MSA

Image source: The Motley Fool. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET Senior Manager of Investor Relations - Tyler Herzing President and CEO - Steven Blanco Senior Vice President and CFO - Julie Beck President of our Americas segment - Stephanie Sciullo Operator: Good day, and welcome to the MSA Safety Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Tyler Herzing. Please go ahead. Tyler Herzing: Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to MSA Safety's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. This is Tyler Herzing, Senior Manager of Investor Relations. I'm joined by Steve Blanco, President and CEO; Julie Beck, Senior Vice President and CFO; and Stephanie Sciullo, President of our Americas segment. During today's call, we will discuss MSA Safety's second quarter 2026 financial results and provide an update on our full year 2026 outlook. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that the matters discussed during this call may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all projections and anticipated levels of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those discussed today. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are detailed in our SEC filings. MSA Safety undertakes no duty to publicly update any forward-looking statement made on this call, except as required by law. We have included certain non-GAAP financial measures as part of our discussion this morning. The non-GAAP reconciliations are available in the appendix of today's presentation. The presentation and press release are available on our Investor Relations website at investors.msasafety.com. Moving on to today's agenda. Steve will first provide an update on the business. Julie will then review our second quarter of 2026 financial performance and 2026 outlook. Steve will then provide closing remarks. He will then open the call for your questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to Steve Blanco. Steve? Steven Blanco: Thanks, Tyler, and good morning, everyone. Again, we appreciate your continued interest in MSA Safety. I'm on Slide 6. The team performed well in the second quarter as we continue to serve our singular mission of protecting workers around the world while advancing the commitments outlined in our Accelerate strategy. For the second quarter, we achieved 6% reported sales growth and delivered robust margin expansion with adjusted earnings per share of $2.40, up 24% from last year. We also generated strong free cash flow, which enabled $47 million of returns to shareholders via buybacks and dividends. In addition, we completed the acquisition of Autronica Fire & Security in early July. Looking at sales by product category. Organic detection sales were consistent with the prior year as mid-single-digit growth in portable gas detection was offset by a low single-digit decline in fixed monitoring, where demand and shipment activity were impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In the Americas, we saw strong growth in fixed and portable gas detection, delivering high single-digit growth on top of a double-digit growth comparison from the prior year. In Fire Service, organic sales decreased 2% year-over-year, primarily due to lower SCBA sales as 2025 AFG grant-related orders in the Americas have materialized slower than initially expected in the first half. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security remained closed until late May and created order choppiness in the quarter. Moving forward, we remain very encouraged by order momentum that accelerated through the end of June. In international, SCBA growth in EMEA was offset by softness in APAC. Organic sales in industrial PPE were up 16%, reflecting healthy demand across our core industrial markets and the broad underlying strength of industrial activity. In Americas, strength was driven by demand tied to the ongoing market adoption of our type 2 safety helmet, the H2. In international, growth in protective ballistic helmets remained robust, benefiting from the ongoing shift toward defense-related spending in Europe. Our organic orders were strong with a book-to-bill of approximately 1x, which is above second quarter seasonal patterns. Year-over-year order growth was broad-based across our segments and product categories. Sequentially, we saw similar growth trends. Moving to Slide 7. The progress we're making across the business reflects the strategic actions we've taken to strengthen our portfolio, expand our technology capabilities and position MSA for long-term growth. Let me highlight a few examples from the quarter, demonstrating that execution in action. First, growth in our H2 safety helmet, which protects workers against vertical and lateral impacts, reflects our commitment to continued leadership in the premium safety markets we serve. Combining the most comprehensive head protection product line in the industry, unmatched brand recognition and our ability to support large, customized orders at scale, we continue to differentiate ourselves in the market and strengthen our competitive positioning with customers. We also continue to make progress with MSA+, where connected solutions represented more than half of portable gas detection growth in the quarter and now account for 14% of total portable sales versus 10% last year. We're encouraged by the ongoing adoption of MSA+ and early performance indicators of our newly launched ALTAIR io 6 solution as well as the growth we're seeing in the traditional portable gas detection business. Additionally, the advancement of the MSA business system continues to improve the way we execute across the company. By creating greater discipline and consistency across the enterprise, our teams are finding better ways to serve our customers and enhance productivity. As expected, positive price/cost was a contributor to performance in the first half, reflecting the benefits of strategic pricing actions and improved productivity enabled by MBS. While our continuous improvement journey is ongoing, the benefits of those efforts are increasingly evident in the strength of our operating performance and the financial results we delivered in the first half of the year. Finally, our strong balance sheet and disciplined approach to capital allocation continue to provide meaningful strategic flexibility. In the first half, we returned $118 million to shareholders, a 45% increase from the prior year and increased our dividend for the 56th consecutive year. With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to Julie to walk through the financial results for the second quarter in more detail and our '26 outlook. Julie Beck: Thank you, Steve, and good day, everyone. We appreciate you joining the call. Starting on Slide 9 with the quarterly financial highlights. Second quarter sales were $503 million, an increase of 6% on a reported basis over the prior year. Sales were up 3% on an organic basis, while currency translation was at a 2% tailwind and M&C added 1% to overall growth. GAAP gross margin was 49.5%, an increase of 210 basis points sequentially and 290 basis points over the prior year. Year-over-year gross margin reflects the strength of our MSA business system, including strategic pricing, productivity, value-added engineering efforts as well as favorable transactional foreign exchange. Also included in the quarter was approximately $4 million of tariff refunds, which favorably impacted gross margin by approximately 100 basis points. Adjusted gross margin, excluding tariff refunds, trended at approximately 49% for the first half. GAAP operating margin was 22.2%, a 410 basis points increase driven by the gross margin expansion. Adjusted operating margin was 24.1%, up 230 basis points sequentially and 270 basis points over last year. Excluding the tariff refund, adjusted incremental operating margin was 52%. We continue to invest in our innovative safety products and solutions with research and development expenses of $19 million in the quarter. And we continue to effectively manage SG&A with the year-over-year increase primarily due to M&C, SG&A, higher variable compensation and merit inflation, partially offset by cost discipline. Quarterly GAAP net income increased 37% year-over-year to $86 million, while diluted earnings per share increased 40% to $2.23 per share. Increased sales and margin expansion were primary drivers of earnings per share growth with benefits from M&C, lower tariffs, share repurchases and a lower effective tax rate. