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what it is
Mesa Labs sells quality-control tools across four regulated business lines.
how it gets paid
Last year Mesa Labs made $241M in revenue. Calibration Solutions was the main engine at $0.076B, or 32% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 11.5% last year. The $185M quarter mattered most because it showed demand can still accelerate fast.
what just happened
$185M of revenue and 62.6% gross margin say the business still has real muscle.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
10/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
0.8% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
1.7% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$0.36 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 32/100 — weak
What they do
Mesa Labs sells quality-control tools across four regulated business lines.
These products sit inside regulated labs. Replacing them means new validation work, so your switch costs are paperwork and downtime, not price tags. Mesa posted $241M of sales and 62.6% gross margin, which means about $0.63 of each dollar stayed after direct costs.
How they make money
$241M
annual revenue · their business grew +11.5% last year
Calibration Solutions
$0.076B
Sterilization and Disinfection Control
$0.068B
Biopharmaceutical Development
$0.054B
Clinical Genomics
$0.043B
The products that matter
quality control hardware and monitoring
Quality Control Instruments
$145M · about 60% of revenue
This is the center of gravity. At roughly $145M, it grew 8% last year and carried most of the good news. If this segment slows, you feel it everywhere.
core segment
clinical genomics tools
Clinical Genomics
$72M · about 30% of revenue
This is too large to dismiss. At $72M, a 5% decline is not noise. It is a real drag on a business this size.
under pressure
other life sciences tools
Other Life Sciences
$24M · about 10% of revenue
At $24M and flat growth, this segment is support, not rescue. You need it to improve before it can matter to the thesis.
small swing factor
Key numbers
$241M
annual sales
That is the whole top line. Against $170M of debt, sales are only 1.4 times debt.
62.6%
gross margin
About $0.63 of each sales dollar survives direct costs. That gives the business breathing room.
1.7%
return on capital
You are getting little profit from the money tied up in the business.
$170M
long-term debt
Debt is 28% of capital, so the balance sheet is not lightweight.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 25 / 100
- long-term debt $170M (28% of capital)
C++ — below average. watch for debt servicing and cash burn.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for MLAB right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
$185M of revenue and 62.6% gross margin say the business still has real muscle.
Revenue rose 185% vs. prior year, and EPS reached $1.95. That is a sharp jump, even if the comparison base was ugly.
$185M
revenue
$1.95
eps
62.6%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The $185M quarter mattered most because it showed demand can still accelerate fast.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the main risk is specific: a $241M company with $170M of long-term debt, a 1.7% return on capital, and one segment doing most of the work does not have much room for a bad turn in the mix.
med
$170M of long-term debt narrows the margin for error
The balance sheet is graded C++, long-term debt is $170M, and debt-to-equity is 37%. That is manageable when execution is clean. It gets less comfortable fast if growth slips or profit stays weak.
If cash generation softens, more of the business has to serve the balance sheet instead of funding product investment or acquisitions.
med
one segment still carries too much of the thesis
Quality Control Instruments is about 60% of revenue and grew 8%. When one segment holds that much weight, a slowdown there changes the entire conversation.
If the lead segment cools before the rest of the portfolio improves, the stock stops looking like a compounder and starts looking like a repair story.
med
Clinical Genomics keeps shrinking
This business is about 30% of revenue and declined 5% last year. You do not get to call that a helpful second engine yet.
Another decline would pressure consolidated growth and make the already weak 1.7% return on capital even harder to defend.
If the 60% segment slows while the 30% segment keeps shrinking, you are left with debt, weak capital returns, and very little room for optimistic storytelling.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
Quality Control Instruments growth
This is the $145M segment carrying about 60% of revenue. If its 8% growth rate starts slipping, the stock loses its cleanest argument.
risk
balance sheet pressure
C++ balance sheet grade and $170M of long-term debt are tolerable only if execution stays steady. Keep the debt story ahead of the share-price story.
calendar
next earnings update
You want two things from the next report: the lead segment still growing and the weaker segment getting less bad. That would count as real progress.
trend
Clinical Genomics direction
At $72M and 30% of revenue, another decline matters. Flat would already be an improvement. Real growth would change the whole read on diversification.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
mixed
analyst target data is thin here. in human-speak: there is no broad wall street consensus doing the work for you.
risk profile
elevated
price stability is 25/100 and the balance sheet is C++. in plain english: this stock can move hard on small changes in belief.
chart momentum
range-bound
The stock sits at $81.72 inside a $55–$131 52-week range. The market is still debating what clean execution here is worth.
earnings predictability
10/100
That score means surprises are normal here, not accidental. You should expect more noise than you would from a steadier medical tools name.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for MLAB is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$82
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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