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what it is
Columbus McKinnon makes the lifting and motion equipment factories use to move heavy stuff without breaking people or production lines.
how it gets paid
Last year Columbus Mckinnon made $963M in revenue. u.s. industrial markets was the main engine at $433M, or 45% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 5.0% last year. The company said fiscal second quarter sales rose 8% from the prior year and results came in stronger than expected.
what just happened
The latest quarter was small, but CMCO still posted $0.62 EPS, ahead of the $0.60 estimate.
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
60/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
7.2x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.0% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 48/100 — below average
What they do
Columbus McKinnon makes the lifting and motion equipment factories use to move heavy stuff without breaking people or production lines.
This is a reach-and-reliability business. Columbus McKinnon serves customers through 65 locations in more than 24 countries, and 36% of fiscal 2024 sales came from outside the U.S. Scale → more local service and distribution → so what: if your plant needs parts fast, you buy from the company that can actually show up.
How they make money
$963M
annual revenue · their business grew -5.0% last year
u.s. industrial markets
$433M
5.0%
international industrial markets
$241M
flat
automotive markets
$183M
flat
consumer and other markets
$106M
flat
The products that matter
manufactures industrial lifting and moving equipment
Material-handling equipment
$1.0B revenue · 100% of sales
it's the entire $1.0B business, and it grew 4.2% from a year ago. that makes the story simple: if industrial capital spending improves, results improve. if it does not, nothing else offsets it.
100% of revenue
Key numbers
7.2x
trailing p/e
P/E → price-to-earnings → so what: you are paying 7.2 times profit for a business expected to do about $1B in fiscal 2026 sales.
$408M
long-term debt
Debt → money the company owes → so what: that debt load is heavy next to a roughly $500M market cap.
5.7%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: this company does not have much room for mistakes.
$34
18-month target
$34 versus $17.58 today is a 93% gap. That is what cheap looks like when the market does not trust the rebound.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $408M (45% of capital)
- net profit margin 8.8% — keeps 9 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 8% — $0.08 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 CMCO 3 years ago → it's now worth $5,780.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
The latest quarter was small, but CMCO still posted $0.62 EPS, ahead of the $0.60 estimate.
The company said fiscal second quarter sales rose 8% from the prior year and results came in stronger than expected. Gross margin from filings was 34.0%, which says pricing held up better than volume.
$240M
revenue
$0.62
eps
34.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
$0.62 EPS mattered because it beat the $0.60 estimate, showing the business can still out-earn low expectations in a messy demand year.
-
columbus mckinnon contended with a choppy first half of fiscal 2025 (year ends march 31, 2026).vs. prior year performance in the first half of fiscal 2025 appeared muted due to several timing and structural factors. tariff pressures, particularly section 232 and global trade uncertainties, continued to weigh on margins, offsetting some gains from pricing and volume.
-
project order conversion slowed in emea and apac amid a weaker macroeconomic backdrdop.
-
that said, operating comparisons should improve over the coming months.
-
the fiscal second quarter was stronger than expected, as sales rose 8% from the previous year and earnings ($0.62 a share) came in ahead of wall street’s consensus forecasts (about $0.53 a share).
-
although the share profit figure was below last year’s tally, the top-line advance and earnings beat suggests that there are some positives working in the company’s favor.although domestic manufacturing remains in flux, there are signs that u.s. short-cycle demand is stabilizing.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is an industrial demand slowdown in short-cycle manufacturing.
med
industrial demand slowdown
CMCO sells into factory and distribution spending. when customers delay projects, orders get pushed and revenue feels it quickly.
impact: this risk touches 100% of the company's $1.0B revenue base.
med
input cost and tariff pressure
management already flagged tariff and trade pressure. with gross margin at 34.5%, there is not much mystery about what to watch next.
impact: even modest gross-margin slippage matters when net margin is only 8.3%.
med
leverage limits flexibility
$408M of long-term debt equals 45% of capital. that is manageable when demand is okay and less forgiving when results soften.
impact: leverage narrows the margin for error in a business earning 7.5% on capital.
a weaker factory spending cycle would pressure all $1.0B of revenue, while thin returns and 45% debt to capital leave less room to absorb it.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
gross margin
34.5% is the key number. if it holds or improves, pricing is doing its job. if it slips, the low multiple starts making sense.
trend
short-cycle demand
management says u.s. short-cycle demand may be stabilizing. you want that to become a trend, not a one-quarter headline.
calendar
fiscal year 2026 report
the next full-year update should tell you whether the choppy first half was a pause or the start of a weaker cycle.
risk
debt as a percent of capital
45% is workable, not comfortable. if leverage falls, the equity gets cleaner. if it rises, the trap case gets louder.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3 — middle of the pack. in human-speak, analysts do not see a clean short-term edge.
risk profile
below average
stability score 4 — this stock has bigger swings than most, which fits a leveraged cyclical.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 — the chart is not confirming the huge target upside yet.
earnings predictability
60 / 100
results are somewhat forecastable, but not enough to treat this like a steady compounder.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 96 buyers vs. 94 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 27.0M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$14
$54
$18
current price
$34
target midpoint · +93% from current · 3-5yr high: $50 (+185% · 31% ann'l return)
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