Hexcel (HXL) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $6.57B
• Dividend Yield: 0.89%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.11M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 60.6
• Beta (1Y): 1.19
• Revenue Growth: -0.37%
• EPS Growth: -34.97%
• Country: US
• Employees: 5,894
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Aerospace & Defense
• EPS (TTM): 0.52
• Shares Outstanding: 79,605,870
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,637,361
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,106,539
• PEG Ratio: -3.76
• Price to Book (P/B): 4.70
• Price to Sales (P/S): 3.10
• P/FCF Ratio: 19.12
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.15
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 3.98
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 17.35
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 25.68
• 1Y Price Target: $85.67
• Price Target Upside: 3.79% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 10
• EPS Forecast (FY): 2.25
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $2.07B

• Rating: 64 Neutral
• Price Target: $88.00 ▲(6.61% Upside)

The score is driven by solid underlying financials and strong cash generation, supported by constructive price trends and upbeat 2026 guidance. This is tempered by increased leverage and softer 2025 profitability, while the high P/E and low dividend yield make the risk/reward less forgiving if OEM schedules, destocking, or FX pressures delay the expected recovery.

Positive Factors

Strong free cash flow conversion

Hexcel’s FCF generation is a durable strength: 2025 free cash flow exceeded net income and improved materially versus 2024, showing strong cash conversion. That persistent ability to turn earnings into cash supports capex, capacity restarts, planned deleveraging and shareholder returns across business cycles.

Market leadership in composite materials

Hexcel’s dominant exposure to composite materials (≈80% of sales) and outsized segment margins reflect durable competitive positioning in aerospace and industrial composites. Persistent demand for lightweight materials across commercial aerospace, defense and renewables underpins long‑term structural demand for Hexcel’s core products and pricing leverage.

Clear multi-year guidance and capacity actions

Management provided explicit multi‑year FCF targets and capacity preparations, including early carbon‑fiber line restarts and productivity investments. These planned actions and the >$1B FCF roadmap signal disciplined allocation, credible margin expansion plans and operational readiness to capture higher OEM build rates over the medium term.

Negative Factors

Elevated leverage after share repurchase

Leverage materially stepped up after the ASR, reducing balance‑sheet flexibility. At ~2.7x net debt/EBITDA the company sits above its 1.5–2.0x target, increasing interest expense risk and constraining capital allocation. Sustained deleveraging depends on meeting FCF guidance amid operational headwinds.

Weakened 2025 profitability and margin pressure

Margins and EBITDA softened in 2025 despite stable scale, indicating pressure from mix, timing and divestitures. If margin expansion in Composite Materials or volume recovery lags, weaker conversion of sales to profits could persist, limiting the company’s ability to restore prior profitability and accelerate deleveraging.

Customer schedule risk and OEM destocking (A350)

Hexcel’s revenue visibility is exposed to OEM build schedules and channel inventory dynamics, as evidenced by A350 schedule shifts and destocking that depressed 2025 sales. Such program timing risks, coupled with recurring FX headwinds noted by management, can meaningfully delay revenue recovery and stress margins over the medium term.

Hexcel Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Hexcel Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets structural materials for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial markets. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products. The Composite Materials segment manufactures and markets carbon fibers, fabrics and specialty reinforcements, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, structural adhesives, honeycomb, molding compounds, tooling materials, polyurethane systems, and laminates that are used in military and commercial aircraft, wind turbine blades, recreational products, and other industrial applications, as well as in automotive, marine, and trains. The Engineered Products segment manufactures and markets aircraft structures and finished aircraft components, including wing to body fairings, wing panels, flight deck panels, door liners, rotorcraft blades, spars, and tip caps; and aircraft structural sub-components and semi-finished components used in rotorcraft blades, engine nacelles, and aircraft surfaces, such as flaps, wings, elevators, and fairings. The company sells its products directly through its managers, product managers, and sales personnel, as well as through independent distributors and manufacturer representatives in the Americas, Europe, the Asia Pacific, India, and Africa. Hexcel Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

How the Company Makes Money

Hexcel generates revenue primarily through the sale of its advanced composite materials and products. The company has a diversified revenue model that includes long-term contracts with major aerospace manufacturers, which provide a steady income stream. Key revenue streams include the supply of carbon fibers, prepregs, and honeycomb structures, particularly for commercial aerospace applications. Additionally, Hexcel benefits from partnerships with leading companies in the aerospace and automotive sectors, which enhance its market position and contribute to earnings. The demand for lightweight and durable materials in these industries, driven by the need for fuel efficiency and reduced emissions, further supports Hexcel's financial performance.

Hexcel Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Overall financial quality is solid with strong free-cash-flow conversion, but 2025 profitability softened (lower gross/operating/net margins and net income decline) and leverage increased meaningfully as debt rose and equity fell, reducing balance-sheet flexibility.

