Kadant IncNYSE: KAI

Kadant Reports Third Quarter 2025 Results

· Issued by Kadant Inc via GlobeNewswire

WESTFORD, Mass., Oct. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI) reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 27, 2025.

Third Quarter Financial Highlights

  • Revenue was $272 million in both periods

  • Gross margin increased 50 basis points to 45.2%

  • Net income decreased 12% to $28 million

  • GAAP EPS decreased 12% to $2.35

  • Adjusted EPS decreased 9% to $2.59

  • Adjusted EBITDA decreased 8% to $58 million and represented 21.4% of revenue

  • Operating cash flow decreased 10% to $47 million

Note: Percent changes above are based on comparison to the prior year period. All references to earnings per share (EPS) are to our EPS as calculated on a diluted basis. Adjusted EPS, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, free cash flow, and changes in organic revenue are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain items as detailed later in this press release under the heading “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Management Commentary
“Despite a persistent softness in demand for capital equipment and continued global trade uncertainties, our businesses executed well and delivered solid gross margin performance during the quarter,” said Jeffrey L. Powell, president and chief executive officer of Kadant Inc. “Our businesses exceeded our earnings expectations led by record revenue performance in our aftermarket parts business.”

Third Quarter 2025 Compared to 2024
Revenue was $271.6 million in both periods. Organic revenue decreased four percent, which excludes increases of two percent from an acquisition and two percent from the favorable effect of foreign currency translation. Gross margin was 45.2 percent compared to 44.7 percent in 2024.

Net income was $27.7 million, decreasing 12 percent compared to $31.6 million in 2024. GAAP EPS decreased 12 percent to $2.35 compared to $2.68 in 2024 and adjusted EPS decreased nine percent to $2.59 compared to $2.84 in 2024. Adjusted EPS excludes acquisition-related costs of $0.22 and other costs of $0.02 in 2025 and acquisition-related costs of $0.15 in 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased eight percent to $58.0 million and represented 21.4 percent of revenue compared to a record $63.3 million and 23.3 percent of revenue in 2024. Operating cash flow decreased 10 percent to $47.3 million compared to $52.5 million in 2024. Free cash flow decreased nine percent to $44.1 million compared to $48.3 million in 2024.

Bookings decreased one percent to $238.4 million compared to $240.3 million in 2024. Organic bookings decreased four percent, which excludes increases of one percent from an acquisition and two percent from the favorable effect of foreign currency translation.

Summary and Outlook
“We anticipate healthy demand for aftermarket parts and improving order activity for our capital equipment in the fourth quarter following prolonged delays in project execution,” continued Mr. Powell. “We are incorporating our recent acquisitions into our guidance and now expect revenue of $1.036 to $1.046 billion in 2025, revised from our previous guidance of $1.020 to $1.040 billion. We are maintaining our adjusted EPS guidance of $9.05 to $9.25. The 2025 adjusted EPS guidance excludes $0.51 of acquisition-related costs and $0.02 of other costs, revised from $0.16 of acquisition-related costs in our previous guidance. We now expect GAAP EPS of $8.52 to $8.72 in 2025, revised from our previous GAAP EPS guidance of $8.89 to $9.09. For the fourth quarter of 2025, we expect revenue of $270 to $280 million, GAAP EPS of $1.91 to $2.11 and, after excluding $0.14 of acquisition-related costs, adjusted EPS of $2.05 to $2.25.”

Conference Call
Kadant will hold a webcast with a slide presentation for investors on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its third quarter financial performance, as well as future expectations. To listen to the call live and view the webcast, go to the “Investors” section of the Company’s website at kadant.com. Participants interested in joining the call’s live question and answer session are required to register by clicking here or selecting the Q&A link on our website to receive a dial-in number and unique PIN. It is recommended that you join the call 10 minutes prior to the start of the event. A replay of the webcast presentation will be available on our website through November 28, 2025.

Prior to the call, our earnings release and the slides used in the webcast presentation will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will be available at sec.gov. After the webcast, Kadant will post its updated general investor presentation incorporating the third quarter results on its website at kadant.com under the “Investors” section.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures, including increases or decreases in revenue excluding the effect of acquisitions and foreign currency translation (organic revenue), adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted EPS, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, and free cash flow.