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share were $2.40, up 24% from last year. Now I'd like to review our segment performance. In our Americas segment, sales increased 7% year-over-year on a reported basis, 5% of that was organic. We delivered double-digit organic growth in Industrial PPE and high single-digit growth in Detection. Currency translation added a 2% tailwind to reported growth. The adjusted operating margin was 32%, a 290 basis points increase compared to the previous year. The margin improvement was primarily due to strong execution, including strategic pricing, productivity, favorable transactional foreign exchange and lower tariffs, partially offset by inflation. Excluding the tariff refund, adjusted incremental operating margin was 53%. As expected, sales in our International segment increased sequentially, growing 17%. Sales increased 5% year-over-year on a reported basis with a 3% contribution from M&C and a 2% tailwind from foreign exchange. Organic sales were consistent with the prior year as strong growth in industrial PPE offset a double-digit decline in Detection, primarily due to the Middle East conflict. Sales in fire service were consistent with the prior year. Adjusted operating margin was 15.5%, 240 basis points above last year and 500 basis points higher than the first quarter on stronger volume. Margin expansion from a year ago was driven by the inclusion of M&C, productivity and favorable transactional foreign exchange, partially offset by inflation. Adjusted incremental operating margin was 62%. Now turning to Slide 10. We generated free cash flow of $83 million, which was 96% of earnings, marking a 118% increase in free cash flow generation compared to a year ago on higher operating earnings and lower capital expenditure. First half free cash flow conversion was 94%. In the second quarter of last year, we made the strategic investment to strengthen our manufacturing footprint at our Detection Center of Excellence in Cranberry Township. Our weighted average interest rate for the quarter was 3.8%. We returned $47 million to shareholders via $26 million of share repurchases and $21 million of dividends. First half capital returns to shareholders totaled $118 million, 45% above first half 2025 levels, driven by increased share repurchases. Now that the Autronica acquisition has closed and consistent with prior messaging, we expect to continue to repurchase shares in the second half, but at a lower rate as we prioritize debt repayment. Liquidity at quarter end was $1.2 billion, and our pro form liquidity post Autronica is a healthy $600 million. Our M&A pipeline remains robust. Net debt decreased by $33 million sequentially, and our adjusted net leverage at quarter end was 0.8x. Including the debt for the acquisition of Autronica, which was financed using a combination of cash on hand and our revolver, pro forma net leverage as of June 30, 2026, is 1.8x, 0.2x lower than we discussed for post-acquisition leverage in our last earnings call. Let's turn to our 2026 outlook on Slide 11. Our outlook reflects low double-digit total revenue growth in 2026, supported by our expectations of mid-single-digit organic growth, a mid-single-digit contribution from acquisitions and 1 points to 2 points of favorable translational foreign exchange based on current rates. We maintain our mid-single-digit organic growth outlook, which is supported by our second quarter performance and the overall health of our order book. We have a solid pipeline of opportunities in the U.S. fire business and the global detection market for the second half of the year. We continue to monitor and strategically manage the challenges presented by the geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, most notably in the Middle East. As a reminder, sales in the Middle East represent a mid-single-digit percentage of overall sales. We expect a moderate tempering in gross margin in the second half, which reflects the delayed impact of inflation caused by the Middle East conflict as this higher cost inventory is reflected in our income statement. Excluding the impact of any new tariffs, we expect full year adjusted gross margin to be in the 47.5% to 48.5% range. For modeling purposes, our interest expense range has increased to $40 million to $43 million. Full year tax rate and pension income remain unchanged. Starting in May and moving forward, our sales growth contributions from M&C will be included in our organic sales number. As we look ahead, we remain focused on executing our Accelerate strategy and are confident in our ability to deliver mid-single-digit organic sales growth in 2026. With that, I'd like to pass it back to Steve. Steven Blanco: Thank you, Julie. I am on Slide 13. Before I close, I do want to take a moment and recognize Dave Howells, who retired on July 1st after nearly 45 years with MSA. His career is a testament to the connection so many of our employees feel to our mission and the important work we do every day. Throughout his career, he played an important role in strengthening customer and channel partner relationships around the world. In his role as President, MSA International and throughout his years of service, Dave has made a lasting impact on our company. So on behalf of all of us at MSA, I want to thank Dave for his leadership, partnership, friendship and many contributions over the course of his career. We're also excited to officially welcome the Autronica team to the MSA family following the completion of the previously announced transaction in early July. It's been great to see the energy and excitement across both organizations, and we're thrilled to have them join the MSA team. I look forward to working together as we begin this next phase of growth. Finally, I'm proud of our team's performance and continued progression of our Accelerate strategy in the second quarter. Thank you to all of our associates for their continued commitment to serving our customers. With that, I'll turn the call back over to the operator for Q&A. