L. B. Foster Company (FSTR)
NASDAQ:FSTR
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L. B. Foster Company
(NASDAQ:FSTR)
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Rating:59Neutral
Price Target:
$33.00
▲(10.00% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:03/06/26
The score is driven primarily by improving financial health (stronger operating/free cash flow and reduced leverage), tempered by uneven profitability and bottom-line volatility. Technicals are mixed with weaker short-term trend versus 20/50-day averages, while valuation is a clear headwind due to a high P/E and no dividend yield provided. Earnings call guidance and backlog/order momentum add support, but margin pressure (especially Rail/UK) and backlog/cost headwinds keep the outlook balanced.
Positive Factors
Improved Cash Generation
Material improvement in operating cash flow and free cash flow enhances durable financial flexibility. Sustained FCF enables internal funding for capex, debt reduction, and buybacks, lowering refinancing risk and supporting multi-year investment or resilience through construction/rail cycles.
Negative Factors
Volatile Profitability
Large swings in net margin point to earnings sensitivity to mix, one-offs, and cost volatility. Persistent margin unpredictability undermines confidence in recurring earnings and free cash flow, complicating planning for capital allocation and reducing the durability of recent financial improvements.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Improved Cash Generation
Material improvement in operating cash flow and free cash flow enhances durable financial flexibility. Sustained FCF enables internal funding for capex, debt reduction, and buybacks, lowering refinancing risk and supporting multi-year investment or resilience through construction/rail cycles.
Read all positive factors
L. B. Foster Company (FSTR) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$332.69M
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)27.37K
Price to Earnings (P/E)28.3
Beta (1Y)1.35
Revenue Growth1.74%
EPS Growth-81.66%
CountryUS
Employees1,057
SectorIndustrials
Sector Strength72
IndustryRailroads
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.22
Shares Outstanding10,458,591
10 Day Avg. Volume37,001
30 Day Avg. Volume27,372
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.45
Price to Book (P/B)1.60
Price to Sales (P/S)0.52
P/FCF Ratio11.10
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.17
Enterprise Value/Revenue0.72
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit3.43
Enterprise Value/Ebitda10.54
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$32.00Price Target Upside6.67% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering1
EPS Forecast (FY)1.81
Revenue Forecast (FY)$558.19M
L. B. Foster Company Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
L.B. Foster Company provides engineered and manufactured products and services for the building and infrastructure projects worldwide. The company's Rail, Technologies, and Services segment offers new rail to passenger and short line freight railr...
How the Company Makes Money
L. B. Foster makes money primarily by selling manufactured, fabricated, and distributed products and by providing project- and service-based offerings tied to rail and infrastructure spending. Key revenue streams include: (1) Rail segment revenue ...
L. B. Foster Company Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Backlog by Segment
Measures the value of booked but unfilled orders for each segment, giving a view of near-term revenue visibility and demand strength. A rising backlog for L. B. Foster points to steady future work in specific markets; a shrinking backlog can signal cooling demand or execution issues that may pressure upcoming sales.
Measures the value of booked but unfilled orders for each segment, giving a view of near-term revenue visibility and demand strength. A rising backlog for L. B. Foster points to steady future work in specific markets; a shrinking backlog can signal cooling demand or execution issues that may pressure upcoming sales.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyL. B. Foster Company Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Mar 03, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:May 12, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call highlights a strong finish to 2025 with robust Q4 revenue (+25.1%), substantial adjusted EBITDA growth (+89% Q4), solid cash generation and meaningful leverage reduction to ~1.0x. Infrastructure and Friction Management showed notable product and order momentum, and management provided constructive 2026 guidance (mid-single digit sales growth, double-digit EBITDA expansion, continued free cash flow). Offsetting these positives are margin pressure in Rail (notably the UK), restructuring and exit charges (~$3.6M of noted UK-related costs), a Summit order cancellation impacting Infrastructure backlog, and some near-term precast start‑up costs and tax impacts. On balance, the positive operational and financial improvements, stronger backlog/bookings, and clearer 2026 growth plan outweigh the headwinds from UK restructuring and select contract cancellations.Positive Updates
Strong Q4 Revenue Growth
Net sales of $160.4M in Q4, up 25.1% YoY — the highest fourth quarter sales since 2018; Rail revenue +23.7% and Infrastructure revenue +27.3% in Q4.