We use organic revenue to understand our trends and to forecast and evaluate our financial performance and compare revenue to prior periods. Organic revenue excludes revenue from acquisitions for the four quarterly reporting periods following the date of the acquisition and the effect of foreign currency translation. Revenue in the third quarter of 2025 included $5.9 million from an acquisition and a favorable foreign currency translation effect of $4.2 million compared to the third quarter of 2024. Revenue in the first nine months of 2025 included $14.8 million from acquisitions and a favorable foreign currency translation effect of $0.5 million compared to the first nine months of 2024. Our other non-GAAP financial measures exclude acquisition costs, amortization expense related to acquired profit in inventory and backlog, and other income or expense, as indicated. Collectively, these items are excluded as they are not indicative of our core operating results and are not comparable to other periods, which have differing levels of incremental costs, expenditures or income, or none at all. Additionally, we use free cash flow in order to provide insight on our ability to generate cash for acquisitions and debt repayments, as well as for other investing and financing activities.

We believe these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our core business, operating results, or future outlook. We believe that the inclusion of such measures helps investors gain an understanding of our underlying operating performance and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts our performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods or forecasts and to the performance of our competitors. Such measures are also used by us in our financial and operating decision-making and for compensation purposes. We also believe this information is responsive to investors' requests and gives them additional measures of our performance.

The non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the results of operations or cash flows prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, the non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release have limitations associated with their use as compared to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, in that they may be different from, and therefore not comparable to, similar measures used by other companies.

Third Quarter

Adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude:

  • Pre-tax acquisition costs of $2.3 million in 2025 and $0.5 million in 2024.

  • Pre-tax amortization of acquired profit in inventory and backlog of $0.6 million in 2025 and $1.9 million in 2024.

  • Pre-tax impairment costs of $0.3 million in 2025.

  • Pre-tax indemnification asset provision of $0.2 million in 2024.

Adjusted net income and adjusted EPS exclude:

  • After-tax acquisition costs of $2.2 million ($2.3 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2025 and $0.4 million ($0.5 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2024.

  • After-tax amortization of acquired profit in inventory and backlog of $0.5 million ($0.6 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2025 and $1.4 million ($1.9 million net of tax of $0.5 million) in 2024.

  • After-tax impairment costs of $0.2 million ($0.3 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2025.

Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow less:

  • Capital expenditures of $3.2 million in 2025 and $4.2 million in 2024.

First Nine Months

Adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude:

  • Pre-tax acquisition costs of $3.5 million in 2025 and $2.5 million in 2024.

  • Pre-tax amortization of acquired profit in inventory and backlog of $1.2 million in 2025 and $6.2 million in 2024.

  • Pre-tax impairment costs of $0.3 million in 2025.

  • Pre-tax indemnification asset provision of $0.2 million in 2024.

Adjusted net income and adjusted EPS exclude:

  • After-tax acquisition costs of $3.4 million ($3.5 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2025 and $2.1 million ($2.5 million net of tax of $0.4 million) in 2024.

  • After-tax amortization of acquired profit in inventory and backlog of $0.9 million ($1.2 million net of tax of $0.3 million) in 2025 and $4.7 million ($6.2 million net of tax of $1.5 million) in 2024.

  • After-tax impairment costs of $0.2 million ($0.3 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2025.

Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow less:

  • Capital expenditures of $11.0 million in 2025 and $15.4 million in 2024.

Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth in this press release.

