Start here if you're new
what it is
Cadre sells body armor, duty gear, and other protection equipment to police, rescue teams, and government agencies.
how it gets paid
Last year Cadre made $610M in revenue. Body armor was the main engine at $180M, or 30% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 7.5% last year. Gross margin at 42.2% matters most because margin → how much money stays after production costs → so what: Cadre is selling specialized gear.
what just happened
Revenue hit $443M, while EPS reached $0.79 and gross margin landed at 42.2%.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
36.6x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
1.3% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.4% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$1.00 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 64/100 — average
What they do
Cadre sells body armor, duty gear, and other protection equipment to police, rescue teams, and government agencies.
Cadre sells gear people buy when failure is not an option. If your customer is a first responder, switching vendors is painful because the product has to work every time. That stickiness helps support a 17.0% operating margin, which is strong for an industrial business of this size.
How they make money
$610M
annual revenue · their business grew +7.5% last year
Body armor
$180M
Duty gear
$155M
Explosive ordnance disposal equipment
$70M
Uniforms, optics, and boots
$120M
Firearms and ammunition
$85M
The products that matter
protective gear and armor systems
Body Armor & Ballistic Equipment
~80% of revenue mix
This is the center of gravity. If the roughly 80% core business wins contracts, CDRE looks stable. If it does not, there is nowhere to hide.
core segment
specialized bomb disposal equipment
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Gear
mission-critical
Mission-critical gear sounds durable because it is. The catch is scale. This page gives no standalone revenue figure, so you cannot yet tell how much this niche moves the company on its own.
thin disclosure
duty gear for law enforcement
Duty Gear & Holsters
replacement demand
Replacement cycles help, but they do not cancel budget cycles. With the page pointing to $568M this year versus a $610M prior-year base, you need proof the reset is temporary.
watch budgets
Key numbers
36.6x
trailing p/e
P/E ratio → how many dollars you pay for one dollar of profit → so what: you are paying a premium price for a modest earner.
$610M
annual revenue
Revenue → total sales → so what: Cadre is a real business with scale, but not large enough to hide execution mistakes.
17.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: this is better than a commodity manufacturer, which supports the premium story.
$311M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → so what: debt equals about half of annual sales, which limits room for error.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 30 / 100
- long-term debt $311M (19% of capital)
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for CDRE right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $443M, while EPS reached $0.79 and gross margin landed at 42.2%.
That quarter looked huge next to the prior year, with revenue up 184% and EPS up 193% based on SEC filing data. The contrast is simple: annual revenue was $610M, so one quarter produced about 73% of that total.
$443M
revenue
$0.79
eps
42.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
Gross margin at 42.2% matters most because margin → how much money stays after production costs → so what: Cadre is selling specialized gear, not generic metal boxes.
source: EDGAR SEC filings and quarterly EPS history, 2024
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What could go wrong
CDRE's risk is not abstract. The company just missed, the stock just fell 13.5%, and management now has to earn back trust while carrying a premium multiple.
high
another miss would hit credibility first, then valuation
The stock already dropped 13.5% after the last report. That tells you patience is thin. If the next quarter disappoints again, the debate shifts from "temporary stumble" to "maybe the premium never belonged."
The proof is in the tape: one miss already produced a double-digit sell-off.
med
the multiple still asks for better economics than the business shows today
CDRE trades at 36.6x trailing earnings while generating an 8.4% return on capital. Put differently: you are paying premium-company prices for a business that still looks merely decent on this metric.
If returns do not improve, multiple compression does the editing for you.
med
budget timing can still bruise a mission-critical business
Police, first responder, and military customers buy gear they need, not gear they casually skip. But they still buy through budgets, approvals, and contract timing. That makes demand sticky and lumpy at the same time.
Mission-critical demand helps. Procurement timing still moves quarterly numbers.
med
$311M of long-term debt is manageable now, less comfortable in a longer slowdown
A B+ balance sheet gives management room, not infinite room. Debt at 19% of capital looks fine if margins hold near 17.0% and demand normalizes. If the recovery drags, that same debt starts feeling louder.
This is not a balance-sheet crisis. It is a balance-sheet qualifier.
A stock that drops 13.5% on one miss is telling you exactly how much confidence still needs to be rebuilt.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
Q1 2026 earnings around May 6
This is the first real read on whether March 10 was a one-quarter stumble or the start of a slower stretch. Right now, this date matters more than any slogan.
trend
revenue versus the current $568M estimate
The page points to $568M this year and a $610M prior-year base. That gap is the reset. You want to see it narrow, not become the new normal.
metric
return on capital versus the 36.6x multiple
An 8.4% return on capital does not usually justify a premium valuation for long. Either returns improve, or the stock price usually does the adjustment itself.
risk
debt comfort if the recovery takes longer
$311M of long-term debt is fine in a stable operating setup. It becomes more important if execution slips again and the recovery timeline stretches.
Analyst rankings
coverage quality
thin
in human-speak, there is not enough ranked analyst coverage on this page to make consensus your edge.
what matters instead
execution
After a 13.5% post-earnings drop, the next print carries more weight than a neat Wall Street summary badge.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for CDRE is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$42
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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