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what it is
Astec sells the heavy machines and parts that help build roads, process materials, and keep utility and construction jobs moving.
how it gets paid
Last year Astec Industries made $1.4B in revenue. Road building equipment was the main engine at $0.56B, or 40% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 8.1% last year. The infrastructure unit, which manufactures asphalt and concrete plants and related parts, is benefiting from strong overall demand despite lukewarm interest for forestry machinery.
what just happened
Astec's latest quarter came in with $1.06 EPS, above the $0.82 estimate, on revenue that jumped to about $1.0 billion.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
50/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
15.8x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
1.4% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
7.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 58/100 — below average
What they do
Astec sells the heavy machines and parts that help build roads, process materials, and keep utility and construction jobs moving.
Astec wins because its machines sit inside messy, mission-critical jobs. When your asphalt plant or crusher stops, the crew still gets paid and the project still slips. That makes replacement parts, service, and financing sticky. The proof is scale: $1.4 billion of annual revenue and 4,148 employees in a business where uptime matters more than branding.
How they make money
$1.4B
annual revenue · their business grew +8.1% last year
Road building equipment
$0.56B
Utility equipment
$0.20B
Related construction equipment
$0.34B
Materials processing and other machinery
$0.30B
The products that matter
road-building equipment maker
Road Building & Infrastructure
core to the $1.4B business
it's the backbone of the $1.4B company, and management says road and bridge demand remains supportive.
infrastructure spend
materials processing platform
Materials Solutions
$64.1M of backlog added
TerraSource added $64.1M of the $68.7M backlog increase in Q3. That's where most of the recent order momentum came from.
acquisition-driven
Key numbers
$449.5M
order backlog
Backlog means signed work waiting to ship. Plain English: future revenue already sitting in line. So what: it gives you near-term demand visibility.
15.8x
trailing p/e
P/E means price divided by last year's earnings. Plain English: what investors pay for each dollar of profit. So what: this is not a hype multiple.
9.5%
operating margin
Operating margin means profit before interest and taxes. Plain English: how much Astec keeps from each sales dollar before financing costs. So what: decent, not elite.
7.5%
return on capital
Return on capital means profit earned on the money tied up in the business. Plain English: how hard each invested dollar works. So what: usable, but not beautiful.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 30 / 100
- long-term debt $324M (23% of capital)
- net profit margin 5.1% — keeps 5 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 9% — $0.09 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in ASTE 3 years ago → it's now worth $11,830.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Astec's latest quarter came in with $1.06 EPS, above the $0.82 estimate, on revenue that jumped to about $1.0 billion.
Revenue rose 188% vs. prior year in the latest quarter, while gross margin reached 26.2%. Contrast that with the full-year business, which did $1.4 billion of revenue, and you can see how lumpy this reporting period was.
$1.0B
revenue
$1.06
eps
26.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 29.27% EPS beat mattered because it showed Astec cleared a low bar by a decent margin while backlog still sat at $449.5 million.
-
of the $68.7 million backlog increase recorded in the third quarter, to $449.5 million, terrasource accounted for $64.1 million. (note that the company was scheduled to release decemberinterim results after we went to press with this report.) efforts to improve manufacturing and procurement processes are yielding efficiency gains, which should contribute to impressive adjusted ebitda expansion.
-
moreover, management raised the lower end of the full year 2025 ebitda guidance from $123 million to $132 million, while maintaining the high end at $142 million.
-
potential opportunities for expansion (see below) ought to help support operations in 2026.
-
both of the company’s segments are operating amid favorable end-market conditions.the infrastructure unit, which manufactures asphalt and concrete plants and related parts, is benefiting from strong overall demand despite lukewarm interest for forestry machinery. concurrently, the materials solutions division, the maker of heavy and soft rock processing equipment, is reaping the rewards of assets secured in the terrasource deal.
-
one positive factor is ongoing funding provided by the current federal highway bill in the u.s.commitments from the government toward road and bridge projects have encouraged many of astec’s customers to invest in capital.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is road-building equipment demand cooling after today's funding support.
high
demand rollover
Astec is tied to infrastructure and heavy construction budgets. If customer order activity slows, the $449.5M backlog can shrink fast and the $1.4B revenue base feels it.
most of the bull case depends on current end-market strength lasting longer
med
tariff and input-cost pressure
Tariffs on materials and equipment hit cost of goods sold directly. That matters more here because net margin is only 5.4%, and the latest quarter ran at 2.8%.
thin margins mean small cost increases can do outsized damage
med
TerraSource integration doing too much of the work
TerraSource contributed $64.1M of the $68.7M backlog increase in Q3. If integration stalls, the headline order momentum looks weaker than the first number suggests.
recent backlog strength is real, but it is not purely organic
med
earnings volatility
A 50/100 earnings predictability score and a latest quarter at -$0.18 EPS tell you this is not a smooth compounding story. You can get a good year and still have a bad quarter.
valuation stays cheap if the market keeps seeing inconsistency
On $1.4B of revenue, a 5.4% net margin means Astec keeps about $76M in profit. The latest quarter ran at 2.8% and lost $0.18 per share. Small misses do real damage here.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
backlog quality
$449.5M backlog is the key support under the story. Watch how much of future backlog growth is organic versus acquisition-related.
trend
EBITDA floor
Management raised the floor to $132M from $123M. If that number gets cut, the margin-improvement story weakens fast.
calendar
public infrastructure budgets
Astec sells into road and bridge spending cycles. Budget approvals and customer capex timing matter more here than broad macro headlines.
risk
tariffs and input costs
At a 5.4% net margin, this is not a business that can casually absorb cost inflation. Watch raw materials, equipment tariffs, and procurement commentary.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts do not see a strong near-term edge either way.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — typical risk profile. Not especially safe, not unusually dangerous.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is not sending a dramatic message right now.
earnings predictability
50 / 100
earnings predictability 50/100 — the company is improving, but the numbers still come with surprises.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 109 buyers vs. 96 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 22.6M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$35
$82
$48
current price
$59
target midpoint · +22% from current · 3-5yr high: $95 (+95% · 19% ann'l return)
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