Financial Highlights (unaudited)

(In thousands, except per share amounts and percentages)

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

Consolidated Statement of Income

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

Revenue

$

271,567

$

271,614

$

766,044

$

795,354

Costs and Operating Expenses:

Cost of revenue

148,906

150,175

416,011

441,066

Selling, general, and administrative expenses

75,839

69,043

221,001

209,352

Research and development expenses

3,919

3,409

11,166

10,621

Other costs

287

—

287

—

228,951

222,627

648,465

661,039

Operating Income

42,616

48,987

117,579

134,315

Interest Income

373

407

1,329

1,386

Interest Expense

(3,089

)

(5,516

)

(10,249

)

(15,386

)

Other Expense, Net

(19

)

(16

)

(52

)

(48

)

Income Before Provision for Income Taxes

39,881

43,862

108,607

120,267

Provision for Income Taxes

11,766

11,964

29,416

31,810

Net Income

28,115

31,898

79,191

88,457

Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests

(393

)

(312

)

(1,247

)

(891

)

Net Income Attributable to Kadant

$

27,722

$

31,586

$

77,944

$

87,566

Earnings per Share Attributable to Kadant:

Basic

$

2.35

$

2.69

$

6.62

$

7.46

Diluted

$

2.35

$

2.68

$

6.61

$

7.44

Weighted Average Shares:

Basic

11,777

11,745

11,771

11,737

Diluted

11,802

11,780

11,790

11,763

Three Months Ended

Three Months Ended

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS (a)

September 27,
2025

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

September 28,
2024

Net Income and Diluted EPS Attributable to Kadant, as Reported

$

27,722

$

2.35

$

31,586

$

2.68

Adjustments, Net of Tax:

Acquisition Costs

2,172

0.18

398

0.03

Acquired Profit in Inventory and Backlog Amortization

459

0.04

1,432

0.12

Other Costs

216

0.02

—

—

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS (a)

$

30,569

$

2.59

$

33,416

$

2.84

Nine Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 27,
2025

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

September 28,
2024

Net Income and Diluted EPS Attributable to Kadant, as Reported

$

77,944

$

6.61

$

87,566

$

7.44

Adjustments, Net of Tax:

Acquisition Costs

3,390

0.29

2,126

0.18

Acquired Profit in Inventory and Backlog Amortization

925

0.08

4,730

0.40

Other Costs

216

0.02

—

—

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS (a)

$

82,475

$

7.00

$

94,422

$

8.03

Three Months Ended

Increase
(Decrease)
Excluding Acquisitions
and FX (a,b)

Revenue by Segment

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

Increase
(Decrease)

Flow Control

$

94,839

$

97,521

$

(2,682

)

$

(4,696

)

Industrial Processing

106,393

110,696

(4,303

)

(11,202

)

Material Handling

70,335

63,397

6,938

5,745

$

271,567

$

271,614

$

(47

)

$

(10,153

)

Percentage of Parts and Consumables Revenue

69

%

65

%

Nine Months Ended

Increase
(Decrease)

Increase
(Decrease)
Excluding Acquisitions
and FX (a,b)

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

Flow Control

$

283,227

$

276,493

$

6,734

$

(1,748

)

Industrial Processing

291,854

331,310

(39,456

)

(43,977

)

Material Handling

190,963

187,551

3,412

1,137

$

766,044

$

795,354

$

(29,310

)

$

(44,588

)

Percentage of Parts and Consumables Revenue

72

%

65

%

Three Months Ended

Increase
(Decrease)

Increase
(Decrease)
Excluding Acquisitions
and FX (b)

Bookings by Segment

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

Flow Control

$

93,844

$

88,981

$

4,863

$

2,877

Industrial Processing

85,162

89,319

(4,157

)

(7,877

)

Material Handling

59,349

62,005

(2,656

)

(3,615

)

$

238,355

$

240,305

$

(1,950

)

$

(8,615

)

Percentage of Parts and Consumables Bookings

74

%

72

%

Nine Months Ended



Increase

Increase
(Decrease)
Excluding Acquisitions
and FX (b)

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

Flow Control

$

286,886

$

277,749

$

9,137

$

(244

)

Industrial Processing

282,902

275,910

6,992

6,197

Material Handling

194,160

186,798

7,362

4,692

$

763,948

$

740,457

$

23,491

$

10,645

Percentage of Parts and Consumables Bookings

71

%

71

%

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

Additional Segment Information

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

Gross Margin:

Flow Control

51.9

%

51.8

%

53.0

%

52.9

%

Industrial Processing

43.6

%

44.0

%

43.4

%

42.3

%

Material Handling

38.5

%

35.0

%

38.3

%

36.2

%

Consolidated

45.2

%

44.7

%

45.7

%

44.5

%

Operating Income:

