Mercury Systems 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
Buying today means paying roughly 6.4 times sales for a company that has reported a loss under U.S. GAAP for four straight years. Waiting means checking four lines in the fiscal 2026 annual report (10-K): the GAAP result (nine months: −$30.471 million), stock compensation against the share count (60,043,283 as of April 30, 2026), the net impact of changes in program estimates (most recently −$9.624 million) and the status of both legal fronts. If the adjusted profit becomes a real one, the valuation carries itself. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Mercury Systems supplies the processing that turns sensor data into decisions on board radars, electronic warfare systems and command-and-control platforms — and it has recovered remarkably well from the disaster of fiscal 2024: higher margins, growing revenue, positive operating income in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 and free cash flow of $119.0 million in fiscal 2025. The four consecutive earnings beats that put the stock 16th in our Big Earnings Surprise screen only partly survive a close look: they are adjusted figures, and half the bridge to the GAAP numbers is stock compensation — $38.3 million in fiscal 2025 against $37.9 million of adjusted income. Add four years of negative program revisions, a large investor who would rather sue on his own, and an investigation covering twenty years of test reports. Not investment advice.
Operating recovery
An operating loss of $147.754 million in fiscal 2024 became $19.627 million in fiscal 2025 and positive operating income of $5.230 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. Gross margin rose from 23.5 through 27.9 to 29.3 percent, and adjusted EBITDA went from $9.4 million to $119.4 million (FY2025) and $101.7 million in nine months of fiscal 2026.
Quality of the earnings beat
All four beats rest on an adjusted measure. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, adjusted earnings of $0.27 per share sat against a GAAP loss of $0.04 per share, and the largest bridge item was $10.768 million of stock-based and other non-cash compensation. In fiscal 2025 that item, at $38.273 million, almost exactly matched adjusted income of $37.866 million.
Program estimates
Changes in estimates on the company's own programs have hurt operating income for a fourth straight year: $73.245 million (FY2024), $21.070 million (FY2025) and $9.624 million in the nine months to March 27, 2026 — $0.12 per share against adjusted nine-month earnings of $0.68 per share. The drag is shrinking but still negative.
Legal exposure
Five Starboard Value funds representing roughly 14 percent of the class opted out of the $32.5 million securities class action settlement on April 21, 2026 and announced a separate suit; the company itself notes that resulting costs may not be covered by its directors' and officers' insurance. An internal investigation opened in September 2025 covers test reports on subcontracts worth about $15.0 million of revenue over twenty years, with an explicit reference to the False Claims Act.
Balance sheet & financing
A solid base: $331.800 million of cash, equity funding 60 percent of assets, a credit facility upsized to $850.0 million and extended to 2030 on November 4, 2025, and $150.0 million repaid on April 30, 2026 (leaving $441.5 million drawn). Open items: the $300.0 million swap at 4.66 percent matures on February 28, 2027, the $75.0 million receivables facility is fully drawn, and nine-month interest expense of $23.066 million exceeds the operating loss of $14.185 million.
Valuation
A market capitalization of roughly $6.2 billion equals about 6.4 times trailing twelve-month revenue of $966.9 million, roughly 42 times enterprise value to adjusted EBITDA and roughly 18 times tangible book value (as of July 25, 2026) — for a company that has reported a loss under U.S. GAAP in every period since fiscal 2023. The average price target of $103.75 sits roughly at the market price.
Worth Noting
MRCY came onto the research list as the 16th of 81 U.S. hits in our in-house Big Earnings Surprise screen (as of July 25, 2026, relative strength rating 88) — part of our series filling the top 50 of that screen with analyses. The screen lists are recalculated daily.
The screen evaluates reported earnings surprises over the last four quarters. It measures an adjusted earnings figure against the estimate for that same adjusted figure — not the result under U.S. GAAP. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026 that meant $0.27 adjusted against a GAAP loss of $0.04 per share in the quarterly report.
Recency note: the most recent periodic report is the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 27, 2026, filed May 5, 2026. Everything filed afterwards was reviewed (Schedule 13G of May 12, 2026, Form SD of June 1, 2026) and does not change the picture. Fiscal 2026 ends on July 3, 2026; the company filed its fiscal 2025 annual report on August 11, 2025.
