CluenexBall Corporation BALL
Ball Corporation scores weak on business quality (4.5 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Ball Corporation does
Ball Corp manufactures aluminum packaging for beverage, household, and personal care products. Global beverage brands pay them to supply infinitely recyclable cans that meet corporate sustainability mandates. The company is pivoting entirely to its core metal packaging operations after shedding its aerospace division, aiming to drive steady volume growth in key regional markets.
- What it does best
Ball dominates metal beverage packaging through massive global scale and long-term customer supply agreements. It posts a gross margin of 18.6% compared to SLGN at 17.1%, showing better pricing power across its manufacturing network.
- The main risk
Carrying $5.8 billion of net debt leaves Ball vulnerable to interest rate volatility. With an interest coverage ratio of 5.9x, earnings must reliably cover debt service costs or risk squeezing operational flexibility during downturns.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 10.0% with a net margin of 6.6%. Margins are stabilizing as volume returns, though capital intensity limits scale-driven profitability gains.
Scale and high capital costs create a narrow moat locking in major beverage makers who rely on regional can plants. Its sector percentile for revenue growth sits in the top quartile at 81.
Revenue grew 11.6% to $14.3 billion, marking an acceleration from prior year declines as volume demand recovers across core segments.
Total debt sits at $7.0 billion against $1.2 billion in cash, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.3. Free cash flow reached $827 million, showing softer balance-sheet health overall.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
2 sold $914K outside pre-planned sales.
Our sealed record on BALL
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Ball Corporation scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.5 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 2 sold $914K outside pre-planned sales.
Nov 3, 2026.
See BALL today
- Today's verdict on BALL, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Ball Corporation (BALL)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/ball/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.