Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 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.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
The substance question has been answered: survival is no longer in doubt, equity is positive, cash exceeds secured debt, and the interest burden has halved. What remains open is the decisive operating question — whether a sixfold order book turns into earnings. Against $534.1 million of half-year revenue stood $10.1 million of operating income and $0.4 million of operating cash flow; roughly 93 percent of the backlog hangs on one customer, and the contract passes through $2.0 billion of its $2.4 billion as cost. That is no longer a substance risk, but it is an unproven turnaround with extraordinary customer concentration — hence yellow. This rating says nothing about the entry point; that is for the screeners and your own review. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Babcock & Wilcox has pulled itself out of an existential crisis with seven divestitures, a note exchange and a great deal of new equity — the going-concern warning is gone, equity is positive again, the cash box is full. At the same time the entire growth story rests on a single $2.4 billion contract of which $2.0 billion is reimbursable cost plus mark-up: revenue is doubling while half-year operating income sits at $10.1 million and operating cash flow at $0.4 million. Buying here means buying a real industrial business anchored in more than 90 countries plus the bet that four years of throughput on one mega-project turn into an adequate margin — and that the one customer holds. Not investment advice.
Balance sheet & turnaround
The going-concern warning from the 2024 annual report is explicitly withdrawn in the 2025 report. Equity swung from minus $131.5 million (December 31, 2025) to plus $57.4 million (June 30, 2026), and cash from $89.5 million to $308.6 million; against $239.8 million of secured debt and bonds stand $382.8 million of cash including restricted balances. The 6.50 percent notes were fully redeemed effective August 13, 2026.
Order book
The backlog rose from $405.6 million (June 30, 2025) to $2,569.0 million (June 30, 2026) — roughly one and a half times the market capitalization, with a run-off schedule extending past 2027. Quarterly revenue more than doubled ($319.7 million after $138.9 million), adjusted EBITDA rose to $21.8 million, and the top end of the 2026 target range was raised to $80.0 million to $105.0 million.
Earnings quality of the mega-order
Of the $2.4 billion contract value, $2.0 billion is variable charges based on reimbursable costs plus mark-up. Revenue therefore grows far faster than value added: $534.1 million of half-year revenue produced $10.1 million of operating income, and operating cash flow came to $0.4 million. A cost-reimbursable contract lowers estimating risk, but it does not turn a billion-dollar headline into matching profit.
Concentration risk
Roughly 93 percent of the backlog and $73.9 million of $170.7 million in trade receivables sit with Base Electron. A delay, scope cut or cancellation of that single contract would end the entire growth story — the core business with roughly $590 million of annual revenue would survive, but the basis for the valuation would be a different one.
Dilution & ownership
Shares outstanding rose from 88.7 million (December 31, 2022) to 148,965,066 (August 4, 2026), plus 10.46 million warrants at $4.11 whose $136.9 million fair value exceeds the $57.4 million of equity by more than double. B. Riley holds roughly 19 percent, nominates a board member, has pre-emptive rights and received $18.1 million of fees in the first half of 2026.
Worth Noting
Babcock & Wilcox reached our research list through the Reddit hype scanner (ApeWisdom, as of August 14, 2026), not through a valuation or quality screener. Conventional multiples mislead here: there is no price-to-earnings ratio for want of earnings, and the price-to-book ratio is arithmetically enormous but meaningless because equity has only just climbed back out of negative territory.
Risk of confusion: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (NYSE: BW, SEC CIK 0001630805) is not BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT), the nuclear technology group it was spun out of in 2015. It is also distinct from Babcock International (United Kingdom) and Doosan Babcock. The related listed securities BWNB (6.50% notes, redeemed and delisted since August 13, 2026) and BW PRA (preferred stock) are not common shares.