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Tomo Sano from JPMorgan. Ethan Coyle: This is Ethan on for Tomo. If I recall correctly, you said last quarter that roughly 2/3 of the AFG-related orders were still outstanding and expected to come. Do you expect the bulk of these to kind of come into the second half? And then when looking at more 4Q, do you expect funding to kind of go back to normalcy? Or will -- do you anticipate a little bit of slippage into 2027? Steven Blanco: Yes. Thanks for the question. So if we look at the fire service, certainly, as we parse out the AFG orders from the '25 grants, they've come slower than we anticipated. Our pipelines got the orders in there, but they really just haven't come through as fast as we thought. I would say as you look at June and July, and I talked about this in the prepared remarks, we did see really nice uptick and acceleration of the order pace as I said, in June, but also, we've seen the same thing in July. So that's a good indicator for us that, that should continue. And as far as '26, the signals on AFG are very positive. FEMA is really indicating a strong desire to accelerate the deliveries versus last year. And they've done a nice job thus far working with the fire departments really on the application process, even though it started later because the government was shut down through mid-May. So the indicators are really strong for them to action on the '26 grants at a better pace, which I think enables the firefighters and fire departments to do that. So when we look at the demand signals, we have and we think about the pipeline for the second half, we're pretty optimistic about where the fire service is going to go. Now it might lean a little further into the second half. But -- and anybody that's followed us for a while understands how this business is lumpy, but we have good confidence there. Ethan Coyle: And then now that ALTAIR io has kind of been in the field, what has been the initial customer feedback that you've seen? Have you seen any early upticks tracking against your expectations? And it's good to see MSA+ adoption rate of 14% of sales. Do you see this trend kind of continuing in the second half in the future? Steven Blanco: We do. We do. The short answer is the MSA+ platform, which includes the io 4 and the recently launched io 6 continues to be very well received by the customer base as well as our other solutions within the portable gas detection market. We talked again about that growth. We still saw growth in that portable gas detection legacy business. But -- as I noted, we're at 14% of total portables with the MSA+ platform, io 6 early indicator performance is really good, and I expect you're going to see that continue to accelerate. Again, this is the first year, as we noted, I think I mentioned this in the call earlier this year, that's a longer cycle product. So it takes a little bit of time for it to build into orders, but we've seen -- the order pace has been better than we expected so far, frankly. So as we continue to see that play out, that's going to have an even bigger impact on that number. So overall, it's going very well. Customer feedback continues to be super positive. And I think that's going to be just a growing piece of our business in the future. Operator: The next question comes from Quinn Fredrickson from Baird. Quinn Fredrickson: Within industrial PPE and others, could you discuss maybe how much of the strength there was short cycle versus ballistic helmet orders? And maybe any color on what specific end markets are driving the strength in Americas? Steven Blanco: Sure. So if we start with -- you're asking about the international piece on the industrial PPE. We did see some really nice strength in the protective ballistic helmet side of the business, which we expect to continue as we've seen activity increase there with a lot of the European government spending more money in the defense sector and environment. But we also continue to see nice performance in fall protection. And I think that, that will be something you see continued in the second half. As we think about just looking at international industrial, really strong quarter overall. We're expecting it to be some solid performance in the second half. There's -- the indicators we have in the pipeline of business continue to be really solid across that platform. Certainly, the protective ballistics will be part of that story, but we expect the others to do well as well. And then in the Americas, the underlying theme really is strong. It's nice to see the industrial strength. You think about infrastructure, really the core industrial investments we're seeing, certainly including some benefits from data centers. But I would have to say you're seeing a nice build-out start to occur as that capital investment on the industrial side is playing out. That coupled with what we talked about with the type 2 H2 helmet that we've introduced in the last year, it's really looking pretty positive. The nice thing is we aren't seeing that slowdown. We expect that to continue into the second half. And the indicators in July are just that. We're seeing the same strength we saw in the second quarter. Quinn Fredrickson: And any update on electronics supply and cost? I know some other companies have recently flagged that. Is that becoming more of an issue for you? And is that part of the second half moderation in gross margin that you mentioned? Or are you still able to manage through that pretty well? Steven Blanco: It is. We are managing through that. We've certainly seen and are managing some of those cost inputs on the electronics side. I'd say the cost is part of the story, which we have certainly accounted for. The second part of the story is just ensuring we have the right inventory in place. So we have certainly taken an additional inventory, and we'll do so as we go forward to make sure that we have continuity of supply. So those 2 things are right on our radar screen of making sure we don't lose sight of that. And I think we're in a good place for that right now. We're certainly -- depending on what happens with that. But as we see and forecast that supply and demand story, I think we've got a good handle on what that looks like in our forecast. Operator: The next question comes from Jeff Van Sinderen from B. Riley. Jeff Van Sinderen: Just kind of focusing a little bit on the fire service. Can you remind us where does the new NFPA standard stand? And then when do you see the replacement cycle really inflecting there? Steven Blanco: The NFPA standard, of course, we launched our product some time ago and got approval for that. Now all competitors have approval for the NFPA standard update. So that has -- is something that's in the rearview mirror, and I don't think anybody is really concerned about that going forward. It did certainly slow down as we saw late last year a bit, but not as much as the government challenges. I think you put those 2 together, it paused a lot of the ordering that we had hoped to see. And it still continues to take a little bit longer than we'd like. But again, that's -- sometimes that's the fire service. As we look at the cycle, I would say that -- when we think of our pipeline of business, we're seeing strengthening pipeline numbers start to show up. So that's something I would anticipate. It's just going to start playing out in the future years. You're going to see a little bit of that maybe in late '26. But certainly, as you get into '27, a little bit more and then a little bit more. It wasn't that we had a big drop. I just would note that, too. So we have seen some moderation over the last few years, but we anticipate that you're going to see an inflection point next year that really reverses itself. Jeff Van Sinderen: Okay. Good to hear. And then turning to gross margin for a moment. You had some pretty good expansion there. As we're looking towards kind of the year, I can't believe we're already getting into August, but what gross margin rate should we carry as sort of sustainable exiting 2026? How are you thinking about that? Julie Beck: Yes. So Jeff, we talked about that we were running in the first half, 49%, and we're saying 47.5% to 48.5% for the year, which I would -- the decline is a little bit of some of those costs that we've talked about. Some of it related to the Middle East conflict, whether it's transportation and resins and metallics and some things like that, that are sitting in our balance sheet. And as you know that it takes 90 to 120 days before those flow through to the margin. So we're forecasting 47% to 48.5% for the full year, and that does include the latest tariff impacts that were announced. So we -- it's all incorporated. So we should come out with a run rate of approximately that for the year. Jeff Van Sinderen: Okay. And then with your pro forma or I guess, your net debt leverage