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what it is
It makes the seals, lines, and hoses that keep cars from leaking fluids, air, and money.
how it gets paid
Last year Cooper-Standard made $2.7B in revenue. Sealing systems was the main engine at $1.0B, or 33% of sales.
what just happened
The latest quarter showed $51M in revenue, but the cleaner read is that full-year losses still defined 2024.
At a glance
C+ balance sheet — struggling to keep the lights on
10/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
-$4.48 fy2024 eps est
$3B fy2024 rev est
7.0% operating margin
xvary composite: 39/100 — weak
What they do
It makes the seals, lines, and hoses that keep cars from leaking fluids, air, and money.
This is an auto supplier business, so the moat is not magic. It is scale, customer relationships, and being built into vehicle programs that are painful to replace mid-cycle. You are buying a company with 19,500 employees and roughly $3B in estimated 2024 revenue, which is large next to its $516M market cap.
How they make money
$2.7B
annual revenue
Sealing systems
$1.0B
Fuel and brake delivery systems
$1.0B
Fluid transfer systems
$1.0B
The products that matter
vehicle sealing products
Sealing Systems
$2.1B · 77% of segment revenue
it's the main business, generating about $2.1B and roughly 77% of segment mix. if this line loses volume or pricing, the rest of the story does not save you.
largest segment
fuel and brake delivery lines
Fluid Handling Systems
$0.6B · 23% of segment revenue
this business contributes about $0.6B, or 23% of segment revenue. it's real scale, but not enough to offset weakness in sealing on its own.
secondary segment
Key numbers
$1.1B
long-term debt
That debt load matters because it is more than 2 times the company's roughly $516M market cap.
69%
debt to capital
Capital structure → who gets paid first → you are behind a lot of debt here.
-$4.48
2024 EPS est.
Earnings per share → profit per share → so what: the business is still losing money.
7.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: the core business can produce some operating profit even while net results stay ugly.
Financial health
C+
strength
- balance sheet grade C+ — weak — may struggle to fund operations
- risk rank 5 — safer than 5% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $1.1B (69% of capital)
C+ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for CPS right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
The latest quarter showed $51M in revenue, but the cleaner read is that full-year losses still defined 2024.
EDGAR data here looks noisy, including a n/a gross margin figure that does not pass a basic smell test. Value Line's quarterly EPS path is more useful: 2024 went from -$1.81 to -$4.34 to -$0.63 to $2.24, ending the year at -$4.48.
$51M
revenue
-$0.42
eps
n/a
gross margin
full-year EPS
The number that mattered was 2024 EPS of -$4.48 from, because it shows improvement from -$7.91 in 2023 but still no actual earnings power.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is failing to turn a $2.74B supplier into a business with real margin cushion. when long-term debt is $1.1B and net margin is 1.2%, mediocre execution is not neutral.
med
debt starts calling the shots
long-term debt is $1.1B, equal to 69% of capital and more than double the ~$516M market cap. that means the lenders matter a lot, even if the stock market is the louder room.
if cash generation slips, refinancing pressure and dilution risk move closer to the center of the equity story.
med
the 2026 margin target stays a slide-deck number
management is aiming for a 10% adjusted EBITDA margin in 2026. current operating margin is 4.57% and net margin is 1.2%. that gap is the thesis.
if margins stay in the mid-single digits, flat revenue is not enough. the turnaround case weakens fast.
med
auto production weakens
cooper-standard sells into vehicle builds. when automakers cut production, suppliers feel it quickly. with about $2.1B tied to Sealing Systems, the exposure is not evenly spread.
you are buying a cyclical supplier. lower build volumes would hit the biggest segment first.
med
cost inflation outruns pricing
the company flagged tariff inflation in spring 2025, and auto suppliers rarely pass through every cost increase cleanly. with only a 1.2% net margin, small misses matter.
a business keeping about 1 cent on the dollar does not need a major shock to produce another ugly quarter.
$1.1B of debt sitting above a business earning 1.2% on $2.74B of revenue is the whole risk picture in one sentence.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
financials
10% adjusted EBITDA margin target
this is the turnaround number. if management cannot move from a 4.57% operating margin toward 10% by 2026, the valuation debate gets replaced by a capital-structure debate.
balance sheet
debt still towers over the equity value
$1.1B of long-term debt versus a ~$516M market cap is the kind of math that can dominate the stock even when revenue holds up.
earnings calendar
the next report needs proof, not tone
after the february 12 print of -$1.73 EPS, you want evidence that profitability is stabilizing, not another distant promise.
financing trend
the $50M securitization was small and still mattered
the march 4 transaction does not solve a $1.1B debt load. it does tell you financing access still matters alongside operations.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
10 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not expect this earnings stream to behave consistently.
risk rank
5
that means it is riskier than 95% of stocks in the dataset. you are not hiding here when the market gets defensive.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for CPS is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$31
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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