Data basis and evidence chain: the most recent periodic report reviewed is the quarterly report (10-Q) for the period ended June 30, 2026, filed August 10, 2026; filings submitted afterwards were also reviewed (earnings release 8-K of August 10, 2026, Form 25 delisting notification for the 6.50 percent notes of August 13, 2026, Form 4 insider filing of August 13, 2026 and a Schedule 13G filed August 14, 2026). Market capitalization was cross-checked against 148,965,066 shares times $9.65 — the price documented in the insider filing for the August 12, 2026 purchase. Analyses are evergreen; daily prices are not a reason to buy.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at BW since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 2.70 $ to 21.90 $ · Last price: 5.80 $ (As of: September 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 09/29/2026
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: Specialty Industrial Machinery
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc BW | 0.8 | – | 86.1 | 19.7 | 4.0 | -18.1 | 99.7 |
| GE Vernova LLC GEV | 278.1 | 26.7 | 80.9 | 20.6 | 5.5 | 8.9 | 57.3 |
| Eaton Corporation PLC ETN | 180.1 | 40.8 | 29.8 | 36.0 | 16.1 | 10.3 | 19.3 |
| Parker-Hannifin Corporation PH | 124.1 | 36.0 | 22.0 | 37.6 | 21.5 | -0.4 | 30.2 |
| Emerson Electric Company EMR | 93.7 | 36.6 | 18.6 | 53.2 | 24.2 | 3.0 | 25.9 |
| Illinois Tool Works Inc ITW | 80.4 | 25.7 | 17.8 | 44.2 | 25.7 | 0.9 | 7.6 |
| Cummins Inc CMI | 74.1 | 25.5 | 14.5 | 25.8 | 9.8 | -1.3 | 25.7 |
| Ametek Inc AME | 57.7 | 37.7 | 23.9 | 36.9 | 26.3 | 6.6 | 36.8 |
| Rockwell Automation Inc ROK | 50.3 | 44.7 | 28.8 | 49.1 | 20.7 | 1.0 | 27.2 |
| Median of companies shown | 80.4 | 36.3 | 23.9 | 36.9 | 20.7 | 1.0 | 27.2 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,578 | -103 | -116 | -11.50 | 2 | 552 | 1,529 |
| 2017 | 1,558 | -282 | -380 | -40.34 | -190 | 182 | 1,322 |
| 2018 | 1,062 | -427 | -725 | -52.45 | -282 | -286 | 746 |
| 2019 | 859 | -29 | -122 | -3.87 | -176 | -296 | 627 |
| 2020 | 566 | -2 | -10 | -0.21 | -41 | -332 | 599 |
| 2021 | 711 | 19 | 31 | 0.37 | -111 | 33 | 913 |
| 2022 | 609 | -1 | -23 | -0.26 | -31 | -3 | 942 |
| 2023 | 727 | 17 | -197 | -2.22 | -42 | -201 | 776 |
| 2024 | 717 | 25 | -60 | -0.65 | -119 | -284 | 727 |
| 2025 | 588 | 23 | -36 | -0.34 | -69 | -132 | 663 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q3 | 0.10 | 108.40 | 210 | -12.30 | -2.50 | -70 | -72 |
| 2024: Q4 | -0.03 | 95.80 | 66 | -70.80 | -95.20 | -23 | -24 |
| 2025: Q1 | -0.20 | -233.30 | 149 | -9.60 | -15.50 | -9 | -13 |
| 2025: Q2 | -0.58 | -2,800.00 | 144 | -38.30 | -15.00 | -25 | -28 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.33 | 230.00 | 149 | -29.00 | -12.10 | -32 | -38 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.02 | 162.30 | 161 | 142.90 | -7.60 | -3 | -7 |
| 2026: Q1 | -0.01 | 95.00 | 214 | 44.30 | -35.90 | 18 | 11 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.04 | 106.90 | 320 | 121.90 | 4.50 | -17 | -24 |
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 5 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Earnings & Surprises
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.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 0.14 | 0.12 – 0.17 | 1,049 | 157.6% | 3 |
| 12/31/2027 | 0.45 | 0.30 – 0.58 | 1,282 | 227.4% | 4 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Free cash flow over the past twelve months is negative, which rules out a serious reverse calculation. Any growth rate only makes a negative cash flow more negative; no present value comes out of it. What the price reflects here is therefore not a stream of cash flows, but the expectation that there will be one at all.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Geprüft am 14.08.2026 gegen den Geschäftsbericht (10-K) für 2025 (eingereicht 16.03.2026) und die vier jüngsten Quartalsberichte (10-Q) bis zum 30.06.2026 (eingereicht 10.08.2026): Babcock & Wilcox verkauft keine KI-Produkte oder -Dienste, setzt laut Filings auch intern keine KI ein (die Suchbegriffe „machine learning“, „generative“ und „large language“ kommen in keinem der ausgewerteten Berichte vor, „artificial intelligence“ nur als Abkürzungseintrag im Glossar) und nennt KI in den Risikofaktoren nicht als Bedrohung des eigenen Geschäftsmodells — KI wirkt ausschließlich als Nachfragetreiber für Gaskraftwerke und Dampferzeuger, zuletzt über den Base-Electron-Vertrag für eine KI-Fabrik.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„Our unique range of offerings, coupled with the strength of our brand, provides a competitive advantage in existing and emerging markets, including utilities and power generation, AI data centers, and other industrial markets, including oil and gas."
