Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 17.6x · EV/EBITDA 8.8x · ROE 7.9%. (1997–2026 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2026 | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $520M | $577M | $753M | $609M | $635M | $521M | $743M | $362M | $397M | $692M | $502M |
| Enterprise Value | $485M | $542M | $718M | $499M | $511M | $474M | $655M | $296M | $359M | $648M | $470M |
| P/E Ratio → | 17.63 | 19.58 | 18.33 | 31.40 | 19.55 | 4.16 | 11.16 | 19.08 | 70.79 | 19.09 | 22.32 |
| P/S Ratio | 0.70 | 0.78 | 1.16 | 1.15 | 0.98 | 0.63 | 1.26 | 0.77 | 0.87 | 1.53 | 1.29 |
| P/B Ratio | 1.38 | 1.52 | 2.03 | 1.73 | 1.66 | 1.34 | 2.46 | 1.37 | 1.61 | 2.86 | 2.25 |
| P/FCF | 23.27 | 23.23 | 39.72 | 15.58 | 5.70 | — | 14.19 | 7.38 | — | 19.47 | — |
| P/OCF | 14.19 | 15.76 | 27.71 | 10.46 | 4.47 | 91.84 | 10.64 | 6.45 | 60.09 | 12.82 | 24.71 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2026 | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 0.73 | 1.11 | 0.94 | 0.79 | 0.57 | 1.11 | 0.63 | 0.79 | 1.43 | 1.21 |
| EV / EBITDA | 8.76 | 9.80 | 10.23 | 14.07 | 10.65 | 2.70 | 6.32 | 7.66 | 16.95 | 11.71 | 10.23 |
| EV / EBIT | 12.90 | 14.13 | 13.33 | 19.65 | 12.22 | 2.93 | 7.60 | 12.21 | 47.08 | 15.15 | 13.69 |
| EV / FCF | — | 21.82 | 37.89 | 12.77 | 4.59 | — | 12.51 | 6.03 | — | 18.24 | — |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2026 | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 10.2% | 10.2% | 14.4% | 9.4% | 10.1% | 23.9% | 20.6% | 11.8% | 6.6% | 15.6% | 15.4% |
| Operating Margin | 5.1% | 5.1% | 8.0% | 3.8% | 5.3% | 19.5% | 15.1% | 5.2% | 1.7% | 9.4% | 8.8% |
| Net Profit Margin | 4.0% | 4.0% | 6.3% | 3.6% | 5.0% | 15.1% | 11.3% | 4.0% | 1.2% | 8.0% | 5.8% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2026 | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 7.9% | 7.9% | 11.4% | 5.3% | 8.4% | 36.1% | 23.5% | 7.4% | 2.3% | 15.6% | 10.1% |
| ROA | 6.3% | 6.3% | 9.3% | 4.4% | 7.1% | 29.0% | 18.3% | 6.0% | 1.8% | 11.8% | 7.8% |
| ROIC | 8.3% | 8.3% | 13.4% | 6.0% | 8.7% | 43.4% | 32.4% | 9.0% | 2.8% | 16.4% | 14.4% |
| ROCE | 9.4% | 9.4% | 13.4% | 5.2% | 8.6% | 44.1% | 29.4% | 8.9% | 2.9% | 17.1% | 14.3% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2026 | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 | — | — | — |
| Debt / EBITDA | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.07 | — | — | — |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | -0.09 | -0.09 | -0.31 | -0.32 | -0.12 | -0.29 | -0.25 | -0.16 | -0.18 | -0.14 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | -0.63 | -0.63 | -0.49 | -3.10 | -2.58 | -0.27 | -0.85 | -1.71 | -1.80 | -0.79 | -0.70 |
| Debt / FCF | — | -1.41 | -1.83 | -2.81 | -1.11 | — | -1.68 | -1.35 | — | -1.24 | — |
| Interest Coverage | 608.76 | 608.76 | 1035.71 | 285.12 | 480.94 | 1778.22 | 897.91 | 229.02 | 45.38 | 374.95 | 252.24 |
Net cash position: cash ($37M) exceeds total debt ($2M)
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2026 | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 3.72 | 3.72 | 3.97 | 5.68 | 6.47 | 5.36 | 3.59 | 3.67 | 5.65 | 2.72 | 3.79 |
| Quick Ratio | 1.76 | 1.76 | 1.88 | 3.79 | 4.24 | 2.20 | 2.44 | 2.39 | 3.16 | 1.41 | 1.85 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.49 | 0.49 | 0.59 | 2.37 | 2.72 | 0.77 | 1.31 | 1.28 | 1.34 | 0.61 | 0.76 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 1.54 | 1.40 | 1.25 | 1.45 | 1.75 | 1.51 | 1.40 | 1.56 | 1.38 | 1.37 |
