Eastern Co
EML Nasdaq Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware Financials FY2017–FY2026
Last close · Oct 23, 2026
$24.18
2.7%What Eastern Co does
No business description yet.
- Legal name
- EASTERN CO
- Fiscal year ends
- January 3, 2026
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Mar 3, 2026
- Accession · CIK
- 0001654954-26-001850
0000031107
Revenue and margins
Eastern Co had $249M of revenue in fiscal 2026, down 8.7% on the year before.
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2017 to 2026, diluted EPS grew −0.7% a year. Loss periods are shown in red.
Returns on capital
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Cash flow
Free cash flow was $4.9M in fiscal 2026, 2.0% of revenue. Cash from operations minus capital spending.
Dividends, buybacks and share count
Eastern Co returned $6.4M to shareholders in fiscal 2026, 131% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 1.9%.
Balance sheet
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Eastern Co can carry it.
| Fiscal year end | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $6.2M | $10.2M | $9.0M | $16.1M | $7.4M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $80.0M | $64.1M | $43.9M | $42.2M | $33.9M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.6x | 2.5x | 1.4x | 1.0x | 1.5x |
| Debt / equity | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.3x | 0.4x | 0.3x |
| Interest coverage | 10.0x | 6.2x | 6.1x | 7.4x | 4.0x |
| Current ratio | 2.5x | 2.7x | 2.6x | 2.6x | 3.6x |
| Quick ratio | 1.2x | 1.3x | 1.3x | 1.3x | 1.6x |
| Total assets | $266M | $262M | $252M | $235M | $217M |
| Total liabilities | $152M | $135M | $120M | $115M | $92.0M |
| Shareholders' equity | $115M | $127M | $132M | $121M | $125M |
| Net debt (− = net cash) | $73.8M | $54.0M | $34.9M | $26.2M | $26.5M |
Insider trades
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. “Plan” marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Of sales under plans
—
$0.0M
No open-market insider trades in the last 12 months.
Piotroski F-score
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.
| Test | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Return on assets rose | — | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debt fell relative to assets | — | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Current ratio rose | — | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Share count didn't rise | — | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gross margin rose | — | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| F-score | — / 3 | 4 / 9 | 8 / 9 | 4 / 9 | 5 / 9 | 5 / 9 | 7 / 9 | 5 / 9 | 5 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −3.7% | −4.1% | 0.9% | −4.2% | −3.3% | 6.3% | 1.9% | −6.6% | −11.5% | −0.8% |
| Altman Z'' | 8.61 | 5.84 | 6.41 | 4.34 | 1.21 | 4.64 | 5.05 | 5.30 | 5.51 | 6.00 |
10 years of figures
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratio’s name for its definition.
| Fiscal year | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $138M | $204M | $234M | $252M | $198M | $247M | $279M | $259M | $273M | $249M |
| Gross profit | $36.3M | $49.9M | $58.7M | $61.9M | $48.1M | $56.8M | $58.6M | $61.8M | $67.3M | $57.0M |
| Research and development | $1.5M | $5.6M | $7.0M | $6.0M | $2.7M | $4.1M | $4.2M | $5.6M | $4.9M | $4.1M |
| Operating income | $11.1M | $12.1M | $17.9M | $17.5M | $13.5M | $17.4M | $14.2M | $17.0M | $20.1M | $10.7M |
| Interest expense | $0.1M | $1.0M | $1.2M | $1.9M | $2.1M | $1.7M | $2.3M | $2.8M | $2.7M | $2.7M |
| Pretax income | $11.2M | $11.5M | $17.6M | $16.2M | $13.2M | $19.1M | $14.4M | $15.1M | $17.1M | $7.5M |
| Income tax | $3.4M | $6.4M | $3.1M | $2.9M | $1.6M | $2.1M | $0.4M | $3.3M | $3.9M | $1.5M |
| Net income | $7.8M | $5.0M | $14.5M | $13.3M | $5.4M | $9.3M | $12.3M | $8.6M | −$8.5M | $7.1M |
| Diluted EPS | $1.25 | $0.80 | $2.31 | $2.12 | $1.76 | $2.58 | $1.97 | $1.37 | −$1.37 | $1.17 |
| Diluted shares | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $12.4M | $11.2M | $12.9M | $23.0M | $14.6M | −$7.8M | $7.3M | $25.5M | $19.4M | $8.9M |
| Capital expenditure | $2.9M | $2.8M | $3.6M | $5.4M | $2.3M | $3.7M | $3.4M | $5.5M | $9.7M | $4.0M |
| Free cash flow | $9.6M | $8.4M | $9.3M | $17.5M | $12.2M | −$11.5M | $4.0M | $20.0M | $9.7M | $4.9M |
| Depreciation and amortization | $3.8M | $4.7M | $5.3M | $6.5M | $6.8M | $3.3M | $7.2M | $7.5M | $5.9M | $6.6M |
| Stock-based compensation | $0.1M | $0.4M | $0.5M | $0.7M | $0.8M | $1.1M | $1.0M | $0.4M | $1.5M | $0.9M |