now, I think it's at 1.8x. How are you thinking about the M&A pipeline? I know you said it's still robust, but obviously, you don't want leverage to get out of control. So kind of what are you looking at size-wise? How aggressive might you be? How are you thinking about that? Steven Blanco: Well, as we've said, the leverage point that we think is the sweet spot for us is 1.5x to 2.5x. The fact that we're at 1.8x, we're active in the market to this day. We want to continue to put our capital to work. We've done that. We did that in the first half pretty effectively through M&A as we closed on this Autronica deal in July, but also through some of the buybacks and certainly the dividend. So our -- what we anticipate happening is we're going to continue to be active. We've got a great pipeline. We've really accelerated how we look at those pipeline items or those opportunities, and we're active in that. We would go over 2.5x, as we've mentioned before, if it's the right deal, but certainly, we would delever very quickly to make sure we stay within that sweet spot for us, which is that 1.5x to 2.5x of leverage. Operator: And our next question comes from Ross Sparenblek from William Blair. Ross Sparenblek: Maybe just start on the fixed side. Can you help parse out the growth there and size the delay in the Middle East order? Steven Blanco: On the -- I'm sorry, Ross. Ross Sparenblek: The Middle East order timing, yes, I guess, sorry. Steven Blanco: Yes. Thanks for that question. So the Middle East remains challenged, and it's affected really Europe and Asia Pacific as well, Asia Pacific to a lesser degree. But when you think about fixed instrumentation and the early buildouts, the EPCs, those engineering, procurement and construction firms, there's a number of those that are in the Middle East and in Europe. So those are impacted as well as the Middle East has kind of slowed down. And certainly, our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to our colleagues in the Middle East and our customers. That's cost us north of 1.5 points of revenue in the first half of the year, frankly. I mean it's mid-single digit. But just on a year-over-year, even if we didn't get the growth we hoped for, it's been something that is disappointing for sure. I think the nice thing we are seeing is we're starting to see some activity where there are orders coming in for rebuild and restoration work. But until that's done, I really can't -- I don't -- it's hard for me to put a really nice level of confidence on what that business is going to do because those customers have to deal with the ongoing activity, and that is something we think is going to mute the Middle East until this -- we get on the other side of this. Ross Sparenblek: Okay. So you get the sense that the kind of project pipeline is expanding. If we take out the disruption, any other things you can point to demand-wise on project activity, maybe North America outside of the affected regions? Steven Blanco: North -- Americas is fine. I mean even order pace has increased. If you look at our fixed monitoring order pace or detection overall, order pace has certainly accelerated. We saw some really nice growth in the second quarter on order pace. Just trying to make sure we action those. And I don't want to give you a false sense until that Middle Eastern conflict is in the rearview mirror or at least for the most part until they're able to get the activity up that they want. Ross Sparenblek: And then can you maybe clarify what the tariff impact was in the quarter? I mean it sounds like it was probably 50 basis points of the guidance lift, so maybe 200 basis points in the second quarter that's not going to repeat. Julie Beck: Yes. So our -- we received the tariff refund we talked about was $4 million. So that had about almost close to 100 basis points, 80 basis points to 90 basis point impact on the quarter's margin. And -- yes. And any new tariffs are reflected in our margin outlook for the remainder of the year. Ross Sparenblek: Okay. Yes. That's very helpful. And then just quickly on price. Are you seeing any stabilization in resin prices or transportation? Are you guys making any maybe pre-buy decisions on what you can hedge to offset if this persists and an ability to continue to pass through price as we look into first half '27? Steven Blanco: I would say we're -- Julie can talk about the numbers specifically, but I would say, Ross, that we certainly have seen some increases, and we're accounting for that for the second half based on -- and part of it is transportation, quite frankly. But Julie. Julie Beck: Yes, we do -- we have agreements with our customers and with our suppliers, excuse me. So that helps us as we go through. We do have some index pricing that's in the system, and I've reflected those costs based upon what we know today in that gross margin guidance, Ross. Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Tyler Herzing for any closing remarks. Tyler Herzing: Thank you. We appreciate you joining the call this morning and for your continued interest in MSA Safety. If you missed the portion of today's call, an audio replay will be made available later today on our Investor Relations website and will be available for the next 90 days. We look forward to updating you on our continued progress again next quarter. Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect. 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Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Achieved 6% reported sales growth driven by robust demand in industrial PPE, particularly for the H2 safety helmet and defense-related ballistic gear in Europe. Delivered significant margin expansion through the MSA Business System (MBS), utilizing strategic pricing and productivity gains to offset inflationary pressures. Organic detection sales remained flat as mid-single-digit growth in portable gas detection was neutralized by a decline in fixed monitoring due to the Middle East conflict. Fire Service organic sales decreased 2% as AFG grant-related orders in the Americas materialized slower than anticipated following a late-May Department of Homeland Security reopening. Connected solutions via the MSA+ platform now represent 14% of total portable gas detection sales, up from 10% last year, signaling successful technology adoption. Industrial PPE strength in the Americas was bolstered by infrastructure investments and data center build-outs, while international growth benefited from increased defense spending. Strategic capital allocation focused on the acquisition of Autronica Fire & Security and returning $118 million to shareholders in the first half of the year. Maintained low double-digit total revenue growth outlook for 2026, supported by mid-single-digit organic growth and contributions from the Autronica acquisition. Expect a moderate tempering of gross margins in the second half, with the full year adjusted gross margin expected to be in the range of 47.5% to 48.5%. as higher-cost inventory impacted by Middle East logistics flows through. Anticipate an inflection point in Fire Service demand in 2027 as the replacement cycle accelerates and FEMA works to speed up 2026 grant deliveries. Management plans to remain active in the M&A market, maintaining a target leverage range of 1.5x to 2.5x, noting that current leverage is already within that range at 1.8x following the Autronica transaction. Strategic inventory builds are planned for electronic components to ensure continuity of supply and mitigate potential cost volatility in the second half. A $4 million tariff refund favorably impacted second quarter gross margins by approximately 100 basis points, which is not expected to recur. The ongoing Middle East conflict reduced first-half revenue by more than 1.5 percentage points and continues to impact fixed monitoring shipment activity. Pro forma net leverage increased to 1.8x following the Autronica acquisition, though this remains within management's preferred strategic range. Transactional foreign exchange acted as a tailwind in the quarter, contributing to the 270 basis point year-over-year adjusted operating margin expansion. