AstroNova Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
We found at least one documented issue that threatens the company itself — regardless of how the stock is currently valued.
Why this colour
The price strength that put this stock in our ranking is fully explained and fully priced in: market capitalization on July 25, 2026 (roughly $223 million) and offer value ($224.7 million) are less than 1 percent apart, while the unaffected April 6, 2026 close was $9.40. Anyone entering now is no longer betting on cockpit printers but on shareholder approval and antitrust clearance arriving before November 13, 2026 — for a single-digit percentage gain against a double-digit multiple of downside. Anyone watching should track three things: the definitive proxy statement with the meeting date and record date, the expiry of the HSR waiting period, and whether the losing bidder returns with its $27.80. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
AstroNova is no longer a stock analysis in the usual sense but a case study in how a price is formed. Three parties valued the same company and produced three numbers: the stock market $9.40 (close of April 6, 2026), the company's own bank $16.34 to $26.19 in a discounted cash flow, and an auction with six interested parties $29.00 on the evening of June 16, 2026. Behind it sits a group with three years of revenue stuck around $150 million, two loss-making years, a failed acquisition with $13.7 million of goodwill written off — and one small aerospace business delivering a 21.1 percent margin, which is what the buyers actually came for. Whoever holds the stock today holds a contract due November 13, 2026. Not investment advice.
Price certainty
The merger agreement of June 16, 2026 fixes $29.00 per share in cash with no financing condition; Arcline stated it would fund the deal entirely from a $6 billion committed fund and delivered a limited guarantee. The board approved unanimously, and a formerly activist holder explicitly supports the transaction (Schedule 13D/A filed July 23, 2026).
Risk-reward
Market capitalization stood at roughly $223 million on July 25, 2026 against an offer value of $224.7 million (7,747,772 shares times $29.00) — the remaining gap is under 1 percent. The unaffected close on April 6, 2026 was $9.40. Anyone entering today is risking roughly two thirds for about 1 percent.
Operating substance
The Aerospace business is strong: a 21.1 percent segment margin in fiscal 2026, revenue up 16.3 percent with a 29.2 percent margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, and 32 percent recurring revenue. The Product ID business, twice as large, earned nothing in fiscal 2026 (a $0.5 million loss on $104.2 million of revenue); third parties bid only $30 million to $40 million for it.
Balance sheet and funding
As of April 30, 2026, $35.9 million of debt stood against $4.7 million of cash; the fiscal 2026 annual report concedes that covenants were breached in prior quarters and that waivers were obtained from Bank of America (amendments dated September 8 and October 31, 2025). Interest expense of $3.5 million in fiscal 2026 exceeded operating income of $1.2 million.
Acquisition record and governance
Of the MTEX purchase price (EUR 17.3 million, May 2024), $13.7 million of goodwill was written off within 20 months; in September 2025 the company found that EUR 1.8 million of property, plant and equipment in the opening balance sheet did not exist or was obsolete at the acquisition date. Golden parachute compensation for the named executives totals roughly $12.7 million, plus transaction bonuses of up to $3.0 million.
Valuation level
About 1.8 times annual revenue on an enterprise value basis and about 2.9 times book value is ambitious for an industrial printer maker but not absurd; measured against management's planned fiscal 2027 adjusted EBITDA of $17.9 million the buyer is paying a little over 15 times — roughly the multiple the investment bank applied to the Aerospace segment alone (12 to 14 times).
Worth Noting
The essential context first: AstroNova is being acquired. On June 16, 2026 the company signed a merger agreement with Orion Merger Parent, Inc., an affiliate of Arcline Investment Management — $29.00 per share in cash, with closing expected in the third calendar quarter of 2026 according to the press release and an outside date of November 13, 2026. The share price has been pinned to the offer ever since, so every statement about valuation in this analysis is a statement about the contract, not about the operating business. On completion AstroNova will be a private company and will no longer trade on NASDAQ.
AstroNova reached our research list through our in-house stock scanner: rank 5 in the Qullamaggie Top Gainers 3M ranking (U.S. selection) with an RS rating of 98, as of July 25, 2026. These lists are recalculated daily, so today's rank is not tomorrow's. The high rank here is entirely attributable to the takeover announcement of June 17, 2026.
