Start here if you're new
what it is
Lindsay sells big irrigation machines and road-safety hardware to farms, governments, and contractors around the world.
how it gets paid
Last year Lindsay made $659M in revenue. Irrigation systems was the main engine at $553.6M, or 84% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 12.8% last year. The 6% revenue drop mattered most because this is still a scale business: flat margins help.
what just happened
Fiscal Q1 2026 was a split decision: EPS came in at $1.54, but revenue fell 6% vs. prior year.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
18.3x trailing p/e — priced about right
1.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
10.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 67/100 — average
What they do
Lindsay sells big irrigation machines and road-safety hardware to farms, governments, and contractors around the world.
This is a niche machine business, not a gadget business. Lindsay gets 84% of fiscal 2025 sales from irrigation and still posts a 20.0% operating margin, which tells you customers are paying for reliability, not the cheapest steel. With 44% of sales outside the U.S., you are not tied to one farm region or one budget cycle.
How they make money
$659M
annual revenue · their business grew +12.8% last year
Irrigation systems
$553.6M
+11.0%
Steel tubing & assemblies
$35.1M
0.0%
Movable traffic & safety barriers
$35.1M
0.0%
Crash cushions
$35.2M
0.0%
The products that matter
manufactures irrigation equipment
Irrigation Systems
core business · company revenue base $659M
this is the business investors actually care about. the company generated $659M in total revenue last year, and this snapshot does not break out irrigation versus infrastructure sales in detail.
center of gravity
manages traffic and work zones
Road Infrastructure
segment split not shown here
the infrastructure line matters because management flagged a tough comparison next quarter after a prior $20M project. that tells you project timing can swing the story even in a $659M company.
lumpier than it looks
Key numbers
20.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: Lindsay turns a narrow equipment niche into real earnings.
84%
irrigation mix
Revenue mix → where sales come from → so what: you are mostly buying farm equipment demand, not a balanced industrial basket.
$119.2M
backlog
Backlog → orders waiting to ship → so what: it gives you some near-term revenue visibility even after a weak quarter.
44%
international sales
International mix → revenue from outside the U.S. → so what: Lindsay is less tied to one geography than the ticker might suggest.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $115M (8% of capital)
- net profit margin 11.3% — keeps 11 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 12% — $0.12 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 LNN 3 years ago → it's now worth $8,450.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Fiscal Q1 2026 was a split decision: EPS came in at $1.54, but revenue fell 6% vs. prior year.
Revenue was $151 million, down from the prior year, while gross margin held at 33.3%. Irrigation demand was soft, but infrastructure got help from stronger road construction activity.
$151M
revenue
$1.54
eps
33.3%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 6% revenue drop mattered most because this is still a scale business: flat margins help, but you need orders to keep earnings growing.
-
lindsay corporation opened fiscal 2026 on a down note. (year ends august 31st.) total sales for the manufacturer of irrigation and infrastructure equipment decreased 6% from a year ago, to $155.8 million, primarily due to a 9% slide in the irrigation segment as north american farmers grappled with low commodity prices and high input costs.still, the company defended its profitability, through aggressive price management and cost-containment measures, leading to an improved gross margin in the irrigation unit that muted the impact of softer demand. management expects north america irrigation market conditions to remain soft in the near term until growers gain further trade certainty and see improvement in commodity prices that support net farm income.
-
conversely, increased road construction activity supported a good start to the fiscal year for the infrastructure segment, which delivered a 17% increase in sales compared to the same year-ago period.moving forward, lindsay faces a difficult fiscal second-quarter revenue comparison in infrastructure, as a $20 million road zipper system project in the prior-year will not be replaced. however, the company anticipates increased road zipper leasing and higher sales of road safety products to offset approximately half of the revenue loss throughout the year. for the remainder of fiscal 2026, the company is pivoting to capture international momentum to offset domestic sluggishness. this move underpins lindsay’s dual-pronged strategy of international expansion to capture emerging demand and infrastructure innovation to drive higher-margin, tech-based growth.
-
recent initiatives include partnerships with regional governments and development agencies promoting irrigation modernization projects, in india and africa, where mechanized irrigation penetration remains below 20%.
-
investors with a 3 to 5-year stance may want to consider the stock.lindsay is a long-cycle, structural growth opportunity, supported by infrastructure modernization as well as food and water scarcity.
-
due to this, our model suggests shares of lnn offer solid capital gains prospects out to 2029-2031.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is an irrigation demand slowdown after a 29.2% growth year.
med
growth normalization in irrigation
last year delivered 29.2% revenue growth. this year is estimated at $660M versus $659M last year. that is a hard deceleration.
If flat revenue becomes the new normal, investors stop paying for a growth story and start valuing a cyclical equipment maker at 18.3x trailing earnings.
med
project timing in infrastructure
management already flagged a tougher comparison because a prior $20M project will not repeat next quarter. small companies feel lumpiness faster.
When a single project moves, reported growth moves with it. You can get a weak-looking quarter even without a broken long-term thesis.
med
margin defense stops working
the latest quarter held up because price management and cost containment offset softer sales. that is useful, but it is not infinitely repeatable.
A business earning a 10.7% net margin has room for error, not room for complacency. if price and cost actions fade, EPS pressure follows quickly.
med
data thinness on segment mix
this snapshot does not provide a clean irrigation-versus-infrastructure revenue split, which means you are partly underwriting management commentary rather than a fully segmented model.
Less segment detail means less precision. when a company is only about $1B in market cap, that matters more than it does in a megacap.
Flat revenue at about $660M plus any slippage from the current 10.7% net margin would leave very little room for multiple expansion.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
april report
the next quarter tells you whether the softer start to fiscal 2026 was a one-quarter wobble or the new pace.
trend
revenue versus the $660M full-year estimate
after 29.2% growth last year, even small misses will read like a reset.
risk
irrigation margin durability
pricing and cost control saved the last quarter. you want to see that hold if demand stays soft.
metric
infrastructure project replacement
a prior $20M project drops out of the comparison set next quarter. new wins need to show up fast enough to offset that gap.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak, analysts do not see a strong near-term signal either way.
risk profile
average
stability score 3. this is not a bunker stock, but it is also not behaving like a wreck.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3. the chart is basically saying, show me the next quarter.
earnings predictability
65 / 100
better than chaotic, worse than clockwork. you should expect some lumpiness.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
113 buyers vs. 114 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 10.8M shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$101
$184
$124
current price
$143
target midpoint · +15% from current · 3-5yr high: $240 (+95% · 19% ann'l return)
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