John Bean (JBTM)

Food processing and aviation equipment manufacturer John Bean (NYSE:JBT) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales up 116% year on year to $1.01 billion. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $4.03 billion at the midpoint came in 2.3% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.98 per share was 2.7% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Company Overview

Tracing back to its invention of the mechanical milk bottle filler in 1884, John Bean (NYSE:JBT) designs, manufactures, and sells equipment used for food processing and aviation.

Automation that increases efficiency and connected equipment that collects analyzable data have been trending, creating new demand for general industrial machinery companies. Those who innovate and create digitized solutions can spur sales and speed up replacement cycles, but all general industrial machinery companies are still at the whim of economic cycles. Consumer spending and interest rates, for example, can greatly impact the industrial production that drives demand for these companies’ offerings.

Competitors offering similar products include Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD), Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW), and Colfax (NYSE:CFX).

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Thankfully, John Bean’s 17.1% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was incredible. Its growth beat the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a helpful starting point for our analysis.

Long-term growth is the most important, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss new industry trends or demand cycles. John Bean’s annualized revenue growth of 51.1% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was strong and recently accelerated.

This quarter, John Bean reported magnificent year-on-year revenue growth of 116%, and its $1.01 billion of revenue beat Wall Street’s estimates by 1.1%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 5% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and indicates its products and services will see some demand headwinds. At least the company is tracking well in other measures of financial health.

For industrials businesses, cost of sales is usually comprised of the direct labor, raw materials, and supplies needed to offer a product or service. These costs can be impacted by inflation and supply chain dynamics in the short term and a company’s purchasing power and scale over the long term.

John Bean’s gross margin is good compared to other industrials businesses and signals it sells differentiated products, not commodities. As you can see below, it averaged an impressive 34.9% gross margin over the last five years. That means for every $100 in revenue, roughly $34.95 was left to spend on selling, marketing, R&D, and general administrative overhead.

This quarter, John Bean’s gross profit margin was 34.5% , marking a 3.8 percentage point decrease from 38.4% in the same quarter last year. John Bean’s full-year margin has also been trending down over the past 12 months, decreasing by 1.4 percentage points. If this move continues, it could suggest a more competitive environment with some pressure to lower prices and higher input costs (such as raw materials and manufacturing expenses).

John Bean was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average operating margin of 7.2% was weak for an industrials business. This result is surprising given its high gross margin as a starting point.

Looking at the trend in its profitability, John Bean’s operating margin decreased by 3.6 percentage points over the last five years. This raises questions about the company’s expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability. John Bean’s performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows that costs were rising and it couldn’t pass them onto its customers.

This quarter, John Bean generated an operating margin profit margin of 7.2%, up 3.8 percentage points year on year. The increase was encouraging, and because its gross margin actually decreased, we can assume it was more efficient because its operating expenses like marketing, R&D, and administrative overhead grew slower than its revenue.

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

John Bean’s EPS grew at a solid 10.1% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. However, this performance was lower than its 17.1% annualized revenue growth, telling us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

Diving into John Bean’s quality of earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, John Bean’s operating margin expanded this quarter but declined by 3.6 percentage points over the last five years. Its share count also grew by 62.9%, meaning the company not only became less efficient with its operating expenses but also diluted its shareholders.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.

For John Bean, its two-year annual EPS growth of 20.1% was higher than its five-year trend. We love it when earnings growth accelerates, especially when it accelerates off an already high base.

In Q4, John Bean reported adjusted EPS of $1.98, up from $1.70 in the same quarter last year. This print beat analysts’ estimates by 2.7%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects John Bean’s full-year EPS of $6.38 to grow 23.5%.

If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills.

John Bean has shown impressive cash profitability, enabling it to ride out cyclical downturns more easily while maintaining its investments in new and existing offerings. The company’s free cash flow margin averaged 8% over the last five years, better than the broader industrials sector. The divergence from its underwhelming operating margin stems from the add-back of non-cash charges like depreciation and stock-based compensation. GAAP operating profit expenses these line items, but free cash flow does not.

Taking a step back, we can see that John Bean’s margin dropped by 3.6 percentage points during that time. Continued declines could signal it is in the middle of an investment cycle.

John Bean’s free cash flow clocked in at $83.5 million in Q4, equivalent to a 8.3% margin. The company’s cash profitability regressed as it was 17.4 percentage points lower than in the same quarter last year, which isn’t ideal considering its longer-term trend.

EPS and free cash flow tell us whether a company was profitable while growing its revenue. But was it capital-efficient? Enter ROIC, a metric showing how much operating profit a company generates relative to the money it has raised (debt and equity).

Although John Bean has shown solid fundamentals lately, it historically did a mediocre job investing in profitable growth initiatives. Its five-year average ROIC was 6.7%, somewhat low compared to the best industrials companies that consistently pump out 20%+.

We like to invest in businesses with high returns, but the trend in a company’s ROIC is what often surprises the market and moves the stock price. Unfortunately, John Bean’s ROIC averaged 1.3 percentage point decreases each year over the last few years. If its returns keep falling, it could suggest its profitable growth opportunities are drying up. We’ll keep a close eye.

John Bean reported $186.5 million of cash and $1.88 billion of debt on its balance sheet in the most recent quarter. As investors in high-quality companies, we primarily focus on two things: 1) that a company’s debt level isn’t too high and 2) that its interest payments are not excessively burdening the business.

With $600.4 million of EBITDA over the last 12 months, we view John Bean’s 2.8× net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio as safe. We also see its $79.3 million of annual interest expenses as appropriate. The company’s profits give it plenty of breathing room, allowing it to continue investing in growth initiatives.

It was great to see John Bean’s full-year EBITDA guidance top analysts’ expectations. We were also glad its full-year revenue guidance exceeded Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EBITDA missed. Overall, we think this was a decent quarter with some key metrics above expectations. The stock remained flat at $163.51 immediately after reporting.

Updated: February 23, 2026 at 4:35 PM EST

The latest quarterly earnings matters, sure, but we actually think longer-term fundamentals and valuation matter more. Investors should consider all these pieces before deciding whether or not to invest in John Bean.

We think John Bean is a good business. First off, its revenue growth was exceptional over the last five years. And while its relatively low ROIC suggests management has struggled to find compelling investment opportunities, its projected EPS for the next year implies the company’s fundamentals will improve. On top of that, its gross margins indicate healthy unit economics.

John Bean’s P/E ratio based on the next 12 months is 20.8x. Looking at the industrials landscape right now, John Bean trades at a pretty interesting price. If you believe in the company and its growth potential, now is an opportune time to buy shares.

Wall Street analysts have a consensus one-year price target of $160.25 on the company (compared to the current share price of $163.51).