| Inventory Turnover | 4.40 | 4.40 | 4.02 | 5.40 | 5.65 | 3.18 | 5.93 | 6.04 | 6.01 | 4.06 | 4.02 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | 44.07 | 44.36 | 41.15 | 35.66 | 36.04 | 41.97 | 41.56 | 35.39 | 41.46 | 37.81 |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2026 | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 4.2% | 3.8% | 2.9% | 8.4% | 6.5% | 7.9% | 4.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 3.1% | 5.2% |
| Payout Ratio | 73.5% | 73.5% | 53.0% | 263.9% | 127.3% | 32.9% | 47.0% | 12.2% | 41.3% | 58.8% | 115.4% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2026 | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 5.7% | 5.1% | 5.5% | 3.2% | 5.1% | 24.0% | 9.0% | 5.2% | 1.4% | 5.2% | 4.5% |
| FCF Yield | 4.3% | 4.3% | 2.5% | 6.4% | 17.6% | — | 7.0% | 13.5% | — | 5.1% | — |
| Buyback Yield | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 4.8% | 4.3% | 3.2% | 8.7% | 6.9% | 8.1% | 4.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 3.1% | 5.2% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $20M | $20M | $20M | $20M | $20M | $20M | $19M | $19M | $19M | $19M |
Includes 30+ ratios · 30 years · Updated daily
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying IIIN stock.
Insteel Industries, Inc.'s current P/E ratio is 17.6x. The historical average is 21.5x. This places it at the 48th percentile of its historical range.
Insteel Industries, Inc.'s current EV/EBITDA is 8.8x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 8.8x.
Insteel Industries, Inc.'s return on equity (ROE) is 7.9%. The historical average is 9.1%.
Based on historical data, Insteel Industries, Inc. is trading at a P/E of 17.6x. This is at the 48th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
Insteel Industries, Inc.'s current dividend yield is 4.16% with a payout ratio of 73.5%.
Insteel Industries, Inc. has 10.2% gross margin and 5.1% operating margin.
Insteel Industries, Inc.'s Debt/EBITDA ratio is 0.0x, indicating low leverage. A ratio below 2x is generally considered financially healthy.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Gross margin compression from input cost spread
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Deep Discount Reflects Cyclical Pessimism
At 13.35x trailing P/E and 7.01x EV/EBITDA, Insteel trades at a substantial discount to steel sector peers averaging roughly 30x P/E and 15x EV/EBITDA, suggesting the market is pricing sustained margin compression rather than a cyclical trough per current multiples.
The 13.35x trailing P/E versus a 17.47x forward P/E implies consensus expects earnings to decline approximately 24% from current run-rate levels, which aligns with the observed gross margin compression from 16.1% in 2025Q4 to 10.0% in 2026Q4. The 0.81 PEG ratio appears superficially attractive but may be misleading given that the growth estimate underpinning it likely does not account for the extreme cyclicality of Insteel's welded wire reinforcement business. The 0.84x price-to-sales ratio relative to peers like Reliance Steel trading at materially higher multiples suggests the market is discounting Insteel's revenue quality, likely because the 17.9% revenue growth in 2026Q4 is volume-led without corresponding margin expansion.
