National Presto shares fall 7.3% since results as third-quarter earnings surge

Key Facts

National Presto Industries shares fell 7.3% since the company reported third-quarter results, according to a Zacks report through November 6, 2026, as net earnings climbed to $19.977 million from $5.317 million in the year-earlier period. Results for the three months ended October 4 showed earnings per share of $2.79, compared with $0.74 in the quarter ended September 28, 2025. The results were issued in a company press release on October 30 and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K on November 2. Net sales rose to $144.308 million from $115.463 million a year earlier. The 7.3% decline describes the share move since the announcement and does not specify performance in the single session on November 6.

The Defense segment drove a major part of sales growth, with sales up $29 million, or 31.3%, from the third quarter of 2025. The company attributed the increase to additional shipments from its backlog, and company President Maryjo Cohen said sales growth reflected an increase in those shipments. The segment’s operating earnings rose $7.1 million, or 61.8%, from the year-earlier period. The company linked the improvement to higher business volume, a more favorable product mix and greater operating efficiency. The results thus show growth in Defense segment sales and operating earnings during the quarter, which the company attributed to operational factors and shipments from its backlog.

Elsewhere, sales of housewares and small appliances fell $469,000, or 2.1%, year over year, but the segment recorded operating earnings of $8.1 million after posting a loss in the year-earlier quarter. The company said most of the segment’s operating earnings came from a recovery of part of the tariffs it had previously paid. It said the Supreme Court ruled in a decision issued in February that those tariffs were unauthorized. Safety segment sales rose $296,000, or 88.9%, from the third quarter of 2025, as distribution expanded to a broader range of products. Despite the sales growth, the segment posted a loss, as expected; the company did not attribute an effect on overall company performance to this loss.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year through October 4, 2026, net sales were $409.553 million, compared with $339.551 million in the corresponding period through September 28, 2025. Net earnings for the period were $42.465 million, compared with $18.079 million a year earlier, while earnings per share rose to $5.93 from $2.53. These figures provide a broader view than the quarterly results alone, comparing nine months with the corresponding period of the previous year. The weighted average shares for the quarter were 7.168 million, compared with 7.150 million in the year-earlier quarter. The period’s data confirm that net earnings and earnings per share rose alongside year-over-year sales growth.

According to Zacks, the stock’s decline since the results announcement exceeded the S&P 500’s 4% drop over the same period through November 6. But the one-month comparison shows a different trajectory: NPK shares fell 4.8%, compared with a 6% decline in the index. These comparisons alone do not establish the reason for the stock’s move, and the 7.3% decline covers the period since the results announcement and does not necessarily represent a one-day drop. Against the backdrop of the Defense segment’s performance, its backlog stood at about $1.748 billion on December 31, 2025, compared with about $1.086 billion at the end of 2024. The company expected to produce and ship the backlog over 18 to 42 months, placing the shipments that supported quarterly sales within the execution of those contracts.

The 2025 annual report provides a prior measure of the scale of the Defense segment’s activity, reporting external sales of $405.937 million and operating earnings of $58.383 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. These figures are not results for the current period, but they show the segment’s size in the previous year based on company data. The company’s disclosure on its backlog said production and shipment were expected over a period of 18 to 42 months, according to the annual report. Management linked quarterly sales growth to increased shipments from those orders, while also attributing the improvement in operating earnings to product mix and operating efficiency. Results in the coming period will remain tied to the company’s actual production and shipment of its backlog.