Start here if you're new
what it is
Star Equity owns building, recruiting, drilling, and real estate businesses under one small public company umbrella.
how it gets paid
Last year Star Equity Hldgs made $140M in revenue. Building Solutions was the main engine at $98.0M, or 70% of sales.
what just happened
The quarter showed about $115M in revenue, but EPS still came in at about -$1.37— full-year revenue bridge stays ~$140M.
At a glance
C+ balance sheet — struggling to keep the lights on
15/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
4.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$1.59 fy2024 eps est
data note: ignore silly FY revenue estimates vs ~$140M actuals
xvary composite: 30/100 — weak
What they do
Star Equity owns building, recruiting, drilling, and real estate businesses under one small public company umbrella.
Its edge is not brand power. It is deal structure. You are buying 980 employees spread across four divisions inside a company worth about $33 million, against $140 million of annual revenue. Diversified holding company → one parent owning several businesses → so what: one strong unit can cover for a weak one, but the mix can also stay messy.
How they make money
$140M
annual revenue
Building Solutions
$98.0M
+141.0%
Business Services
$22.4M
0.0%
Energy Services
$16.8M
0.0%
Investments
$2.8M
0.0%
The products that matter
construction and modular building
Building Solutions
$98M · ~70% of revenue
Matches the revenue bridge: largest segment at ~$98M. vs. prior year% can be huge on M&A— read cash earnings, not just the top line.
largest segment
staffing and workforce solutions
Business Services
$22.4M · ~16% of revenue
Second line on the bridge. Staffing-linked revenue is cyclical and rarely carries fat margins.
middle slice
energy equipment and services
Energy Services
$16.8M · ~12% of revenue
Meaningful for a ~$33M market cap, but not enough alone to fix group profitability.
cyclical
investment holdings
Investments
$2.8M · ~2% of revenue
Smallest reported slice on the bridge— more a balance-sheet footnote than a profit engine.
smallest segment
Key numbers
$140M
annual revenue
This is the scale you are buying today, and it sits against a market cap of only about $33 million.
-$1.59
fy2024 EPS (loss)
EPS → profit per share → so what: negative EPS means shareholders took a loss, not a gain.
1.8%
operating margin
Operating margin → leftover profit after core costs → so what: there is almost no room for mistakes.
$16M
long-term debt
Debt equals 33% of capital, which matters more when the whole company is worth about $33 million.
Financial health
C+
strength
- balance sheet grade C+ — weak — may struggle to fund operations
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 20 / 100
- long-term debt $16M (33% of capital)
C+ — below average. watch for debt servicing and cash burn.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for STRR right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
The quarter showed $115M in revenue, but EPS still came in at -$1.37, which is the part that matters.
Revenue jumped 141% vs. prior year, but the company still lost money. Gross margin was 48.2%, so the issue is not selling at zero profit. It is what happens after that.
$115M
quarter revenue
-$1.37
quarter EPS (loss)
48.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The key number was -$1.37 EPS, because a company with $115 million in quarterly revenue still could not produce shareholder profit.
source: company earnings report, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
The #1 risk is conglomerate sprawl without margin improvement. You are being asked to believe four small businesses become more valuable together even though the current numbers do not show that yet.
high
acquisition strategy stalls out
The unsolicited bid for GEE Group was ignored in January 2026. That is a real-world reminder that buying growth requires a willing seller, not just an idea deck.
High-impact. If acquisitions do not happen, growth falls back on a $140M base that just declined 13.1% last year.
high
thin margins leave no buffer
A 1.8% operating margin means small cost overruns or modest pricing pressure can erase profit. Q3 2025 already showed the pattern: revenue beat, earnings missed.
High-impact. When a company keeps less than two cents per sales dollar, you do not need a big problem to create a bad quarter.
med
holding company overhead drag
A $33M market cap supports four operating buckets plus corporate overhead. The structure can promise optionality, but it can also absorb capital before shareholders see any benefit.
Med-impact. The 4.5% return on capital suggests the current asset mix is not generating enough return to justify complexity.
low
preferred dividend cash drain
The company pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend on preferred shares. That is a $625k annual cash obligation for a business with a $33M market cap and weak profitability.
Low-to-med impact. It is manageable today, but fixed cash obligations matter more when margins are already thin.
A business earning a 1.8% operating margin and 4.5% return on capital does not have much room to absorb strategic mistakes.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
Q4 2025 earnings release
Results are scheduled for March 17, 2026, with the conference call on March 18. You want evidence that revenue can turn into cleaner earnings, not just more activity.
metric
operating margin above 1.8%
This is the simplest test on the page. If margin does not move up from 1.8%, the portfolio structure is still creating complexity without enough profit.
capital allocation
new $5M share repurchase program
Management completed a prior $5M repurchase and authorized another. For a $33M market cap stock, that is not small. The question is whether buybacks are paired with operating improvement.
strategy risk
what happens after the GEE rejection
If management keeps chasing deals after the January 2026 snub, pay attention to price discipline. Acquisitions only help if they improve returns, not just the segment count.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
15 / 100
In human-speak, analysts do not trust the earnings line to show up smoothly from quarter to quarter.
risk rank
4
That means it is safer than roughly 20% of stocks in the dataset. Put differently: most stocks score better on stability.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for STRR is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$10
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive