Howdens Joinery (LSE: HWND) - Best In Class Building Materials Company, Running Out of Runway

Does anyone here own Howdens Joinery (LSE HWDN)?

It posts gross margins 20+% higher than it's UK peers, and has a counter-intuitive model (sells directly to builders, not consumers).

There's a moat (Helmer's counterpositoning) and local scale economies, although three year ROIIC is 1%.

It does have a \~18+% ROIC although the market is maturing and they're largely mature in their UK market (management targets \~1000 UK depots, currently at about 900). Management seems to be pivoting to giving more cash back to shareholders (buybacks primarily, pays a small dividend as well).

Although, they're also buying growth (acquiring a DTC Kitchen brand in June 2026 - basically undoing their Trade Only counter-positioning model although they plan on keeping these operationally separate).

It's also in a multi-year cyclical low for kitchen renovations, and it's gaining market share on it's UK competition, so when the cycle turns operating leverage will probably juice fundamentals, even if the market is largely saturated.

Does anyone have an opinion one way or another?

Full write up here - [https://thepursuitofcompounding.substack.com/p/howdens-joinery-the-kitchen-company?r=xy3ae](https://thepursuitofcompounding.substack.com/p/howdens-joinery-the-kitchen-company?r=xy3ae)