Do not confuse the names: Mercury Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRCY) is not Mercury General Corporation (NYSE: MCY), a California insurer, and not Mercury Computer Systems — that was the same company's name until November 13, 2012.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at MRCY since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 66.10 $ to 126.20 $ · Last price: 86.20 $ (As of: September 17, 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
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: Aerospace & Defense
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury Systems Inc MRCY | 5.2 | – | 75.0 | 28.6 | 3.2 | 9.2 | 16.7 |
| Space Exploration Technologies Corp. SPCX | 1,172.1 | – | 511.6 | 51.9 | – | – | – |
| GE Aerospace GE | 326.7 | 40.1 | 27.6 | 31.1 | 20.2 | 18.5 | 8.8 |
| RTX Corporation RTX | 254.2 | 36.5 | 18.5 | 20.3 | 13.2 | 9.7 | 24.1 |
| The Boeing Company BA | 155.3 | 78.7 | 25.5 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 34.5 | -8.2 |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT | 124.1 | 26.0 | 13.6 | 11.8 | 11.0 | 5.7 | 16.7 |
| General Dynamics Corporation GD | 96.7 | 22.8 | 15.1 | 15.4 | 10.5 | 10.1 | 11.4 |
| Howmet Aerospace Inc HWM | 90.3 | 52.0 | 34.8 | 36.0 | 28.2 | 11.1 | 22.0 |
| Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC | 73.6 | 16.6 | 11.8 | 20.1 | 11.7 | 2.2 | -7.7 |
| Median of companies shown | 124.1 | 36.5 | 25.5 | 20.3 | 11.3 | 9.9 | 14.0 |
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 | 409 | 37 | 25 | 0.58 | 59 | 725 | 816 |
| 2018 | 493 | 47 | 41 | 0.86 | 43 | 772 | 1,064 |
| 2019 | 655 | 77 | 47 | 0.96 | 98 | 1,285 | 1,417 |
| 2020 | 797 | 91 | 86 | 1.56 | 115 | 1,385 | 1,611 |
| 2021 | 924 | 81 | 62 | 1.12 | -19 | 1,484 | 1,955 |
| 2022 | 974 | -22 | -28 | -0.50 | -21 | 1,537 | 2,304 |
| 2023 | 974 | -22 | -28 | -0.50 | 60 | 1,567 | 2,391 |
| 2024 | 835 | -148 | -138 | -2.38 | 139 | 1,473 | 2,379 |
| 2025 | 912 | -20 | -38 | -0.65 | 139 | 1,473 | 2,435 |
| 2026 | 984 | 21 | -30 | -0.50 | 102 | 1,497 | 2,323 |
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: Q2 | 0.23 | 109.10 | 249 | -1.80 | -4.30 | 72 | 61 |
| 2024: Q3 | 0.04 | 116.70 | 204 | 13.00 | -8.60 | -15 | -21 |
| 2024: Q4 | 0.07 | 116.70 | 223 | -10.20 | -7.90 | 86 | 82 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.06 | 123.10 | 211 | 3.40 | -9.10 | 30 | 24 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.28 | 21.70 | 273 | 9.90 | 6.00 | 38 | 34 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.26 | 550.00 | 225 | 10.20 | -5.60 | 2 | -4 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.16 | 128.60 | 233 | 4.40 | -6.50 | 49 | 43 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.27 | 350.00 | 236 | 11.50 | -1.20 | 6 | -2 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.01 | -96.40 | 290 | 6.10 | 0.30 | 42 | 29 |
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 12 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Backtested Scanners
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Momentum & Trend
- 21-EMA Trend
- Above 21-EMA Pullback
- Above the 50- & 200-SMA
- Gary Antonacci: Dual Momentum (Stock Adaptation)
- High ADR (≥5%)
- Mark Minervini: Trend Criteria — 1 Month
- Mike Webster: Swing Trading List
- 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.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/30/2027 | 1.67 | 1.60 – 1.84 | 1,087 | 57.6% | 11 |
| 06/30/2028 | 2.23 | 1.95 – 2.79 | 1,211 | 33.5% | 10 |
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?
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 26.7% 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) | $64.9M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $5.18B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $691.9M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 70.4% |
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
Geprüft am 25.07.2026 gegen die Geschäftsberichte (10-K) für die Geschäftsjahre 2025 (Ende 27.06.2025, eingereicht 11.08.2025) und 2024 (eingereicht 13.08.2024) sowie die vier jüngsten Quartalsberichte (10-Q, zuletzt zum 27.03.2026, eingereicht 05.05.2026): Mercury Systems liefert Rechenleistung für Radar, elektronische Kampfführung und Führungssysteme. Künstliche Intelligenz taucht in allen sechs Filings ausschließlich als Marktumfeld und als Investitionsfeld auf — als Nachfragetreiber, der die Grenzen üblicher Rechnerarchitekturen sichtbar macht, und als eines von mehreren Anwendungsgebieten der eigenen Bausteine. Kein KI-Produkt, keine KI-Sparte, kein ausgewiesener KI-Umsatz und kein belegter operativer KI-Einsatz im eigenen Haus; die einzige Risiko-Erwähnung betrifft KI-gestützte Angriffswerkzeuge in der Standard-Aufzählung der zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen und ist damit kein Beleg für eine Bedrohung des Geschäftsmodells.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„We maintain our technological edge by investing in critical capabilities and intellectual property („IP“ or „building blocks“) in processing, leveraging open standards and open architectures to adapt quickly those building blocks into solutions for highly data-intensive applications, including emerging needs in areas such as artificial intelligence („AI“)."