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management noted that while orders have come in slower than expected, momentum accelerated significantly through June and July. FEMA is showing a strong desire to accelerate 2026 grant deliveries, which may lead to a lumpy but optimistic second half for the fire service segment. The MSA+ platform continues to see strong reception, with the io 6 solution showing better-than-expected early order pace despite being a longer-cycle product. Management expects the connected solutions category to become an increasingly large portion of the portable gas detection business. The conflict has muted activity for engineering and construction firms in the region, though some restoration and rebuild orders are beginning to emerge. Management remains cautious on the timeline for a full recovery in this segment until the geopolitical situation stabilizes. The full-year guidance of 47.5% to 48.5% incorporates all recently announced tariff impacts and the delayed flow-through of inflationary costs. Strategic pricing and supplier agreements with index pricing are being used to manage volatility in resin and transportation costs.

Interested in MSA Safety Incorporporated? Here are five stocks we like better. Strong Q2 financial results: Sales rose 6% year over year to $503 million, while adjusted EPS increased 24% to $2.40. Margin expansion, strategic pricing, productivity gains and a roughly $4 million tariff refund helped drive adjusted operating margin to 24.1%. Industrial PPE led operating performance: Organic industrial PPE sales grew 16%, offsetting flat detection sales and a 2% decline in fire-service sales. Detection was pressured by weaker fixed-monitoring demand related to the Middle East conflict, while fire-service orders improved in June and July. 2026 outlook unchanged: MSA maintained its forecast for low-double-digit total revenue growth, including mid-single-digit organic growth, acquisition contributions and favorable currency effects. Following its Autronica acquisition, the company plans to prioritize debt repayment while continuing share repurchases at a slower pace. MSA Safety Incorporporated (NYSE:MSA) reported higher second-quarter sales, earnings and cash flow, while maintaining its outlook for mid-single-digit organic growth in 2026. The company also said it completed its acquisition of Autronica Fire and Security in early July. Second-quarter sales rose 6% year over year on a reported basis to $503 million. Organic sales increased 3%, while currency translation contributed 2 percentage points of growth and acquisitions added 1 point. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 24% from a year earlier to $2.40, while GAAP diluted earnings per share rose 40% to $2.23. → Why SK hynix Could Be the Best AI Chip Stock to Buy Now “The team performed well in the second quarter as we continued to serve our singular mission of protecting workers around the world while advancing the commitments outlined in our Accelerate strategy,” President and CEO Steve Blanco said. GAAP gross margin reached 49.5%, up 290 basis points from a year earlier and 210 basis points sequentially. Adjusted operating margin was 24.1%, up 270 basis points year over year. The company attributed the gains to strategic pricing, productivity initiatives, value-added engineering and favorable transactional foreign exchange. → Microsoft Just Flipped the AI Spending Narrative Overnight Chief Financial Officer Julie Beck said the quarter also included approximately $4 million in tariff refunds, which added roughly 100 basis points to gross margin. Excluding those refunds, adjusted gross margin was approximately 49% during the first half. GAAP net income increased 37% to $86 million. The company said higher sales and margin expansion were the primary drivers of earnings growth, supplemented by M&A benefits, lower tariffs, share repurchases and a lower effective tax rate. → Carrier Earnings Could Send the Stock to a New All-Time High MSA generated $83 million in free cash flow during the quarter, equal to 96% of earnings and 118% above the prior-year period. The company returned $47 million to shareholders through $26 million in share repurchases and $21 million in dividends. First-half shareholder returns totaled $118 million, up 45% from the same period in 2025. Organic industrial personal protective equipment sales increased 16% in the quarter, supported by demand across core industrial markets. In the Americas, Blanco said the company benefited from adoption of its Type 2 H2 safety helmet, designed to protect against both vertical and lateral impacts. He also cited industrial investment, infrastructure activity and some benefit from data-center construction. International industrial PPE growth included continued demand for protective ballistic helmets, which MSA said was supported by increased defense-related spending in Europe. The company also reported continued strength in fall-protection products. Organic detection sales were flat year over year. Mid-single-digit portable gas-detection growth was offset by a low-single-digit decline in fixed monitoring, where the Middle East conflict affected demand and shipment activity. Blanco said the conflict had reduced revenue by more than 1.5 percentage points in the first half. Detection growth remained stronger in the Americas, where both fixed and portable gas detection posted high-single-digit growth. Connected solutions under the MSA+ platform represented more than half of portable gas-detection growth in the quarter and accounted for 14% of total portable sales, compared with 10% a year earlier. Blanco said customer feedback and early order activity for the newly launched ALTAIR io 6 have been positive. He noted that the product has a longer sales cycle but said the pace of orders has exceeded the company’s expectations so far. Fire-service organic sales declined 2%, primarily because sales of self-contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA, were lower than a year earlier. MSA said orders related to 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant awards materialized more slowly than anticipated during the first half, following a period in which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security remained closed until late May. Still, Blanco said fire-service order momentum improved during June and July. He said the company sees a solid opportunity pipeline for the second half and expects the replacement cycle tied to updated National Fire Protection Association standards to build gradually, with a more meaningful inflection anticipated in 2027. Americas segment sales increased 7% on a reported basis, including 5% organic growth. The segment’s adjusted operating margin reached 32%, up 290 basis points from a year earlier. International sales increased 5% year over year on a reported basis and 17% sequentially. Acquisitions contributed 3 percentage points of reported growth and currency translation added 2 points, while organic sales were flat. Strong industrial PPE sales offset a double-digit decline in detection sales, largely related to the Middle East. International adjusted operating margin was 15.5%, up 240 basis points from the prior year and 500 basis points from the first quarter. The company said its organic order rate was strong, with a book-to-bill ratio of approximately one times, above typical second-quarter seasonal patterns. Order growth was broad-based across