BMI changes
Pick any two versions below to diff them.
- Price
- $126.48 → $158.71(+25.5%)
- Discount category
- Below intrinsic value → Close to intrinsic value
- Next earnings
- Oct 22, 2026 → Jan 22, 2027
- Next earnings is estimate
- No → Yes
- About
- Badger Meter makes water meters, communication systems and software for water utilities, and flow measurement instruments for industry. Its BlueEdge suite includes smart meters, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), data and analytics software, and devices that monitor water networks and sewers beyond the meter. In 2025, it bought SmartCover, which monitors sewer lines, and on May 1, 2026, it bought UDlive Limited. Most sales are to municipal water utilities, which replace old meters with smart meters over many years. Sales were removed: $222.3 added: $235.9 million in removed: Q2 added: Q3 2026.
- Thesis
- The market prices Badger Meter for falling sales while utility meter projects start later than planned. Sales fell 7% from a year earlier in Q2 removed: 2026, added: 2026 and added: were about flat in Q3 2026. Without the UDlive purchase, utility water sales fell 9% removed: without the UDlive purchase, added: in Q2 and 3% in Q3 from a year earlier, because AMI projects ramped unevenly. EPS added: for the first nine months of 2026 fell to removed: $1.02 added: $3.19 from removed: $1.17. added: $3.65. The company expects removed: 2026 revenue added: Base sales, without removed: acquisitions added: UDlive, to removed: be about flat with 2025. added: grow in Q4 2026 from Q3 and from a year earlier, and it expects this growth to continue into 2027. For the gap to close, three things must be true. The awarded utility projects must added: keep their ramp removed: up in removed: the second half of added: Q4 2026 and in 2027, as the company expects. Gross margin must stay in the normal range of 39% to 42%. Software and beyond the meter products, such as SmartCover and UDlive, must grow, so that the business moves toward the long-term target of high single-digit growth that the company repeated in May 2026. The Q3 2026 report on October 22, 2026 removed: gives the first test. added: showed sales up 6% from Q2 and a gross margin of 41.9%. The Q4 2026 report in early 2027 shows whether growth added: from a year earlier returns. If these checks pass, the gap can close over the next three to five quarters. The main reason it may not close is more delays in utility projects, which depend on public budgets.
- Risks
- Sales depend on the timing of large utility AMI projects. Delays in project starts lowered sales by 7% in Q2 removed: 2026, and more added: 2026. Utility water sales without UDlive were still 3% lower than a year earlier in Q3 2026. More delays can keep sales low. Most customers are municipal water utilities. Lower public budgets or higher interest rates can delay meter replacement programs. Tariffs and higher costs for materials and added: electronic components can lower margins. added: The company named cost pressure from the electronics supply chain in October 2026. Badger Meter raised some prices to offset tariffs that it could not avoid. Growth beyond the meter depends on acquisitions such as SmartCover and UDlive. If integration fails, the expected growth may not come.
- Balance sheet
- Cash: removed: $96M added: $68M Debt: $0.0M Net cash: removed: $96M added: $68M Undrawn credit line: $150M, to July 2031 Badger Meter has no debt. Cash was removed: $95.7 added: $67.9 million at removed: June added: September 30, 2026, down from $226.0 million at December 31, 2025. In the first removed: half added: nine months of 2026, operating cash flow was removed: $60.6 added: $103.9 million, and the company paid $94.4 million for UDlive, removed: $63.5 added: $119.0 million for share buybacks and removed: $23.3 added: $35.9 million for dividends. It also has a possible earn-out for removed: UDlive, added: UDlive of up to $50.0 million, with a fair value of $12.0 removed: million. added: million at September 30, 2026. The $150 million revolving credit facility was undrawn and removed: now matures on July 8, 2031. removed: $89.7 added: $34.7 million remained under the $150 million buyback program at removed: June added: September 30, 2026. As of removed: Jun added: Sep 30, 2026.
- Checkpoints
- Oct 22, 2026: Q3 2026 earnings: project ramp. removed: Pending. added: Passed. Watch: Sales up from Q2 as awarded projects ramp and a gross margin within 39% to 42% pass; another fall in utility water sales fails. added: Outcome: Sales rose 6% from Q2 to $235.9 million and the gross margin was 41.9%, but utility water sales without UDlive were still 3% lower than a year earlier. Jan removed: 28, added: 22, 2027 (estimate): Q4 2026 earnings: return to growth. Pending. Watch: Sales growth from a year earlier in Q4 2026 and a 2027 outlook near the high single-digit target pass; flat or lower sales fail.
- Recent events
- Oct added: 22, 2026: Badger Meter reported Q3 2026 results. Sales were $235.9 million, about flat with a year earlier and up 6% from Q2. Without the UDlive purchase, utility water sales fell 3% from a year earlier, because AMI projects ramped unevenly. The gross margin was 41.9%, the operating margin was 20.2% and EPS was $1.24, up 4%. The company bought back about $55 million of shares in the quarter. It expects Base sales to grow in Q4 2026 from Q3 and from a year earlier, and it expects this growth to continue into 2027. Oct 1, 2026: Badger Meter said it will release its Q3 2026 results before the market opens on October 22, 2026. Sep 28, 2026: Badger Meter introduced OneNetwork, a software platform for water and wastewater utilities, at WEFTEC 2026. Aug 14, 2026: Badger Meter raised its quarterly dividend by 10%, its 34th year in a row of dividend growth. Jul 22, 2026: Badger Meter reported Q2 2026 results. Sales were $222.3 million, up 10% from Q1 but down 7% from a year earlier. The operating margin was 17.7% and EPS was $1.02. The company expects revenue to improve in the second half of 2026, with full-year revenue without acquisitions about flat with 2025. Jun 5, 2026: Badger Meter amended and extended its $150 million revolving credit facility to July 8, 2031. Nothing was drawn on it.