James Hardie Industries plc (JHX.AX) stock analysis

In our weekly check, James Hardie Industries plc is graded C (A to F). Of 24 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 12 pass, warnings: 7, red flags: 5.

About James Hardie Industries plc

James Hardie Industries plc is a Basic Materials company (Construction Materials) based in Ireland, listed on ASX as JHX.AX.

What our checks show for JHX.AX

Red flags

• The net margin fell by 10 points over 5 years, to 2.7%: the company keeps less of each sale as profit.
• The net margin is only 2.7%: little room if costs rise.
• The stock has fallen as much as 71% from a peak. Would you have held through that?
• Recovering from its deepest fall took about 3.8 years.
• The share count grew by 23.2% in 2 years: each shareholder owns a smaller slice.

Warning signs

• Net debt is 3.9x a year of EBITDA (debt/equity 0.69). That limits room in a downturn and raises refinancing risk.
• Operating profit covers interest only 3.2 times: a weak year could make the payments hard.
• Analysts expect only about 3.7% a year of growth in revenue.
• Earnings per share fell 39.5% a year over the last 3 years.
• Net profit fell 34.2% a year over the last 3 years.
• The price swings a lot: 39.4% annual volatility. Expect large ups and downs.
• Return on capital (ROCE) is only 5.8%.

Strengths

• Operating cash flow is 4.99x net profit: the profit arrives as real cash.
• Analysts expect earnings per share to grow about 103% a year over the next years.
• Analysts expect the net margin to improve by 13.8 points from today's 2.7%.
• A large company: market value $15.71 billion.
• Pay in shares is only 12.2% of free cash flow.

Next earnings report: 2026-11-06

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Questions

What grade does James Hardie Industries plc (JHX.AX) have?

In our weekly check, James Hardie Industries plc is graded C (A to F). Of 24 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 12 pass, warnings: 7, red flags: 5. The grade is a risk check, not a buy or sell recommendation.

What are the main risks of JHX.AX stock?

This week's biggest flags for James Hardie Industries plc: Margins falling, Thin margins, Deep past fall. In total 12 of 24 checks show a warning or a red flag.

What does James Hardie Industries plc do?

James Hardie Industries plc is a Basic Materials company (Construction Materials) based in Ireland, listed on ASX as JHX.AX.

When does James Hardie Industries plc report earnings next?

The next earnings report is expected on 2026-11-06. We re-run the checks every week, so the grade can change after it.

The grade is a risk check, not a price forecast, and not investment advice. In our 10-year test (S&P 500, 2016-2026), stocks we graded A or B fell more than 30% 2-3 times less often than D or F, without a lower average return.

Updated 2026-10-31

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