Powell Industries Inc (NASDAQ: POWL)

Sector: Industrials Industry: Electrical Equipment & Parts CIK: 0000080420
Market Cap 6.78 Bn
P/B 10.14
P/E 36.19
P/S 6.09
ROIC (Qtr) 30.17
Div Yield % 0.19
Rev 1y % (Qtr) 4.04
Total Debt (Qtr) 1.46 Mn
Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.00
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About

Investment thesis

Bull case

  • Strong operating cash flow of 174.50M provides robust 119.69x coverage of total debt 1.46M, indicating excellent debt servicing capability and financial flexibility.
  • Healthy cash reserves of 490.63M provide 616.37x coverage of short-term debt 796000, demonstrating strong liquidity position and minimal refinancing risk.
  • Operating cash flow of 174.50M provides strong 37.18x coverage of stock compensation 4.69M, indicating sustainable incentive practices.
  • Strong tangible asset base of 1.08B provides 742.33x coverage of total debt 1.46M, indicating robust asset backing and low credit risk.
  • Robust free cash flow of 161.53M exceeds capital expenditure of 12.97M by 12.46x, indicating strong organic growth funding capability.

Bear case

  • Operating cash flow of 174.50M provides thin coverage of dividend payments of (12.92M) with a -13.51 ratio, suggesting potential dividend sustainability issues if operational performance deteriorates.
  • Investment activities of 14.08M provide weak support for R&D spending of 11.80M, which is 1.19x, suggesting potentially insufficient investment in innovation relative to other capital deployment.
  • Cash reserves of 490.63M provide limited coverage of acquisition spending of (11.49M), which is -42.71x, suggesting aggressive expansion might strain liquidity if market conditions deteriorate.
  • Operating cash flow of 174.50M provides insufficient coverage of deferred revenue obligations of 302.14M, which is 0.58x, raising concerns about future service delivery capabilities.
  • High receivables of 189.57M relative to inventory of 84.96M (2.23 ratio) suggests aggressive credit terms or collection difficulties, potentially masking revenue quality issues.

Geographical Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Product and Service Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Peer comparison

Companies in the Electrical Equipment & Parts
S.No. Ticker Company Market Cap P/E P/S Total Debt (Qtr)
1 VRT Vertiv Holdings Co 93.00 Bn 69.78 9.09 3.16 Bn
2 BE Bloom Energy Corp 34.73 Bn -392.76 17.16 2.99 Bn
3 HUBB Hubbell Inc 27.97 Bn 31.52 4.78 2.33 Bn
4 NVT nVent Electric plc 19.43 Bn 76.81 8.40 1.56 Bn
5 AYI Acuity Inc. (De) 12.85 Bn 109.95 6.86 0.91 Bn
6 AEIS Advanced Energy Industries Inc 11.80 Bn 79.52 6.56 0.68 Bn
7 NVX NOVONIX Ltd 11.53 Bn -174.00 1,943.36 -
8 ENS EnerSys 6.79 Bn 21.71 1.82 1.18 Bn

Industry comparisons

Current Valuation Value Ind Avg Percentile
EV to Assets EV to Assets 5.79 3.49
EV to Cash from Ops. EV/CFO 36.28 9.10
EV to Debt EV to Debt 4,342.69 113.17
EV to EBIT EV/EBIT 26.26 -17.64
EV to EBITDA EV/EBITDA 27.21 3.56
EV to Free Cash Flow [EV/FCF] EV/FCF 39.20 39.13
EV to Market Cap EV to Market Cap 0.93 2.59
EV to Revenue EV/Rev 5.68 77.74
Price to Book Value [P/B] P/B 10.14 4.98
Price to Earnings [P/E] P/E 36.19 23.89
Dividend Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Dividend Coverage Ratio Div Coverage (Qtr) 14.50 -2.92
Dividend Payout Ratio % Div Payout % (Qtr) 6.90 3.27
Dividend per Basic Share Div per Share (Qtr) 1.07 0.37
FCF Dividend Payout Ratio % FCF Div Payout % (Qtr) 8.04 1.79
Interest Coverage Int. cover (Qtr) 0.00 -16.86
Growth Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Capex Growth (1y) % Capex 1y % (Qtr) -1.08 -135.37
Cash and Equivalents Growth (1y) % Cash & Equiv 1y % (Qtr) 50.69 92.17
Dividend Growth (1y) % Div 1y % (Qtr) 1.23 5.22
EBIAT Growth (1y) % EBIAT 1y % (Qtr) 16.73 -45.52
EBITDA Growth (1y) % EBITDA 1y % (Qtr) 19.07 -56.26
EBIT Growth (1y) % EBIT 1y % (Qtr) 17.26 -64.20
EBT Growth (1y) % EBT 1y % (Qtr) 17.26 8.52
EPS Growth (1y) % EPS 1y % (Qtr) 16.08 13.91
FCF Growth (1y) % FCF 1y % (Qtr) 229.63 -66.58
Gross Profit Growth (1y) % Gross Profit 1y % (Qtr) 18.23 15.53
Liquidity Ratios Value Ind Avg Percentile
Asset Utilization Ratio Asset Util Ratio (Qtr) 1.02 0.63
Cash Payout Ratio Cash Payout (Qtr) 0.07 -0.10
Cash Ratio Cash Ratio (Qtr) 1.22 3.50
Current Ratio Curr Ratio (Qtr) 2.29 5.07
Debt to Equity Ratio Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.00 0.41
Interest Cover Ratio Int Coverage (Qtr) 0.00 -16.86
Times Interest Earned Times Interest Earned (Qtr) 0.00 -16.86
Profitability Value Ind Avg Percentile
EBITDA Margin % EBITDA Margin % (Qtr) 22.30 -1,947.23
EBIT Margin % EBIT Margin % (Qtr) 21.65 -2,051.19
EBT Margin % EBT Margin % (Qtr) 21.65 -2,170.94
Gross Margin % Gross Margin % (Qtr) 30.20 2.02
Net Profit Margin % Net Margin % (Qtr) 16.80 -2,202.04