Flow Control

$

22,342

$

24,281

$

69,537

$

69,521

Industrial Processing

18,828

25,969

51,146

70,060

Material Handling

12,533

8,793

30,007

25,522

Corporate

(11,087

)

(10,056

)

(33,111

)

(30,788

)

$

42,616

$

48,987

$

117,579

$

134,315

Adjusted Operating Income (a,c):

Flow Control

$

22,491

$

25,671

$

70,325

$

72,146

Industrial Processing

21,817

26,539

55,141

72,776

Material Handling

12,565

9,019

30,226

28,809

Corporate

(11,087

)

(10,056

)

(33,111

)

(30,788

)

$

45,786

$

51,173

$

122,581

$

142,943

Capital Expenditures:

Flow Control

$

1,213

$

1,894

$

4,102

$

5,729

Industrial Processing

783

1,209

3,703

5,943

Material Handling

1,198

1,074

3,190

3,737

Corporate

—

8

3

21

$

3,194

$

4,185

$

10,998

$

15,430

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

Cash Flow and Other Data

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

Operating Cash Flow

$

47,252

$

52,478

$

110,569

$

103,375

Capital Expenditures

(3,194

)

(4,185

)

(10,998

)

(15,430

)

Free Cash Flow (a)

$

44,058

$

48,293

$

99,571

$

87,945

Depreciation and Amortization Expense

$

12,397

$

12,775

$

36,479

$

36,505

Balance Sheet Data

September 27,
2025

December 28,
2024

Assets

Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash

$

126,913

$

95,946

Accounts Receivable, Net

158,781

142,462

Inventories

179,705

146,092

Contract Assets

9,866

18,408

Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net

177,381

170,331

Intangible Assets

270,775

279,494

Goodwill

497,088

479,169

Other Assets

111,725

98,443

$

1,532,234

$

1,430,345

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Accounts Payable

$

50,625

$

51,062

Debt Obligations

256,020

286,504

Other Borrowings

1,985

2,023

Other Liabilities

262,097

232,628

Total Liabilities

570,727

572,217

Stockholders' Equity

961,507

858,128

$

1,532,234

$

1,430,345

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation (a)

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

September 27,
2025

September 28,
2024

Consolidated

Net Income Attributable to Kadant

$

27,722

$

31,586

$

77,944

$

87,566

Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests

393

312

1,247

891

Provision for Income Taxes

11,766

11,964

29,416

31,810

Interest Expense, Net

2,716

5,109

8,920

14,000

Other Expense, Net

19

16

52

48

Operating Income

42,616

48,987

117,579

134,315

Acquisition Costs

2,253

469

3,498

2,533

Acquired Profit in Inventory Amortization (d)

465

1,205

500

4,065

Acquired Backlog Amortization (e)

165

687

746

2,181

Other Costs

287

—

287

—

Indemnification Asset Provision (f)

—

(175

)

(29

)

(151

)

Adjusted Operating Income (a)

45,786

51,173

122,581

142,943

Depreciation and Amortization

12,232

12,088

35,733

34,324

Adjusted EBITDA (a)

$

58,018

$

63,261

$

158,314

$

177,267

Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,g)

21.4

%

23.3

%

20.7

%

22.3

%

Flow Control

Operating Income

$

22,342

$

24,281

$

69,537

$

69,521

Acquisition Costs

2

71

41

637

Acquired Profit in Inventory Amortization (d)

—

728

35

963

Acquired Backlog Amortization (e)

147

629

610

882

Indemnification Asset (Provision) Reversal (f)

—

(38

)

102

143

Adjusted Operating Income (a)

22,491

25,671

70,325

72,146

Depreciation and Amortization

3,174

2,981

9,267

7,561

Adjusted EBITDA (a)

$

25,665

$

28,652

$

79,592

$

79,707

Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,g)