Wir sichern unseren technologischen Vorsprung, indem wir in zentrale Fähigkeiten und Schutzrechte („IP“ oder „Bausteine“) im Bereich der Datenverarbeitung investieren und offene Standards und offene Architekturen nutzen, um diese Bausteine rasch in Lösungen für hochgradig datenintensive Anwendungen zu überführen — einschließlich aufkommender Bedarfe in Feldern wie der Künstlichen Intelligenz („KI“).
10-K · 2025-08-11 · View SEC filing
„In addition, the advent of sophisticated AI algorithms is beginning to revolutionize the ability of sensor processing systems to intelligently and efficiently process and act upon these large data sets. Standard computing architectures and computing platforms currently do not offer the level of performance needed to optimize existing AI algorithms, creating an additional opportunity for advanced processing capabilities onboard the platform."
Darüber hinaus beginnt das Aufkommen ausgefeilter KI-Algorithmen die Fähigkeit von Sensor-Verarbeitungssystemen zu revolutionieren, diese großen Datenmengen intelligent und effizient zu verarbeiten und darauf zu reagieren. Übliche Rechnerarchitekturen und Rechnerplattformen bieten derzeit nicht die Leistung, die zur Optimierung bestehender KI-Algorithmen nötig wäre — daraus entsteht eine zusätzliche Chance für leistungsfähige Verarbeitung direkt an Bord der Plattform.
10-K · 2025-08-11 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-05-05 · 10-Q 2026-02-03 · 10-Q 2025-11-04 · 10-Q 2025-05-06 · 10-K 2025-08-11 · 10-K 2024-08-13
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 0.3%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -73.5%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year 1.7%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 14.8%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 24.6%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 40.6%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 2.9 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 585 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 1.1%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 1.6%
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
4/10The 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% 10.3%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 10.9%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% -6.2%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 10.9%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 13.0x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 6
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
- Return on equity > 15% -7.8%
- ROCE > 15% 1.1%
- Expected return > 10% 12.4%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 2026 | Ratner Steven | EVP, CHRO | Sell | 4,000 | 84.51 | 338,030 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Sell | 10,814 | 89.74 | 970,492 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Sell | 38,276 | 88.91 | 3,403,234 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Other | 68,476 | 43.00 | 2,944,468 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Sell | 3,448 | 87.99 | 303,400 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Sell | 107,628 | 87.09 | 9,373,215 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Other | 153,676 | 43.00 | 6,608,068 |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Sell | 2,738 | 90.60 | 248,063 |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Sell | 105,471 | 89.47 | 9,436,807 |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Ballhaus William L | Chairman, President & CEO | Other | 11,348 | 43.00 | 487,964 |
The company
About the Company
Mercury Systems, Inc., a technology company, manufactures and sells components, products, modules, and subsystems for defense prime contractors, original equipment manufacturers, government, and commercial aerospace companies. The company offers components, including power amplifiers and limiters, switches, oscillators, filters, equalizers, digital and analog converters, chips, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, and memory and storage devices; modules and sub-assemblies, such as embedded processing boards, switched fabrics and boards, digital receivers, multi-chip modules, integrated radio frequency and microwave multi-function assemblies, tuners, and transceivers, as well as graphics and video; and integrated subsystems. It also designs, develops, and manufactures digital radio frequency memory units for various modern electronic warfare applications; radar environment simulation and test systems for defense and intelligence applications; and signals intelligence payloads and EO/IR technologies for small UAV platforms, as well as onboard UAV processor systems for real-time wide area motion imagery. It operates in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company was formerly known as Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Mercury Systems, Inc. in November 2012. Mercury Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts.
- CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.)
- selling own stock
- Employees
- 2,102
- Headquarters
- Andover, MA
- Address
- 50 Minuteman Road, 01810 Andover, United States
- Phone
- 978 256 1300
- Website
- mrcy.com
- IPO Date
- 01/30/1998
- ISIN
- US5893781089
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 12/21/1999
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| William L. Ballhaus | President, CEO & Chairman | 1968 |
| David E. Farnsworth | Executive VP & CFO | 1961 |
| Stuart H. Kupinsky | Executive VP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | 1968 |
| Steven V. Ratner | Executive VP & Chief Human Resources Officer | 1976 |
| Douglas D. Munro | VP & Chief Accounting Officer | – |
| William Conley Ph.D. | Chief Technology Officer | – |
| Ghassan Alaka | Chief Information Officer | – |
| Tyler Hojo CFA | VP of Investors Relations | – |
| Krishna Sinha | Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development | – |
| Tod Brindlinger | Senior Vice President of 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).
Data as of: September 17, 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.