segments and product categories. MSA maintained its full-year outlook for low-double-digit total revenue growth, comprising mid-single-digit organic growth, a mid-single-digit contribution from acquisitions and 1 to 2 percentage points of favorable currency translation at current exchange rates. The company expects full-year adjusted gross margin, excluding any impact from new tariffs, to range from 47.5% to 48.5%. Beck said the anticipated moderation in second-half margins reflects delayed inflationary effects from the Middle East conflict, including transportation, resin and metals costs flowing through inventory. MSA raised its full-year interest-expense outlook to $40 million to $43 million. It said sales contributions from acquisitions will be included in organic sales beginning in May. Following the Autronica acquisition, MSA’s pro forma net leverage was 1.8 times as of June 30. The company said it expects to continue repurchasing shares in the second half, though at a lower pace as it prioritizes debt repayment. Blanco said MSA remains active in evaluating acquisition opportunities and views 1.5 times to 2.5 times leverage as its preferred range. MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of safety products designed to protect workers in hazardous environments. The company's offerings span personal protective equipment such as industrial helmets, face shields, protective clothing and fall protection devices, as well as fixed and portable gas detection and monitoring systems. MSA's products are used in industries including oil and gas, mining, construction, fire service, and chemical processing to guard against risks such as gas leaks, impacts, flame exposure and falls from height. Key product lines include self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and air-purifying respirators, gas detectors and sensors, head and face protection, and fall arrest systems. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "MSA Safety Incorporporated Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for July 2026.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Revenue: Second quarter sales were $503 million, a 6% increase on a reported basis and 3% organic growth. Adjusted EPS: $2.40, up 24% year-over-year. GAAP Net Income: $86 million, up 37% year-over-year. GAAP Diluted EPS: $2.23, up 40% year-over-year. GAAP Gross Margin: 49.5%, up 290 basis points year-over-year. Adjusted Operating Margin: 24.1%, up 270 basis points year-over-year. Free Cash Flow: $83 million, up 118% year-over-year. Americas Segment Sales: Up 7% reported, 5% organic, with adjusted operating margin of 32%. International Segment Sales: Up 5% reported, with adjusted operating margin of 15.5%. Industrial PPE Organic Sales: Up 16%. Fire Service Organic Sales: Down 2%. Detection Organic Sales: Consistent with prior year. Shareholder Returns: $47 million in the quarter via buybacks and dividends. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 1 Warning Sign with OFS. Is MSA fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 31, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. MSA Safety Inc (NYSE:MSA) delivered robust second-quarter results with 6% reported sales growth and adjusted EPS of $2.40, up 24% year-over-year. The company achieved significant margin expansion, with adjusted operating margin up 270 basis points to 24.1%, driven by strategic pricing, productivity gains, and favorable FX. Strong free cash flow generation of $83 million (96% of earnings) enabled $47 million in shareholder returns via buybacks and dividends in the quarter. The H2 safety helmet and MSA+ connected solutions are gaining traction, with MSA+ now representing 14% of portable gas detection sales, up from 10% last year. The Autronica Fire & Security acquisition closed in early July, expanding the company's portfolio and contributing to a robust M&A pipeline. Organic detection sales were flat year-over-year, with fixed monitoring declining low single digits due to the ongoing Middle East conflict, which impacted demand and shipments. Fire service organic sales decreased 2% year-over-year, as AFG grant-related orders in the Americas materialized slower than expected due to the US Department of Homeland Security closure until late May. The company expects a moderate tempering in gross margin in the second half due to delayed inflation impacts from the Middle East conflict, with full-year adjusted gross margin guided to 47.5%-48.5%. International detection sales declined double digits, primarily due to the Middle East conflict, which also affected Europe and Asia Pacific markets. The company faces ongoing cost pressures from electronics supply chain issues, requiring additional inventory investments to ensure supply continuity. Q: Do you expect the bulk of the outstanding AFG-related orders to come in the second half, and do you expect funding to return to normalcy in Q4 or slip into 2027? A: Steve Blanco (CEO) stated that AFG orders from the '25 grants have come in slower than anticipated, but the order pace accelerated in June and July, which is a good indicator for continued momentum. For '26, FEMA is signaling a strong desire to accelerate deliveries, and the application process is progressing well despite the late start due to the government shutdown. While the fire service business is lumpy, the company is optimistic about the second-half pipeline, though orders may lean further into the period. Q: What has been the initial customer feedback on the ALTAIR io 6, and do you see the MSA+ adoption trend continuing? A: Steve Blanco (CEO) confirmed that the MSA+ platform, including the io 4 and newly launched io 6, is very well received. MSA+ now represents 14% of total portable sales, up from 10% last year. The io 6's early performance indicators are strong, and the order pace has been better than expected. The company expects this trend to continue accelerating, making MSA+ a growing piece of the business. Q: Can you discuss the strength in industrial PPE, specifically the mix between short-cycle demand and ballistic helmet orders, and what end markets are driving growth in the Americas? A: Steve Blanco (CEO) highlighted robust growth in protective ballistic helmets internationally, driven by increased European defense spending, alongside solid performance in fall protection. In the Americas, strength is broad-based, tied to core industrial investments, infrastructure, and data centers. The adoption of the Type 2 H2 safety helmet is also a key driver. July indicators show the same strength continuing into the second half. Q: Are electronics supply and cost becoming more of an issue, and is that part of the second-half gross margin moderation? A: Steve Blanco (CEO) acknowledged managing increased costs on the electronic side, which are accounted for in the forecast. The company is also building additional inventory to ensure continuity of supply. Julie Beck (CFO) added that the gross margin guidance reflects these known costs, and the company has agreements and index pricing in place to manage supplier and customer relationships. Q: Where does the new NFPA standard stand, and when do you see the replacement cycle inflecting? A: Steve Blanco (CEO) noted that the NFPA standard update is in the rearview mirror, with all competitors now having approval. The slowdown was more related to government challenges. The pipeline of business is strengthening, and while some impact may be seen in late '26, the inflection point is expected in '27, reversing the moderation seen over the last few years. Q: What gross margin rate should we carry as sustainable exiting 2026? A: Julie Beck (CFO) explained that the first-half adjusted gross margin ran at approximately 49%, but the full-year guidance is 47.5% to 48.5%. The decline reflects delayed impacts of inflation from