27.1

%

29.4

%

28.1

%

28.8

%

Industrial Processing

Operating Income

$

18,828

$

25,969

$

51,146

$

70,060

Acquisition Costs

2,237

154

3,449

842

Acquired Profit in Inventory Amortization (d)

465

477

465

2,062

Other Costs

287

—

287

—

Indemnification Asset Provision (f)

—

(61

)

(206

)

(188

)

Adjusted Operating Income (a)

21,817

26,539

55,141

72,776

Depreciation and Amortization

5,221

5,204

14,850

15,458

Adjusted EBITDA (a)

$

27,038

$

31,743

$

69,991

$

88,234

Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,g)

25.4

%

28.7

%

24.0

%

26.6

%

Material Handling

Operating Income

$

12,533

$

8,793

$

30,007

$

25,522

Acquisition Costs

14

244

8

1,054

Acquired Profit in Inventory Amortization (d)

—

—

—

1,040

Acquired Backlog Amortization (e)

18

58

136

1,299

Indemnification Asset (Provision) Reversal (f)

—

(76

)

75

(106

)

Adjusted Operating Income (a)

12,565

9,019

30,226

28,809

Depreciation and Amortization

3,824

3,891

11,580

11,269

Adjusted EBITDA (a)

$

16,389

$

12,910

$

41,806

$

40,078

Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,g)

23.3

%

20.4

%

21.9

%

21.4

%

Corporate

Operating Loss

$

(11,087

)

$

(10,056

)

$

(33,111

)

$

(30,788

)

Depreciation and Amortization

13

12

36

36

EBITDA (a)

$

(11,074

)

$

(10,044

)

$

(33,075

)

$

(30,752

)

(a)

Represents a non-GAAP financial measure.

(b)

Represents the increase (decrease) resulting from the exclusion of acquisitions and from the conversion of current period amounts reported in local currencies into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of the prior period compared to the U.S. dollar amount reported in the prior period.

(c)

See reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure under “Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation.”

(d)

Represents amortization expense within cost of revenue associated with acquired profit in inventory.

(e)

Represents intangible amortization expense associated with acquired backlog.

(f)

Represents the provision for or reversal of indemnification assets related to the establishment or release of tax reserves associated with uncertain tax positions.

(g)

Calculated as adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue in each period.

About Kadant
Kadant Inc. is a global supplier of technologies and engineered systems that drive Sustainable Industrial Processing®. The Company’s products and services play an integral role in enhancing efficiency, optimizing energy utilization, and maximizing productivity in process industries. Kadant is based in Westford, Massachusetts, with approximately 3,900 employees in 22 countries worldwide. For more information, visit kadant.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
The following constitutes a “Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including forward-looking statements about our future financial and operating performance, demand for our products, and economic and industry outlook. These forward-looking statements represent our expectations as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in Kadant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2024 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These include risks and uncertainties relating to adverse changes in global and local economic conditions; the variability and difficulty in accurately predicting revenues from large capital equipment and systems projects; our acquisition strategy; levels of residential construction activity; reductions by our wood processing customers of their capital spending or production of oriented strand board; changes to the global timber supply; development and use of digital media; cyclical economic conditions affecting the global mining industry; demand for coal, including economic and environmental risks associated with coal; failure of our information systems or breaches of data security and cybersecurity incidents; implementation of our internal growth strategy; competition; our ability to successfully manage our manufacturing operations; supply chain constraints, inflationary pressure, price increases or shortages in raw materials; loss of key personnel and effective succession planning; future restructurings; protection of intellectual property; changes to tax laws and regulations; climate change; adequacy of our insurance coverage; global operations; policies of the Chinese government; the variability and uncertainties in sales of capital equipment in China; currency fluctuations; changes to government regulations and policies around the world; compliance with government regulations and policies and compliance with laws; environmental laws and regulations; environmental, health and safety laws and regulations impacting the mining industry; our debt obligations; restrictions in our credit agreement and note purchase agreement; soundness of financial institutions; fluctuations in our share price; and anti-takeover provisions.

Contacts
Investor Contact Information:
Michael McKenney, 978-776-2000
IR@kadant.com

Media Contact Information:
Wes Martz, 978-776-2000
media@kadant.com

Company analysis