Reference dates: segment and annual figures come from the annual report for fiscal 2026 (year ended January 31, 2026), balance sheet and quarterly figures from the quarterly report as of April 30, 2026 (filed June 8, 2026), and transaction details from the Form 8-K of June 17, 2026 and the preliminary proxy statement of July 16, 2026. Market capitalization, share count and analyst target price carry a data date of July 25, 2026.
Risk of confusion: AstroNova was called Astro-Med Inc. until May 2016 and is not the same company as Astronics Corporation, another aerospace supplier — which the investment bank uses as a comparable. The non-calendar fiscal year (ending January 31) shifts every year-on-year comparison by eleven months.
Stock Watch
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 7.00 $ to 29.00 $ · Last price: 29.00 $ (As of: August 28, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Computer Hardware
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AstroNova Inc ALOT | 0.2 | – | 39.5 | 33.8 | – | -0.5 | 178.5 |
| Dell Technologies Inc DELL | 365.2 | 44.0 | 20.2 | 19.9 | 8.9 | 18.8 | 357.2 |
| Sandisk Corp SNDK | 276.8 | 55.8 | 17.7 | 71.5 | 70.0 | 10.4 | 1,618.0 |
| Arista Networks ANET | 270.3 | 67.4 | 51.4 | 63.0 | 42.7 | 28.6 | 39.7 |
| Seagate Technology PLC STX | 182.0 | 56.2 | 43.1 | 45.6 | 43.1 | 34.1 | 274.0 |
| Western Digital Corporation WDC | 159.6 | 22.4 | 15.4 | 48.9 | 37.0 | 50.7 | 320.7 |
| Everpure, Inc. P | 34.6 | 162.4 | 72.5 | 69.7 | -18.5 | 15.6 | 21.2 |
| HP Inc HPQ | 31.6 | 13.2 | 8.8 | 19.7 | 7.1 | 3.2 | 30.6 |
| Super Micro Computer Inc SMCI | 27.8 | 20.0 | 9.6 | 10.8 | 6.1 | 47.0 | -10.1 |
| Median of companies shown | 159.6 | 49.9 | 20.2 | 45.6 | 22.9 | 18.8 | 178.5 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 98 | 6 | 4 | 0.56 | 7 | 71 | 84 |
| 2018 | 113 | 5 | 3 | 0.47 | 4 | 64 | 122 |
| 2019 | 137 | 9 | 6 | 0.81 | 3 | 70 | 119 |
| 2020 | 133 | 2 | 2 | 0.24 | 3 | 71 | 117 |
| 2021 | 116 | 2 | 1 | 0.18 | 16 | 75 | 115 |
| 2022 | 117 | 4 | 6 | 0.88 | 1 | 81 | 115 |
| 2023 | 143 | 5 | 3 | 0.36 | -3 | 84 | 139 |
| 2024 | 148 | 9 | 5 | 0.63 | 12 | 90 | 133 |
| 2025 | 151 | 5 | -14 | -1.93 | 5 | 76 | 146 |
| 2026 | 151 | 2 | -2 | -0.31 | 12 | 77 | 138 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025: Q1 | -2.01 | -675.40 | 37 | -5.60 | -41.80 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025: Q2 | -0.05 | -131.80 | 38 | 14.40 | -1.00 | 4 | 4 |
| 2025: Q3 | -0.16 | – | 36 | -10.90 | -3.40 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.05 | 57.50 | 39 | -3.10 | 1.00 | 3 | 3 |
| 2026: Q1 | -0.15 | – | 38 | 0.50 | -3.00 | 4 | 4 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.08 | – | 39 | 4.40 | 1.70 | 3 | 3 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 19 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
Momentum & Trend
- 21-EMA Trend
- Above the 50- & 200-SMA
- Gary Antonacci: Dual Momentum (Stock Adaptation)
- High ADR (≥5%)
- Mark Minervini: Trend Criteria — 1 Month
- Near 52-Week High
- Qullamaggie: Top Gainers 1M
- Qullamaggie: Top Gainers 3M
- Qullamaggie: Top Gainers 6M
- Qullamaggie: Trend Intensity (13/65)
- RS Leader (≥90)
- RS New Highs
- Stan Weinstein: Checklist
- Stan Weinstein: Stage 2
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 9.3% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $10.1M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $226.0M |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $24.5M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 57.0% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow shrank by 2.5% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
In sechs geprüften Berichten (2 Geschäftsberichte 10-K, 4 Quartalsberichte 10-Q) taucht künstliche Intelligenz genau einmal auf — als allgemeiner Risikohinweis im Geschäftsbericht 2026, dass eine zu langsame eigene Einführung schaden könnte; kein KI-Produkt, keine KI-Umsatzquelle, kein beschriebener operativer Einsatz in Druckern, Etiketten- oder Cockpit-Systemen.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„Like many other businesses, we may from time to time adopt technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, including, generative AI, and engage with vendors that use AI in providing their respective goods and services."