Negative Updates
Q4 Gross Margin Compression
Gross margin declined 260 basis points to 19.7% in Q4 despite higher gross profit (+10.6%), primarily due to weaker Rail margins linked to the UK TS&S business and unfavorable Rail sales mix.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Q4 Revenue Growth
Net sales of $160.4M in Q4, up 25.1% YoY — the highest fourth quarter sales since 2018; Rail revenue +23.7% and Infrastructure revenue +27.3% in Q4.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management guided 2026 for modest top-line growth and continued margin and cash improvement: they expect about 3.7% sales growth, adjusted EBITDA to expand roughly 10–11% (company cited mid‑range figures around 10.3%–11.1%), and free cash flow at a $20.0 million midpoint; capital spending is planned to rise to ~2.7% of sales (versus 1.9% in 2025) to fund precast growth, gross leverage is expected to remain near the 1.0x–1.5x target (FY2025 ended at ~1.0x) despite seasonal early‑year working capital, and year‑end backlog was $189.3 million (+1.8% YoY) — including Rail backlog +$34.5M and Infrastructure backlog -$31.1M — with backlog cited as ~15% higher in the first two months of 2026; management also noted $28.7 million remaining on the share repurchase authorization.L. B. Foster Company Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
58
Neutral
Balance Sheet
64
Positive
Cash Flow
72
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 540.01M | 530.76M | 543.74M | 497.50M | 513.62M |
| Gross Profit | 113.75M | 118.06M | 112.04M | 89.61M | 86.30M |
| EBITDA | 37.87M | 33.52M | 21.73M | 9.12M | 21.43M |
| Net Income | 7.54M | 42.95M | 1.46M | -45.56M | 3.63M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 330.37M | 334.55M | 312.40M | 365.31M | 342.60M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 4.35M | 2.45M | 2.56M | 2.88M | 10.37M |
| Total Debt | 67.02M | 61.65M | 67.14M | 106.04M | 43.53M |
| Total Liabilities | 155.10M | 155.54M | 169.57M | 227.71M | 158.99M |
| Stockholders Equity | 175.28M | 178.32M | 142.11M | 137.18M | 183.09M |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 25.20M | 12.84M | 32.44M | -18.21M | -5.68M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 35.62M | 22.63M | 36.96M | -10.58M | -1.06M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -10.37M | -6.31M | 2.49M | -56.42M | 17.82M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -23.54M | -16.23M | -39.30M | 60.24M | -13.90M |
L. B. Foster Company Technical Analysis
Positive
30.00
Price Trends
29.74
Positive
28.95
Positive
27.23
Positive
Market Momentum
0.26
Negative
59.93
Neutral
57.99
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For FSTR, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 30 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 28.98, above the 50-day MA of 29.74, and above the 200-day MA of 27.23, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.26 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 59.93 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 57.99 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for FSTR.
L. B. Foster Company Risk Analysis
L. B. Foster Company disclosed 25 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. L. B. Foster Company reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
L. B. Foster Company Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (63)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
76 Outperform | $45.34B | 29.34 | 10.94% | 0.46% | 9.59% | 10.69% | |
65 Neutral | $1.52B | 34.09 | 9.51% | 2.71% | -17.66% | -26.36% | |
63 Neutral | $10.79B | 15.43 | 7.44% | 2.01% | 2.89% | -14.66% | |
59 Neutral | $332.69M | 28.35 | 4.34% | ― | 1.74% | -81.66% | |
55 Neutral | $2.52B | 8.44 | 24.45% | 4.34% | -29.95% | 87.25% | |
54 Neutral | $167.27M | 9.24 | -40.20% | ― | -10.22% | ― | |
50 Neutral | $16.33M | -1.58 | -59.72% | ― | 14.38% | 91.00% |
* Industrials Sector Average
FSTR
L. B. Foster Company
31.32
11.07
54.67%
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263.18
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RVSN
Rail Vision Ltd.
7.78
-3.47
-30.86%
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.