Koppers Holdings

KOP on NYSE. Koppers sells treated wood, preservation chemicals and carbon compounds to railroads and utilities. Market value $890m.

Watch this stockFree. We tell you when something changes.

Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.

Should I look at this?

Not a fit for our list right now

Why it could be worth it

The business makes $15.59 of spare cash for every $100 the company costs. A savings account pays about $4.
Owned by Pzena Investment Management, LSV Asset Management and 4 more long-term investors we follow.
Pays a 0.7% dividend, every year for 4 years.

What to watch out for

Expensive right now: it scores 33 of 100 on price, and our list needs 60.
Business quality below our bar: it scores 59 of 100, and our list needs 70.

See Materials stocks that passed both tests

This is not advice. Check the numbers below.

Compare with another stock

Cash yield

past 12 months to June 2026

15.6%very high

For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $15.59 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.

Price to profit

past 12 months to June 2026

n/a

The filings do not give us enough to work this out.

Return on capital

five annual reports to December 2025

9.1%five-year median

Each dollar kept in the business earns 9 cents a year. Above 10 is good.

Quality score: 59 of 100. Price score: 33 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.

$47.04 a share, 88% above its 1-year low

Dividend: 0.7% a year

Paid every year for 4 years

Prices from Monday’s close (5 October).

Five years of cash, in billions

-0.0

0.0

0.1

2021202220232024202512 monthsto Jun '26

Spare cash swings from quarter to quarter here: $139 million in the past 12 months, $68 million in the year to December 2025.

Revenue
Revenue	$1.7bn	$2.0bn	$2.2bn	$2.1bn	$1.9bn
Operating margin
Operating margin	9.3%	7.0%	9.1%	7.1%	8.9%
Debt to equity
Debt to equity	1.94	2.07	1.70	1.92	1.62
Shares outstanding
Shares outstanding	0.02bn	0.02bn	0.02bn	0.02bn	0.02bn

Health checks

Free cash flow positive3 of 5 years
Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Nothing unusual
Financial strength (Piotroski)8 of 9
Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
Debt1.62× equity
Revenue growth, five yearsSlow, 2.4% a year
Buying back its own sharesYes, 10% fewer since 2021

The quarter to June 2026

How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

Sales: $520 million last quarter, up 3% on a year ago.
A loss of $148 million, after a profit of $16 million a year ago.
It loses 2 cents on each $1 of sales, after keeping 6 cents a year earlier.
Spare cash over the past 12 months: $139 million, up from $72 million.
5% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
Debt is $865 million more than cash, down from $939 million a year ago.
Sales grew on a year ago in 1 of the last 4 quarters.

Sales by quarter

$505m

$520m

Sales by quarter
Quarter to	Amount
September 2024	$554m
December 2024	$477m
March 2025	$457m
June 2025	$505m
September 2025	$485m
December 2025	$433m
March 2026	$455m
June 2026	$520m

Profit by quarter

$16m

-$148m

Profit by quarter
Quarter to	Amount
September 2024	$23m
December 2024	-$10m
March 2025	-$14m
June 2025	$16m
September 2025	$24m
December 2025	$30m
March 2026	$7m
June 2026	-$148m

From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.

Dates

Next results (estimated): n/a
Last annual report (10-K): 26 February 2026
Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q): 5 November 2026

Who owns it

6 long-term investors we follow own it, up from 5 last quarter. 216 funds in all.

Jun '25

Dec '25

Jun '26

Pzena Investment ManagementRichard Pzena
Value
$48m
Share of fund
0.1%
Cut
LSV Asset ManagementJosef Lakonishok
Value
$42m
Share of fund
<0.1%
GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli
Value
$1m
Share of fund
<0.1%
Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt
Value
$517,338
Share of fund
<0.1%
New
Boston PartnersBoston Partners team
Value
$412,050
Share of fund
<0.1%
Cut
Barrow HanleyBarrow Hanley team
Value
$3,592
Share of fund
<0.1%
New

Fund	Value	Share of that fund	Change
Pzena Investment ManagementRichard Pzena	$48m	0.1%	Cut
LSV Asset ManagementJosef Lakonishok	$42m	<0.1%
GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli	$1m	<0.1%
Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt	$517,338	<0.1%	New
Boston PartnersBoston Partners team	$412,050	<0.1%	Cut
Barrow HanleyBarrow Hanley team	$3,592	<0.1%	New

Sold out this quarter

Royce & AssociatesChuck RoyceSold out

Largest holders overall

BlackRock
$137m
Simcoe Capital Management
$64m
Added
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP
$56m
Added
Pzena Investment Management
$48m
Cut
Fuller & Thaler Asset Management
$42m
Cut
LSV Asset Management
$42m
American Century Companies
$38m
Added
Vanguard Capital Management
$36m
Cut
State Street
$36m
Added
Vanguard Portfolio Management
$24m

From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

Big holders and activists

3 investors own more than 5%.