the Middle East conflict, including transportation, resins, and metallics, which take 90-120 days to flow through. The guidance includes the latest tariff impacts, so the run rate for the year is approximately that range. Q: With pro forma net leverage at 1.8 times, how are you thinking about the M&A pipeline and how aggressive might you be? A: Steve Blanco (CEO) reiterated the sweet spot for leverage is 1.5 to 2.5 times. At 1.8 times, the company remains active in the market, with a robust pipeline. While they would go over 2.5 times for the right deal, they would delever quickly to stay within the target range. The company continues to prioritize capital deployment through M&A, buybacks, and dividends. Q: Can you parse out the growth on the fixed detection side and size the delay in Middle East orders? A: Steve Blanco (CEO) explained that the Middle East conflict has impacted fixed instrumentation and EPC firms in the region and Europe, costing north of 0.5% of revenue in the first half. While there are signs of rebuild and restoration orders, confidence remains low until the conflict subsides. The Americas fixed monitoring order pace has accelerated, but the company is cautious about giving a false sense of recovery until the Middle East situation stabilizes. Q: Can you clarify the tariff impact in the quarter and whether it's a one-time benefit? A: Julie Beck (CFO) confirmed that the company received a $4 million tariff refund, which had an 80-90 basis point impact on the quarter's gross margin. Any new tariffs are reflected in the margin outlook for the remainder of the year, meaning the benefit is not expected to repeat. Q: Are you seeing stabilization in resin prices or transportation costs, and can you pass through price increases? A: Steve Blanco (CEO) noted that the company has seen some cost increases, particularly in transportation, and is accounting for them in the second half. Julie Beck (CFO) added that agreements with customers and suppliers, including index pricing, help manage these costs, and the gross margin guidance reflects what is known today. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Second Quarter 2026 Highlights Achieved quarterly net sales of $503 million, a 6% GAAP increase and a 3% organic increase year-over-year Generated GAAP operating income of $112 million, or 22.2% of sales, and adjusted operating income of $121 million, or 24.1% of sales Recorded GAAP net income of $86 million, or $2.23 per diluted share, an increase of 40% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings of $93 million, or $2.40 per diluted share, an increase of 24% year-over-year Generated free cash flow of $83 million and returned $47 million of capital to shareholders via share repurchases and dividend payments Announced the acquisition of Autronica Fire and Security for ~$555 million, which closed in July, and raised annual dividend for 56th consecutive year PITTSBURGH, July 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Global provider of advanced industrial safety products and solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures, MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE: MSA) today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2026. "I want to thank the MSA team for their disciplined execution across our business in the second quarter," said Steve Blanco, President and Chief Executive Officer of MSA Safety. "We delivered strong operating performance through the continued advancement of our Accelerate strategy. We also announced the acquisition of Autronica Fire and Security, which closed in early July and adds a highly complementary business that builds on the strength of our existing fixed detection platform while expanding our addressable market opportunity." "Our adjusted earnings per share increased by 24%, driven by 6% reported sales growth and robust margin expansion. We also generated strong free cash flow and returned capital to shareholders," stated Julie Beck, MSA Safety's Chief Financial Officer. "Margin expansion was primarily driven by our ongoing execution of the principles of the MSA Business System and benefited from tariff refunds. Our full-year sales outlook includes low-double-digit total revenue growth, supported by mid-single-digit organic growth, a mid-single-digit contribution from acquisitions and a low-single-digit tailwind from foreign exchange," Ms. Beck added. The company increased its annual dividend for a 56th consecutive year and returned a total of $47 million to shareholders through $26 million of share repurchases and dividends of $21 million, while investing $13 million in capital expenditures. The company's net leverage ratio was 0.8x at quarter end. Including the debt for the acquisition of Autronica Fire and Security, pro forma net leverage is ~1.8x. Conference Call MSA Safety will host a conference call on Friday, July 31, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its second quarter 2026 results. The call and an accompanying slide presentation will be webcast at http://investors.msasafety.com/ under the "News and Events" tab, subheading "Events & Presentations." Investors and interested parties can also dial into the call at 1-844-854-4415 (toll-free) or 1-412-902-6599 (international). When prompted, please instruct the operator to be joined into the MSA Safety Incorporated conference call. A replay of the conference call will be available at http://investors.msasafety.com/ shortly after the conclusion of the presentation and will be available for the next 90 days. Management believes that organic sales change is a useful metric for investors, as foreign currency translation, acquisitions and divestitures can have a material impact on sales change trends. Organic sales change highlights ongoing business performance excluding the impact of fluctuating foreign currencies, acquisitions and divestitures. There can be no assurances that MSA's definition of organic sales change is consistent with that of other companies. As such, management believes that it is appropriate to consider sales change determined on a GAAP basis in addition to this non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measures and operating ratios derived from non-GAAP measures. Adjusted operating income is defined as operating income excluding currency exchange gains / losses, restructuring charges, acquisition-related amortization, and transaction costs. Adjusted operating margin is defined as adjusted operating income divided by net sales to external customers. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as adjusted operating income plus depreciation and amortization, and adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales to external customers. These metrics are consistent with how management evaluates segment results and makes strategic decisions about the business. Additionally, these non-GAAP financial measures provide information useful to investors in understanding our operating performance and trends, and to facilitate comparisons with the performance of our peers. Adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin are not recognized terms under GAAP, and therefore do not purport to be alternatives to operating income or operating margin as a measure of operating performance. The company's definition of adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. As such, management believes that it is appropriate to consider operating income and net income determined on a GAAP basis in addition to these non-GAAP measures. Management believes that adjusted earnings and adjusted diluted earnings per share are useful measures for investors, as management uses these measures to internally assess the company's performance and ongoing operating trends. There can be no assurances that additional special items will not