KAI KADANT INC

Overview and Growth

KADANT INC generated $1.05B of revenue in fiscal 2025, with net income of $101.97M and an operating cash inflow of $171.33M. The $1.05B revenue base provides substantial context for the company’s earnings, cash generation, and capital requirements. The top line contracted 0.1% from $1.05B in fiscal 2024; this top-line contraction left the company with a smaller revenue base. The company reported diluted EPS of $8.65, adding a shareholder-level measure to the absolute income figures considered below. Against diluted EPS of $9.48 in fiscal 2024, the current result was 8.8% lower. The revenue-to-assets relationship was 0.61x, showing the sales generated relative to the resources carried on the balance sheet.

Profitability

Gross profit was $475.73M, representing the portion of revenue remaining after the reported cost of revenue and before operating expenses. Gross margin was 45.2%, so that share of each revenue unit remained after the cost of revenue reported for the period. Operations produced $157.29M of income after the reported operating expense base, before the remaining non-operating and tax effects. The operating result equaled 14.9% of revenue, placing the absolute operating-income figure in the context of the company’s sales base. Net income came to $101.97M, completing the progression from revenue through gross and operating profitability to the final reported result. Net margin was 9.7%, meaning that this portion of revenue remained as net income after all recognized expenses. Pretax income was $143.59M, isolating the reported earnings outcome before the income-tax provision recognized for the fiscal year. Pretax income represented 13.6% of revenue, placing earnings before tax in the context of the company’s operating scale. The company recognized $39.90M of income tax for the period, completing the transition from pretax income to net income. Relative to pretax income, the tax provision measured 27.8%, quantifying the portion of pre-tax earnings paid in income tax.

Liquidity and Capital Structure

The company held $1.71B of assets against $721.11M of liabilities and $991.07M of equity, revealing how the asset base was financed. The near-term balance sheet paired $541.93M of current assets with $228.17M of current liabilities at the reporting date. At 2.38x, the current ratio shows that short-term assets were greater than short-term liabilities at period end. The company held $119.55M in cash and equivalents, a narrower liquidity measure than total current assets. Measured only with cash and equivalents, coverage of current liabilities was 52.4%, excluding receivables and other current assets. The company carried $375.85M of total debt at period end, which frames its leverage and debt-service burden. Debt equaled 0.38x of book equity, describing the relative scale of borrowing and shareholder capital. The debt-to-assets relationship was 22.0%, comparing borrowing with the total asset balance. The liabilities-to-assets relationship was 42.1%, placing reported obligations against the full positive asset balance. Cash and equivalents equaled 7.0% of total assets, showing the liquid cash component within the company’s broader resource base.

Cash Flow and Earnings Quality

Operating activities produced a cash inflow of $171.33M, giving the cash-flow counterpart to the accrual-based profit measures reported for the year. The operating-cash-flow-to-net-income relationship was 1.68x, comparing cash generated by operations with the bottom-line earnings result. Capital expenditures used $17.05M, identifying the reported investment outflow deducted from operating cash flow in the free-cash-flow calculation. Capital spending absorbed 10.0% of operating cash flow, quantifying the share of cash from operations directed to investment. Free cash flow came to $154.28M, leaving a positive amount after capital expenditures. The free-cash-flow margin was 14.7%, measuring cash remaining after capital spending against revenue. Free cash flow equaled 9.0% of total assets, relating post-investment cash generation to the company’s resource base.

Based on the annual report for the fiscal year ending Jan 3, 2026. Analysis generated Oct 21, 2026.