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what it is
Mistras checks pipelines, plants, and other hard-to-replace assets so operators catch problems before things break.
how it gets paid
Last year Mistras made $724M in revenue. Field inspection services was the main engine at $330M, or 46% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 0.8% last year. Gross margin at 28.2% mattered most because this company only posts a 10.9% operating margin.
what just happened
The quarter was about margin, with 28.2% gross margin carrying the result more than sales.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
30/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
24.9x trailing p/e — priced about right
7.4% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$0.60 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 48/100 — below average
What they do
Mistras checks pipelines, plants, and other hard-to-replace assets so operators catch problems before things break.
Mistras sells uptime to owners of critical assets. That works because you do not swap inspection vendors casually when the asset can blow up, shut down, or fail an audit. The company has 4,800 employees and a "one source" model, which means testing, engineering, equipment, and data can show up in one contract instead of four vendors.
How they make money
$724M
annual revenue · their business grew -0.8% last year
Field inspection services
$330M
5.4%
Laboratory testing services
$150M
+12.1%
NDT products and sensing systems
$110M
n/a
Mechanical integrity engineering
$90M
n/a
Data solutions and software
$44M
n/a
The products that matter
on-site asset inspection
Field Services
-5.4% compared to last year
this is still the core operating business, and revenue fell 5.4% last year. If it keeps shrinking, the rest of the story does not get a vote.
core engine
materials testing and analysis
Laboratory Services
+12.1% compared to last year
this business grew 12.1% last year. Right now it is doing the heavy lifting for the growth narrative.
growth pocket
inspection equipment and systems
Products & Systems
$37M · roughly 5% of revenue
it produced $37M last year and was flat. Useful, but not big enough to change the company-level story on its own.
small contributor
Key numbers
10.9%
operating margin
This is the main number. Jargon: operating margin → profit after running the business → so what, every point of improvement drops hard into earnings.
$204M
long-term debt
Debt equals 31% of capital, which means balance sheet mistakes get expensive quickly in a slower-growth business.
24.9x
trailing p/e
You are paying almost 25 times trailing earnings for a company with past sales growth of -2.0%. That contrast is the whole debate.
7.4%
return on capital
Jargon: return on capital → profit earned on money tied up in the business → so what, 7.4% is fine, not elite.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $204M (31% of capital)
C++ — risk rank looks solid but balance sheet grade needs watching.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for MG right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
The quarter was about margin, with 28.2% gross margin carrying the result more than sales.
Latest-quarter revenue was $543M and EPS was $0.41, according to the provided EDGAR summary. Jargon: gross margin → money left after direct costs → so what, this is where the turnaround becomes real or fake.
$543M
revenue
$0.41
eps
28.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
Gross margin at 28.2% mattered most because this company only posts a 10.9% operating margin, so small cost wins have oversized profit impact.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is continued erosion in field services.
med
Field Services keeps shrinking
Field Services revenue fell 5.4% last year. That matters because Services overall still generated $687M, or 95% of company revenue.
A further 10% decline in that $687M bucket would remove about $69M of sales. Small caps do not shrug that off.
med
One-time charges stop looking one-time
The last quarter included a $14.4M non-recurring charge. That was 3.7x larger than the $3.9M quarterly net income figure investors would rather talk about.
If cleanup costs keep showing up, the market will stop giving management the benefit of the word one-time.
med
Balance sheet flexibility stays limited
MG carries $204M in long-term debt, equal to 31% of capital, and its balance sheet grade sits at C++. That is enough leverage to matter if growth stalls.
With a 28.2% gross margin and just 7.4% return on capital, there is not a huge profitability cushion here.
With $687M of the $730M revenue base tied to services, even modest weakness in the main bucket can overwhelm the healthier pockets of the business.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
Q1 2026 earnings report
Expected May 6, 2026. You want to see whether the recent margin improvement holds and whether revenue tracks toward the $730M–$750M target.
trend
Field Services stabilization
The 5.4% decline in Field Services is the key operating trend. If that line does not flatten, the turnaround argument stays incomplete.
margin
Gross margin above 28%
Q4 gross margin reached 28.4% after a 190-basis-point improvement. If that gives back quickly, the best part of the quarter was temporary.
risk
Whether charges really stay non-recurring
A $14.4M charge can happen once. If it happens again, you are looking at a pattern, not bad luck.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
30 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not see a clean, steady earnings line here.
balance sheet quality
C++
That means the finances are serviceable, but not strong enough to make operating mistakes irrelevant.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for MG is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$14
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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