occur in future periods, nor that MSA's definition of adjusted earnings is consistent with that of other companies. As such, management believes that it is appropriate to consider both net income determined on a GAAP basis as well as adjusted earnings. Management believes that Debt to adjusted EBITDA and Net debt to adjusted EBITDA are useful measures for investors, as management uses these measures to internally assess the company's liquidity and balance sheet strength. There can be no assurances that MSA's definition of Debt to adjusted EBITDA and Net debt to adjusted EBITDA is consistent with that of other companies. About MSA Safety: MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE: MSA) is the global leader in advanced industrial safety technology products and solutions. Driven by its singular mission of safety, the company has been at the forefront of safety innovation since 1914, protecting workers and facility infrastructure around the world across a broad range of diverse end markets while creating sustainable value for shareholders. With 2025 revenues of $1.9 billion, MSA Safety is headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania and employs a team of approximately 5,300 associates across its more than 40 international locations. For more information, please visit www.MSASafety.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical information, certain matters discussed in this press release may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve various assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or other comparable words. Actual results, performance or outcomes may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and may not align with historical performance and events due to a number of factors, including those discussed in the sections of our annual report on Form 10-K entitled "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors," and those discussed in our Form 10-Q quarterly reports filed after such annual report. MSA's SEC filings are readily obtainable at no charge at www.sec.gov, as well as on its own investor relations website at http://investors.MSAsafety.com. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance upon such statements, which are based only on information currently available to us and speak only as of the date hereof. We are under no duty to update publicly any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this earnings press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Non-GAAP Financial Measures: This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. These financial measures include organic sales change, adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted earnings, adjusted earnings per diluted share, debt to adjusted EBITDA, and net debt to adjusted EBITDA. These non-GAAP financial measures provide information useful to investors in understanding our operating performance and trends, and to facilitate comparisons with the performance of our peers. Management also uses these measures internally to assess and better understand our underlying business performance and trends related to core business activities. The non-GAAP financial measures and key performance indicators we use, and computational methods with respect thereto, may differ from the non-GAAP financial measures and key performance indicators, and computational methods, that our peers use to assess their performance and trends. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures does not comply with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). These non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplemental in nature, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, our reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. When non-GAAP financial measures are disclosed, the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation G requires: (i) the presentation of the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP and (ii) a reconciliation of the differences between the non-GAAP financial measure presented and the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. For an explanation of these measures, with a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, see the Reconciliation of GAAP Financial Measures to Non-GAAP Financial Measures in the financial tables section above. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/msa-safety-announces-second-quarter-2026-results-302839487.html

MSA Safety (MSA) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.4 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.14 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.93 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +12.15%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this maker of safety products would post earnings of $1.85 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.99, delivering a surprise of +7.57%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. MSA Safety, which belongs to the Zacks Security and Safety Services industry, posted revenues of $503.33 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.31%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $474.12 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. MSA Safety shares have added about 9.8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 6.9%. While MSA Safety has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for MSA Safety was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $2.17 on $496.55 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $8.86 on $2.01 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Security and Safety Services is currently in the bottom 39% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Ituran (ITRN), another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 12. This maker of tracking and communications technology for vehicles is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.86 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +28.4%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Ituran's revenues are expected to be $98.82 million, up 13.9% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MSA Safety Incorporporated (MSA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (ITRN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

For the quarter ended June 2026, MSA Safety (MSA) reported revenue of $503.33 million, up 6.2% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $2.40, compared to $1.93 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $496.84 million, representing a surprise of +1.31%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +12.15%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $2.14. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how MSA Safety performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Geographic Revenue- International: $161.88 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $159.57 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +5.1%. Geographic Revenue- Americas: $341.45 million versus $340.84 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +6.7% change. Net sales by Product Category- Fire Service: $161.89 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $172.27 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -0.9%. Net sales by Product Category- Industrial PPE and Other: $140.06 million versus $120.03 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +19.7% change. Net sales by Product Category- Detection: $201.38 million compared to the $206.24 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +3.9% year over year. View all Key Company Metrics for MSA Safety here>>> Shares of MSA Safety have returned +3.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MSA Safety Incorporporated (MSA) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research