Start here if you're new
what it is
Franklin Electric makes water and fuel pumping systems for homes, farms, factories, and well installers.
how it gets paid
Last year Franklin Electric made $2.1B in revenue. Water Systems was the main engine at $1.24B, or 59% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 5.4% last year. Revenue was $506.86M, up 4.3%, and full-year sales finished at $2.1B, up 5.4%.
what just happened
Franklin Electric beat Q4 EPS with $0.87 versus $0.82, a 6.1% surprise.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
85/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
23.0x trailing p/e — priced about right
1.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
17.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 73/100 — average
What they do
Franklin Electric makes water and fuel pumping systems for homes, farms, factories, and well installers.
Water Systems is 59% of sales, and Distribution is 33%. That mix puts FELE where your contractor needs a part today, not after a comparison chart. With 6,500 employees and 32% foreign sales, the machine keeps moving even when one market slows.
How they make money
$2.1B
annual revenue · their business grew +5.4% last year
Water Systems
$1.24B
Distribution
$0.69B
Energy Systems
$0.17B
The products that matter
water movement systems
Water Systems
core to the $2.1B revenue base
This is the center of gravity inside a company that produced $2.1B in revenue and $5.15 in full-year EPS. If this segment slows, the whole story slows.
core
fuel and energy pumping systems
Energy Systems
part of the 5.4% growth story
Segment detail is thin here, but management said all three operating segments posted gains as total revenue reached $2.1B. That tells you this was broad improvement, not one lucky line item.
diversifier
distribution and support solutions
Distribution & Solutions
supports a 9.7% net margin
This segment matters because support, stocking, and service help hold together a business that keeps 9.7% of revenue as profit. In a steady industrial, small execution edges add up.
execution layer
Key numbers
22.0%
op margin
Operating margin, or profit before interest and taxes, was 22.0%. For every $100 of sales, FELE keeps $22 before financing costs.
$110
vl target
VL says you get $110 in 18 months, or about 15% above $95.29. That is a real gap, not a moonshot.
17.0%
roic
Return on capital, or profit earned on the money invested, was 17.0%. That is why the business earns a premium.
1.2%
yield
Dividend yield, or cash payout as a share of price, is 1.2%. You own FELE for growth and quality, not for income.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 85 / 100
- long-term debt $135M (3% of capital)
- net profit margin 9.3% — keeps 9 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 17% — $0.17 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A — among the top-rated companies for balance sheet quality.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in FELE 3 years ago → it's now worth $10,640.
The index would have given you $14,540.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Franklin Electric beat Q4 EPS with $0.87 versus $0.82, a 6.1% surprise.
Revenue was $506.86M, up 4.3%, and full-year sales finished at $2.1B, up 5.4%. Gross margin, or the share left after product costs, was 36.0%, so pricing held up while growth stayed positive.
$0.51B
revenue
$0.87
eps
36.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 6.1% EPS beat matters because it says FELE can out-earn estimates even with only 4.3% quarterly revenue growth.
-
our near-term outlook for franklinelectric is optimistic.
-
the company closed 2025 on a solid note.both sales and earnings benefited from an uptick in demand which drove favorable top- and bottom-line momentum. all three operating segments, water systems, energy systems, and distribution posted gains versus the prior year. furthermore, a healthy backlog heading into 2026 suggests that sales and earnings advances are likely to be realized at a single-digit pace.
-
top- and bottom-line prospects in 2027 appear favorable as well.
-
the broader market operational environment is encouraging.franklin’s business centers around the creation and distribution of water pumping systems that span a range of industries, including industrial, residential, and agricultural. innovation is geared toward ongoing technological enhancements to existing water systems and the creation of new ones.
-
these efforts ought to aid expansion initiatives.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is end-market demand cooling across residential, agricultural, and industrial pumping equipment.
med
water systems demand slows
Franklin's core business sells into real project and replacement cycles. If customers pull back, the entire $2.1B revenue base feels it because this is still a physical-equipment company.
If revenue settles near the $2B FY2026 estimate instead of last year's $2.1B, the stock loses the comfort of a growth story.
med
the multiple is doing some heavy lifting
FELE trades at 23.0x trailing earnings even though the current EPS estimate is $4.40 after a $5.15 full-year result. You are paying a premium for predictability while near-term numbers point lower.
If investors stop paying up for steadiness, the share price can drift back toward the $79 low end of the 52-week range.
med
institutional support is fading, not strengthening
Institutions have been net sellers for 2 consecutive quarters, including 120 buyers versus 126 sellers in 4Q2025. That is not a collapse. It is still the wrong direction.
Less sponsorship means less support if the next report is merely fine instead of clearly better.
A softer demand backdrop would hit 100% of the $2.1B revenue base, and with the stock already at 23.0x trailing earnings, there is not much valuation cushion doing the protecting for you.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
next earnings report
The real question is whether management starts rebuilding toward the prior $5.15 full-year EPS level or leaves the $4.40 estimate looking realistic.
metric
revenue path
Watch whether the business stays closer to last year's $2.1B revenue or drifts toward the current $2B estimate. That gap is the whole near-term argument.
trend
institutional flow
Two straight quarters of net selling is not dramatic, but you want to see that 120 buyers versus 126 sellers trend stop getting worse.
risk
premium multiple without premium growth
At 23.0x trailing earnings and a 1.2% yield, FELE does not have much room for disappointment if growth stays ordinary.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
Momentum score 3 — middle of the pack. In human-speak, analysts do not see a strong short-term edge either way.
risk profile
above average
Stability score 2 — safer than roughly 80% of stocks. You are taking business risk here, not balance-sheet risk.
chart momentum
average
Technical score 3 — the stock is trading more like a normal industrial than a market leader or a falling knife.
earnings predictability
85 / 100
Management usually delivers results close to expectations. That helps on trust, but it also means a beat has to be meaningful to move the story.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 120 buyers vs. 126 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 37.7M shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$79
$140
$95
current price
$110
target midpoint · +15% from current · 3-5yr high: $185 (+95% · 19% ann'l return)
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