Its annual results, released yesterday, show record sales and a nice expansion in gross margin. At the same time, the company's cost-cutting program was well executed, and Apogee delivered a record operating profit of $126 million.

As usual, let's put this happy situation into the long term trend in order to evaluate the group's financial performance and its current stock market valuation.

Over the last decade, i.e. between the fiscal years 2013 and 2023, revenues have doubled - even though they have been more or less stagnant for the last four years, notwithstanding this year's record - while the margin profile has improved.

Cash generation, while often impacted by various working capital requirements, remains on the whole reconcilable with accounting results. The latter, on the whole, give a reliable view of the group's earning power.

Apogee has generated approximately $700 million of free cash flow over the period 2013-2023. $360 million was used for share buybacks - this at an average valuation of x8 EBITDA - and $150 million was distributed in dividends.

Apogee also invested $374 million in acquisitions, mainly in 2017-2018. These acquisitions have essentially doubled the company's revenues and profits: the return on investment of these external growth operations therefore appears very satisfactory.

As regards valuation, earnings per share have averaged $2 per year over the last four years, on a like-for-like basis: at the current price, the share is trading at x21 its earnings.

On the other hand, if we extrapolate the 2023 results, and the $4.7 earnings per share, the valuation falls to only x9 the profits. Things immediately become much more interesting.

The market clearly seems to give only limited credence to the group's strategic pivot to develop a consulting and services offering that is integrated and adds more value to its traditional manufacturing business.

The recent rise in stress in the commercial real estate sector - particularly office real estate, which is a big demand for glass systems - has investors worried. Rising rates have already caused an initial round of defaults, and the "work from home" trend looks set to continue.