.8 | -76.1 | -180.4 | -177.4 | -152.1 |
| Days payables outstanding | 51.7 | 60.0 | 62.6 | 63.5 | 59.9 | 71.2 | 69.0 | 71.0 | 100.6 | 97.0 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 83.7 | 75.7 | 562.6 | — | 23.2 | 52.9 | -56.0 | -155.7 | -182.2 | -168.4 |
| Receivables turnover | 2.69 | 2.69 | 2.51 | — | 4.39 | 4.09 | 4.09 | 3.82 | 3.81 | 4.52 |
| Payables turnover | 7.06 | 6.09 | 5.83 | 5.75 | 6.09 | 5.13 | 5.29 | 5.14 | 3.63 | 3.76 |
| Inventory turnover | — | — | 0.76 | — | — | 10.49 | — | — | — | — |
| Asset turnover | 0.48 | 0.51 | 0.52 | 0.52 | 0.55 | 0.53 | 0.60 | 0.61 | 0.59 | 0.57 |
| Average receivables | $1.50B | $1.56B | $1.73B | — | $1.16B | $1.18B | $1.29B | $1.46B | $1.45B | $1.20B |
| Average payables | $408.1M | $430.4M | $458.5M | $457.1M | $475.6M | $551.4M | $583.4M | $641.7M | $924.0M | $868.1M |
| Average inventory | — | — | $3.51B | — | — | $269.5M | −$643.8M | −$1.63B | −$1.63B | −$1.36B |
| Intangibles / total assets | 29.6% | 28.4% | 29.5% | 29.3% | 27.8% | 32.3% | 35.0% | 36.9% | 35.9% | 40.6% |
Computed from WU's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed February 20, 2026) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
WU valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2025 (December 31, 2025), Western Union traded at 6.1 times earnings, against a 10-year median of 9.1. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 5.0 and the forward P/E is 3.9. Western Union earned a return on equity of 51.9% and a return on invested capital of 76.2% in fiscal 2025. It ended the year with $3.1 billion of debt and $3.1 billion in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $22.0 million. It returned $543.6 million to shareholders: $309.0 million in dividends and $234.6 million in share buybacks, 138% of free cash flow. The share count fell 33.6% from 493.5M to 327.6M over 9 years.
See the WU income statement, the WU chart for price history, or the WU stock overview for the latest quote and news.
WU key metrics FAQ
What is Western Union's P/E ratio?
Western Union's trailing P/E ratio is 5.0 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 18, 2026), and its forward P/E is 3.9. At the end of fiscal 2025 it was 6.1, compared with a 10-year median of 9.1.
What is Western Union's EV/EBITDA?
Western Union's enterprise value was 3.3 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2025 (enterprise value $3.1 billion, EBITDA $934.3 million); the current EV/EBITDA is 2.2.
What is Western Union's return on equity?
Western Union's return on equity (ROE) was 51.9% in fiscal 2025: net income of $499.6 million on average shareholders' equity of $963.4 million.
What is Western Union's ROIC?
Western Union's return on invested capital was 76.2% in fiscal 2025, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Western Union have?
Western Union had total debt of $3.1 billion at the end of fiscal 2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24 and $22.0 million of net debt (0.02 times EBITDA).
What is Western Union's dividend yield?
Western Union's forward dividend yield is 15.24%. Western Union paid $309.0 million in dividends in fiscal 2025 ($0.94 per share), a payout ratio of 61.8%.
Does Western Union buy back its shares?
Yes. Western Union spent $234.6 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025 Shares outstanding changed −4.0% over the year, to 327.6M..
What is Western Union's free cash flow yield?
Western Union generated $392.9 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025, a free cash flow yield of 12.9% on its market value at year-end ($3.0 billion).
What is Western Union's current ratio?
Western Union's current ratio was 1.13 at the end of fiscal 2025: current assets were 1.13 times current liabilities.