Wie viele andere Unternehmen führen wir von Zeit zu Zeit technische Neuerungen wie künstliche Intelligenz ein, darunter generative KI, und arbeiten mit Anbietern zusammen, die bei ihren Waren und Dienstleistungen KI einsetzen.
10-K · 2026-04-15 · View SEC filing
„If we fail to incorporate AI into our business operations as quickly or effectively as our competitors do, such failure could impair our ability to compete effectively, and our operations could suffer accordingly."
Wenn wir KI nicht so schnell oder so wirksam in unsere Geschäftsabläufe einbauen wie unsere Wettbewerber, könnte das unsere Wettbewerbsfähigkeit beeinträchtigen und unseren Betrieb entsprechend belasten.
10-K · 2026-04-15 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-K 2026-04-15 · 10-K 2025-04-15 · 10-Q 2026-06-08 · 10-Q 2025-12-10 · 10-Q 2025-09-09 · 10-Q 2025-06-06
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 1.8%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year no data
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year 1.3%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 7.1%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 33.1%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 12.6%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 8.7 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 41 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 1.6%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 13.9%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
1/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 4.8%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% –
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% -14.3%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% –
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 24.3x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 82.3%
- Return on equity > 15% -6.3%
- ROCE > 15% 1.6%
- Expected return > 10% –
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2026 | Natalizia Michael J | Chief Technology Officer | Other | 47,632 | 29.00 | 1,381,328 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Schlaeppi Yvonne | Director | Other | 51,921 | 29.00 | 1,505,709 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Michas Alexis P | Director | Other | 535,203 | 29.00 | 15,520,887 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Michas Alexis P | Director | Other | 29,319 | 29.00 | 850,251 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Nevin Darius G | Executive Chair | Other | 4,313 | 29.00 | 125,077 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Warzala Richard S | Director | Other | 75,711 | 29.00 | 2,195,619 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | DeByle Thomas D. | Chief Financial Officer | Other | 6,170 | 29.00 | 178,930 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Quain Mitchell I | Director | Other | 16,701 | 29.00 | 484,329 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Quain Mitchell I | Director | Other | 108,910 | 29.00 | 3,158,390 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Finn Padraig | Senior Vice President | Other | 1,685 | 29.00 | 48,865 |
The company
About the Company
AstroNova, Inc. entwirft, entwickelt, fertigt und vertreibt Spezialdrucker sowie Systeme zur Datenerfassung und -analyse in den USA, Europa, Kanada, Asien, Mittel- und Südamerika sowie international.
- Employees
- 398
- Headquarters
- West Warwick, RI
- Address
- 600 East Greenwich Avenue, 02893 West Warwick, United States
- Phone
- 401 828 4000
- Website
- astronovainc.com
- IPO Date
- 09/07/1984
- ISIN
- US04638F1084
- Stock Split
- 5:4 on 07/03/2006
- Stock Split
- 11:10 on 04/30/2004
- Stock Split
- 3:2 on 05/19/1992
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Darius G. Nevin | Executive Chairman | 1958 |
| Jorik E. Ittmann | President, CEO & Director | 1979 |
| Thomas D. DeByle CPA | VP, Treasurer & CFO | 1960 |
| Thomas Wayne Carll | Senior VP & GM of AstroNova Aerospace Segment | 1967 |
| Michael J. Natalizia | VP of Technical & Strategic Alliances and CTO | 1964 |
| Michelle M. Graban | Deputy General Counsel & VP of Human Resources | – |
| Padraig Finn | Senior Vice President of Product Identification (Product ID) | 1983 |
| Daniel S. Clevenger | Secretary | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/26/2026 AstroNova, Inc. (ALOT): Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement; Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets; Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing; Material Modifications to Rights of Security Holders; Changes in Control of Registrant; Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Amendments to Articles of Incorporation SEC ↗
- 08/25/2026 AstroNova, Inc. (ALOT): Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders; Other Events; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/05/2026 AstroNova, Inc. (ALOT): Other Events SEC ↗
Data as of: August 28, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.