| Acquisitions | $0.0M | $40.1M | $5.0M | $81.2M | $7.2M | — | $0.0M | $0.4M | — | — |
| Share buybacks | — | $0.0M | $1.1M | $0.0M | $0.4M | $0.4M | $1.6M | $0.7M | $3.1M | $3.7M |
| Dividends paid | $2.8M | $2.8M | $2.8M | $2.7M | $2.8M | $2.8M | $2.7M | $2.8M | $2.7M | $2.7M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $2.8M | $2.8M | $3.8M | $2.7M | $3.1M | $3.1M | $4.4M | $3.5M | $5.8M | $6.4M |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $22.7M | $22.3M | $13.9M | $18.0M | $15.3M | $6.2M | $10.2M | $9.0M | $16.1M | $7.4M |
| Total debt | $1.8M | $35.2M | $28.7M | $98.8M | $88.7M | $71.3M | $64.1M | $43.9M | $42.2M | $33.9M |
| Finance lease liabilities | — | — | — | — | — | $8.6M | $0.0M | — | — | — |
| Current assets | $77.7M | $100M | $101M | $116M | $112M | $124M | $125M | $112M | $116M | $99.3M |
| Current liabilities | $12.9M | $31.3M | $30.1M | $34.9M | $40.7M | $49.6M | $47.0M | $42.7M | $44.8M | $27.6M |
| Inventory | $34.0M | $47.3M | $52.8M | $54.6M | $43.1M | $62.9M | $64.6M | $58.4M | $55.2M | $56.3M |
| Property and equipment, net | $26.2M | $29.2M | $29.9M | $41.0M | $29.0M | $28.3M | $26.1M | $23.5M | $27.5M | $26.9M |
| Goodwill | $14.8M | $32.2M | $34.8M | $79.5M | $72.2M | $72.2M | $70.8M | $58.6M | $58.5M | $58.6M |
| Intangible assets | $1.8M | $9.3M | $10.3M | $26.5M | $27.1M | $22.9M | $18.8M | $15.3M | $8.8M | $5.3M |
| Total assets | $124M | $176M | $181M | $281M | $276M | $266M | $262M | $252M | $235M | $217M |
| Total liabilities | $41.7M | $89.5M | $84.4M | $175M | $171M | $152M | $135M | $120M | $115M | $92.0M |
| Preferred stock | — | $0.0M | $0.0M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shareholders' equity | $82.5M | $86.9M | $96.9M | $105M | $104M | $115M | $127M | $132M | $121M | $125M |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 26.4% | 24.4% | 25.1% | 24.6% | 24.3% | 23.0% | 21.0% | 23.9% | 24.7% | 22.9% |
| Operating margin | 8.1% | 5.9% | 7.6% | 6.9% | 6.8% | 7.1% | 5.1% | 6.6% | 7.4% | 4.3% |
| EBITDA margin | 10.9% | 8.2% | 9.9% | 9.5% | 10.3% | 8.4% | 7.7% | 9.5% | 9.5% | 6.9% |
| Net margin | 5.7% | 2.5% | 6.2% | 5.3% | 2.7% | 3.8% | 4.4% | 3.3% | −3.1% | 2.9% |
| FCF margin | 6.9% | 4.1% | 4.0% | 7.0% | 6.2% | −4.7% | 1.4% | 7.7% | 3.5% | 2.0% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 12.6% | 7.9% | 13.2% | 7.7% | 6.7% | 8.6% | 7.6% | 7.9% | 10.6% | 5.6% |
| Return on capital employed | 10.0% | 8.3% | 11.8% | 7.1% | 5.8% | 8.0% | 6.6% | 8.1% | 10.6% | 5.6% |
| Return on equity | 9.4% | 6.0% | 15.8% | 13.1% | 5.2% | 8.5% | 10.2% | 6.6% | −6.7% | 5.8% |
| Return on assets | 6.3% | 3.4% | 8.1% | 5.7% | 1.9% | 3.5% | 4.7% | 3.3% | −3.5% | 3.2% |
| Return on tangible equity | 11.8% | 11.1% | 28.0% | — | 108.2% | 47.9% | 33.2% | 14.7% | −16.0% | 11.7% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | — | 48.4% | 14.7% | 7.5% | −21.5% | 24.7% | 13.3% | −7.3% | 5.4% | −8.7% |
| Net income growth | — | −35.2% | 187.5% | −8.5% | −59.3% | 73.0% | 31.6% | −30.2% | −199.4% | — |
| EPS growth | — | −36.0% | 188.8% | −8.2% | −17.0% | 46.6% | −23.6% | −30.5% | −200.0% | — |
| FCF growth | — | −11.9% | 10.2% | 88.8% | −30.2% | −193.9% | — | 404.7% | −51.6% | −49.4% |
| Share count change | — | 0.7% | −0.3% | −0.1% | −0.1% | −0.0% | −0.4% | 0.5% | −0.9% | −1.9% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | −1.4x | 0.8x | 0.6x | 3.4x | 3.6x | 3.6x | 2.5x | 1.4x | 1.0x | 1.5x |
| Debt / equity | 0.0x | 0.4x | 0.3x | 0.9x | 0.9x | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.3x | 0.4x | 0.3x |
| Interest coverage | 91.7x | 12.4x | 14.9x | 9.4x | 6.6x | 10.0x | 6.2x | 6.1x | 7.4x | 4.0x |
| Current ratio | 6.0x | 3.2x | 3.4x | 3.3x | 2.7x | 2.5x | 2.7x | 2.6x | 2.6x | 3.6x |
| Quick ratio | 3.4x | 1.7x | 1.6x | 1.8x | 1.7x | 1.2x | 1.3x | 1.3x | 1.3x | 1.6x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 2.1% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 2.2% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 2.1% | 3.6% | 1.6% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Payouts / FCF | 28.8% | 32.7% | 41.2% | 15.7% | 25.5% | — | 110.4% | 17.5% | 59.8% | 130.9% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | — | 4.0 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 8.6 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 6.0 |
| Accruals ratio | −3.7% | −4.1% | 0.9% | −4.2% | −3.3% | 6.3% | 1.9% | −6.6% | −11.5% | −0.8% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000031107). Data updated October 24, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