BlackRock, Inc.
Passive investor
15.3%−2.5 pts
Since 31 March 2026
Simcoe Capital Management, LLC
Passive investor
at least 7.0%
(filed with 5 related holders)
Since 12 May 2026
What they said
The Reporting Persons purchased the Shares based on the Reporting Persons' belief that the Shares, when purchased, were substantially undervalued. Depending upon overall market conditions, other investment opportunities available to the Reporting Persons, and the availability of…
Read the filing
Pzena Investment Management
Passive investor
6.1%
Since 31 March 2025
Fuller & Thaler Asset Management, Inc.
Passive investor
Sold down below 5%
Since 31 March 2026
Vanguard Capital Management
Passive investor
Sold down below 5%
Since 30 June 2026
The Vanguard Group
Passive investor
Sold down below 5%
Since 13 March 2026

Holder	Stake	Since
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor	15.3%−2.5 pts	31 March 2026
Simcoe Capital Management, LLC Passive investor	at least 7.0% (filed with 5 related holders)	12 May 2026	What they said The Reporting Persons purchased the Shares based on the Reporting Persons' belief that the Shares, when purchased, were substantially undervalued. Depending upon overall market conditions, other investment opportunities available to the Reporting Persons, and the availability of… Read the filing
Pzena Investment Management Passive investor	6.1%	31 March 2025
Fuller & Thaler Asset Management, Inc. Passive investor	Sold down below 5%	31 March 2026
Vanguard Capital Management Passive investor	Sold down below 5%	30 June 2026
The Vanguard Group Passive investor	Sold down below 5%	13 March 2026

From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.

What insiders did

No insider bought shares on the open market in the last 12 months. 4 sold $6m.

BALL M LEROY
CEO, Director
Sold
Date
31 August 2026
Shares
4,000
Price
$45.96
Value
$183,840
BALL M LEROY
CEO, Director
Sold
Date
19 August 2026
Shares
3,000
Price
$45.84
Value
$137,520
Lucas Stephen G
SVP, Culture and Engagement
Sold
Date
12 August 2026
Shares
1,308
Price
$44.55
Value
$58,271
Sullivan James A.
President and CTO
Sold
Date
11 August 2026
Shares
7,500
Price
$50.00
Value
$375,000
Pearce Bradley A
CAO
Sold
Date
10 August 2026
Shares
2,000
Price
$51.01
Value
$102,020
Sullivan James A.
President and CTO
Sold
Date
7 August 2026
Shares
80,000
Price
$50.01
Value
$4m
BALL M LEROY
CEO, Director
Sold
Date
18 June 2026
Shares
3,412
Price
$43.90
Value
$149,787
BALL M LEROY
CEO, Director
Sold
Date
11 June 2026
Shares
4,141
Price
$41.34
Value
$171,189
BALL M LEROY
CEO, Director
Sold
Date
13 May 2026
Shares
2,659
Price
$42.55
Value
$113,140
BALL M LEROY
CEO, Director
Sold
Date
17 March 2026
Shares
2,489
Price
$37.91
Value
$94,358

Date	Who	Did	Shares	Price	Value
31 August 2026	BALL M LEROY CEO, Director	Sold	4,000	$45.96	$183,840
19 August 2026	BALL M LEROY CEO, Director	Sold	3,000	$45.84	$137,520
12 August 2026	Lucas Stephen G SVP, Culture and Engagement	Sold	1,308	$44.55	$58,271
11 August 2026	Sullivan James A. President and CTO	Sold	7,500	$50.00	$375,000
10 August 2026	Pearce Bradley A CAO	Sold	2,000	$51.01	$102,020
7 August 2026	Sullivan James A. President and CTO	Sold	80,000	$50.01	$4m
18 June 2026	BALL M LEROY CEO, Director	Sold	3,412	$43.90	$149,787
11 June 2026	BALL M LEROY CEO, Director	Sold	4,141	$41.34	$171,189
13 May 2026	BALL M LEROY CEO, Director	Sold	2,659	$42.55	$113,140
17 March 2026	BALL M LEROY CEO, Director	Sold	2,489	$37.91	$94,358

From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.

Warning signs in its filings

Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.

None of the warning signs we check for were found.

We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.

We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 26 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 6 Aug 2026 and 3 later 8-Ks.

A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.

What could go wrong

Cheap for a reason is the question the numbers cannot answer.

Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.

The deep dive

Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.

What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
The three things that would make this a mistake
Every number footnoted to the filing it came from

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What a finished deep dive looks like

Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.