Margin Compression Signals Spread Squeeze
Insteel's gross margin contracted 610 basis points year over year to 10.0% in 2026Q4 while operating margin halved to 4.8% from 10.7%, indicating raw material cost inflation is materially outpacing pricing power across its product portfolio per recent financial statements.
The net margin compression from 8.2% to 3.7% over the same period reflects genuine operating deleverage rather than one-time items, as the operating income decline occurred despite 17.9% top-line growth. Comparing the current 3.7% net margin against the 17.1% gross margin peak in 2025Q3 reveals approximately 710 basis points of gross margin erosion, suggesting that Insteel's spread-dependent business model offers limited protection when steel input costs spike without commensurate pricing adjustments. The 7.4% trailing FCF margin offers some cushion, but the negative FCF margins in 2025Q4 (-10.6%) and 2026Q1 (-1.4%) demonstrate that reported profitability does not reliably convert to free cash flow on a quarterly basis.
Returns Decaying Toward Cost of Capital
ROIC compressed to 2.2% in 2026Q4 from a 4.9% peak in 2025Q3, approaching levels that may fall below Insteel's estimated weighted average cost of capital, suggesting the company is destroying economic value on incremental invested capital per trailing twelve-month calculations.
The ROE decline from 4.3% to 2.1% and ROA compression from 3.4% to 1.6% over the same period is driven primarily by margin contraction rather than capital efficiency, as asset turnover has actually improved to 0.44 from 0.36 over the ten-quarter window. However, the acquisition of approximately $26M in goodwill in 2025Q1 without corresponding organic earnings accretion appears to have diluted returns on invested capital, as ROIC fell from 4.9% to 2.2% while the asset base grew 9.7%. With peer ROIC levels ranging from 5.4% (Worthington) to 9.2% (Steel Dynamics), Insteel's current 2.2% ROIC represents a significant gap that reflects both margin cyclicality and potential integration inefficiency from the acquisition.
Zero Leverage Provides Asymmetric Cushion
Insteel maintains a debt-to-equity ratio near zero with interest coverage exceeding 680x and debt-to-EBITDA at just 0.22x, a fortress balance sheet that materially exceeds the 0.28-0.47x debt-to-equity range of its steel sector peers per reported filings.
The near-total absence of financial leverage means Insteel faces essentially no covenant or refinancing risk even as operating margins compress, which is a structural advantage relative to peers like Nucor (0.32x) and Steel Dynamics (0.47x) that carry meaningful debt loads. However, the interest coverage of 680x in 2026Q4 is arithmetically elevated because of minimal debt rather than reflecting any meaningful measure of debt service capacity, so this metric provides limited analytical value. The strategic question for investors is whether this zero-leverage posture represents disciplined capital allocation or an underutilized balance sheet that could be deployed to support buybacks or capacity expansion during the current margin trough.
P/E Multiple Obscures Cyclicality
The trailing P/E of 13.35x is the most commonly misapplied valuation metric for Insteel because it captures a single point in a highly cyclical margin cycle, making the stock appear cheap when trailing earnings reflect peak spreads and expensive when trough earnings depress the denominator.
For a commodity-linked manufacturer whose net margin oscillated between 0.8% (2025Q1) and 8.4% (2025Q3) over just six quarters, the trailing P/E provides a misleading signal of relative value because the earnings denominator is structurally unstable. A more appropriate valuation framework would employ mid-cycle normalized EV/EBITDA or price-to-replacement-cost, which better captures the asset value of Insteel's manufacturing base independent of temporary margin fluctuations. The current 7.01x EV/EBITDA versus the 8.54x forward multiple suggests the market is already discounting further earnings erosion, but investors should anchor on the structural drivers of the gross margin — specifically the steel input cost spread — rather than headline multiples to assess whether the discount is warranted.