Unsere einzigartige Angebotspalette verschafft uns zusammen mit der Stärke unserer Marke einen Wettbewerbsvorteil in bestehenden und entstehenden Märkten, darunter Versorger und Stromerzeugung, KI-Rechenzentren und andere industrielle Märkte einschließlich Öl und Gas.
10-K · 2026-03-16 · View SEC filing
„This improvement is primarily due to the increasing need for electricity from fossil fuels driven by the demand from AI, data centers and expanding economies."
Diese Verbesserung ist im Wesentlichen auf den steigenden Bedarf an Strom aus fossilen Brennstoffen zurückzuführen, getrieben von der Nachfrage aus KI, Rechenzentren und wachsenden Volkswirtschaften.
10-Q · 2026-08-10 · View SEC filing
„In November 2025, we entered into a limited notice to proceed ("LNTP") with Applied Digital for a project to design and install four 300-megawatt natural gas-fired power plants consisting of boilers and associated steam turbines to deliver power for an AI factory."
Im November 2025 schlossen wir mit Applied Digital eine begrenzte Ausführungsfreigabe („limited notice to proceed“) für ein Projekt zur Planung und Errichtung von vier gasbefeuerten Kraftwerken à 300 Megawatt, bestehend aus Kesseln und zugehörigen Dampfturbinen, die Strom für eine KI-Fabrik liefern sollen.
10-Q · 2026-08-10 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-08-10 · 10-Q 2026-05-11 · 10-Q 2025-11-10 · 10-Q 2025-08-11 · 10-K 2026-03-16 · 10-K 2025-03-31
Rated on August 14, 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 -1.2%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -61.9%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year 6.1%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") -32.7%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 24.5%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 8.0%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 10.7 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 63 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 8.3%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 3.5%
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
3/10The 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% -10.4%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 47.7%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% –
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 47.7%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 12.2x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 4
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
- Return on equity > 15% –
- ROCE > 15% 8.3%
- Expected return > 10% 31.6%
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 18, 2026 | Howe Alan B | Director | Other | 165,994 | 0.00 | – |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Moeller Philip D | Director | Buy | 5,000 | 9.50 | 47,500 |
| Aug 12, 2026 | Young Kenneth M | Chief Executive Officer | Buy | 7,000 | 9.65 | 67,550 |
The company
About the Company
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides energy and emissions control solutions to industrial, electrical utility, municipal, and other customers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The company offers BrightLoop chemical looping technology, which produces steam, hydrogen, or syngas for applications in the energy, industrial, and agricultural sectors. It also provides steam generation equipment, including aftermarket parts, construction, maintenance, and field services; steam generation systems, such as package boilers, watertube and firetube waste heat boilers, and other boilers to medium and heavy industrial customers. The company was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Akron, Ohio.
- Employees
- 1,600
- Headquarters
- Akron, OH
- Address
- 1200 East Market Street, 44305 Akron, United States
- Phone
- 330 753 4511
- Website
- babcock.com
- IPO Date
- 07/01/2015
- ISIN
- US05614L2097
- Stock Split
- 1:10 on 07/24/2019
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Kenneth M. Young | CEO, President & Chairman of the Board | 1964 |
| Cameron M. Frymyer J.D. | Executive VP & CFO | 1976 |
| Jimmy B. Morgan | Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer | 1969 |
| John J. Dziewisz | Consultant | 1966 |
| Brandy Johnson | Chief Technology Officer | – |
| Gregory Golub | Senior VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | – |
| Sarah Serafin | Vice President of Corporate Development | – |
| Wassim Moussaoui | Managing Director of Babcock & Wilcox Middle East Holdings | – |
| Kim Bredahl | Senior Vice President | – |
| Gillianne Hetrick | Senior Vice President of Corporate Operations | – |
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).
- 09/08/2026 Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (BW): Other Events SEC ↗
Data as of: September 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.