Income Statement

Revenue rebounded meaningfully from the 2020–2021 downturn, but the most recent year (2025) was essentially flat versus 2024 and the provided growth figure looks inconsistent with that. Profitability is solid but has moderated: gross margin and operating margin stepped down in 2025 versus 2024, and net margin fell to ~5.8% from ~6.9%. Net income also declined in 2025, suggesting weaker conversion of sales into bottom-line profit despite steady scale.

Balance Sheet

Leverage increased notably in 2025: total debt rose to about $993M and debt-to-equity moved up to ~0.79 from ~0.48 in 2024, while equity declined. Returns on equity are steady around the high-single-digits, which is respectable, but the combination of rising debt and shrinking equity reduces balance-sheet flexibility versus prior years.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is a relative strength. Free cash flow improved sharply in 2025 (up materially versus 2024) and exceeded net income (free cash flow to net income ~1.33), indicating strong cash conversion. Operating cash flow was healthy (~$231M), though it declined versus 2024, and operating cash flow relative to net income eased versus last year—still reasonable, but worth watching if earnings remain under pressure.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	1.89B	1.90B	1.79B	1.58B	1.32B
Gross Profit	434.80M	469.80M	433.20M	357.10M	250.10M
EBITDA	295.00M	310.10M	268.50M	312.20M	198.30M
Net Income	109.40M	132.10M	105.70M	126.30M	16.10M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.70B	2.73B	2.92B	2.84B	2.82B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	71.00M	125.40M	227.00M	112.00M	127.70M
Total Debt	993.00M	726.10M	728.90M	773.10M	823.30M
Total Liabilities	1.45B	1.20B	1.20B	1.28B	1.33B
Stockholders Equity	1.25B	1.53B	1.72B	1.55B	1.49B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	307.20M	202.90M	148.90M	96.80M	123.80M
Operating Cash Flow	230.50M	289.90M	257.10M	173.10M	151.70M
Investing Cash Flow	-76.00M	-87.00M	-50.70M	-54.60M	-27.90M
Financing Cash Flow	-212.30M	-301.70M	-92.60M	-130.00M	-96.80M

Hexcel Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 82.54
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For HXL, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 82.54 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 82.19, above the 50-day MA of 78.02, and above the 200-day MA of 64.52, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.48 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 55.72 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 29.67 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for HXL.

Hexcel Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
MOG.A	74 Outperform	$10.24B	40.07	13.33%	0.46%	7.11%	13.43%
AMTM	74 Outperform	$8.88B	27.16	1.47%	―	―	―
LOAR	71 Outperform	$6.28B	101.45	6.56%	―	25.38%	237.96%
ATRO	65 Neutral	$2.65B	―	-1.72%	―	6.19%	52.10%
HXL	64 Neutral	$6.57B	60.58	7.87%	0.89%	-0.37%	-34.97%
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%

Hexcel Corporate Events

Hexcel posts soft 2025 results but upbeat 2026 outlook

On January 28, 2026, Hexcel reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, showing Q4 2025 sales of $491.3 million, up 3.7% year over year, and GAAP diluted EPS of $0.60, with adjusted EPS flat at $0.52, while full-year 2025 sales were essentially flat at $1.89 billion and adjusted EPS declined to $1.76 from $2.03 in 2024. The company pointed to weaker 2025 performance driven by delayed production rate ramps and destocking at commercial aerospace customers—particularly on the Airbus A350—partially offset by strong A320neo, Boeing 787 and 737 MAX demand, and higher defense and space sales, while noting that improving order trends late in 2025, a divestment of an Austrian industrial business, margin expansion in Q4, a higher quarterly dividend, and guidance for mid‑single‑digit sales growth and substantially higher adjusted earnings and free cash flow in 2026 support a more optimistic outlook as aircraft build rates and sector spending recover.

The most recent analyst rating on (HXL) stock is a Buy with a $92.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Hexcel stock, see the HXL Stock Forecast page.

Hexcel Announces CFO Resignation and Interim Appointment

Hexcel Corporation has announced the resignation of its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Winterlich, effective November 30, 2025. Michael C. Lenz has been appointed as the Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective upon Winterlich’s resignation, and will serve in this role while the company searches for a permanent successor. Lenz, who has a substantial background in financial leadership roles at FedEx Corp., will receive a base salary and a cash bonus for his interim role, with no pre-existing arrangements influencing his selection.

The most recent analyst rating on (HXL) stock is a Buy with a $83.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Hexcel stock, see the HXL Stock Forecast page.

Hexcel Board Member Jeffrey Campbell to Step Down

On November 10, 2025, Jeffrey C. Campbell announced his decision not to seek reelection to Hexcel Corporation’s Board of Directors at the 2026 Annual Meeting. Campbell, who has been a board member since 2003 and the Lead Director since 2018, cited no disagreements with the company’s operations or policies as the reason for his decision.

The most recent analyst rating on (HXL) stock is a Buy with a $83.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Hexcel stock, see the HXL Stock Forecast page.