What Knowles (KN) said on its Q3 earnings call. October 22, 2026 Key points. * Knowles delivered a strong third quarter: Revenue rose 20% year over year to $184 million, exceeding guidance, while adjusted EPS increased 15% to $0.38 and operating cash flow reached $45 million. * Precision Devices led growth, with revenue up 33%, a 1.5 book-to-bill ratio and orders nearing $180 million. The company is expanding capacity, but constraints may limit sequential growth in the first half of 2027. * Management issued a positive outlook: Fourth-quarter revenue is projected at $180 million to $190 million, and Knowles expects continued margin expansion, with a path toward a 30% medium-term EBITDA margin while investing more heavily in capacity during 2027. * Want to know the moment analysts change their view on Knowles? Get MarketBeat All Access for $149 a year and keep that rate for life. Knowles NYSE: KN reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $184 million, up 20% from a year earlier and above the high end of its guidance range, as demand accelerated across its precision devices portfolio. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.38, up 15% year over year, while cash from operating activities reached $45 million. President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Niew said the results reflected execution across the company's businesses and continued momentum in markets where Knowles believes it has differentiated products. The company's precision devices segment posted revenue growth of 33%, while its med tech and specialty audio segment grew 4%. Precision Devices orders and revenue accelerate. Precision devices revenue totaled $117 million in the third quarter, with growth driven by demand across med tech, defense, industrial and electrification markets. The segment recorded a book-to-bill ratio of 1.5, and quarterly orders approached $180 million, according to Niew. "Our close collaboration with customers continues to drive a robust pipeline of design wins as customers continue to choose our innovative and differentiated solutions," Niew said. The company cited demand for pulse-power film capacitors used in defibrillator and radiotherapy applications, ceramic capacitors for medical imaging and implantable devices, and products serving defense communications and munitions applications. In industrial markets, Knowles said ceramic capacitors and capacitor assemblies are gaining use in plasma generators and semiconductor equipment. Knowles is adding capacity across most precision devices product lines to address demand. Niew said the added capacity is expected to begin coming online late in the first quarter and be fully available during the second half of 2027. Until then, capacity constraints are expected to limit sequential growth in precision devices during the first half of 2027, even as year-over-year growth remains strong. Discover more Track Stock Market Invest in Stocks Start Investing The company also said a previously disclosed $15 million defense order for RF filters, received early in the third quarter, will be delivered over 36 months. Hearing health demand shifted earlier. Med tech and specialty audio revenue was $67 million, up 4% from the prior-year quarter. Niew said hearing-health original equipment manufacturer customers typically introduce new products in the fourth quarter, but demand shifted somewhat earlier this year as customers introduced products incorporating artificial intelligence features. Despite the seasonal timing shift, management said it continues to expect the hearing-health market to grow at historical rates in 2026. For 2027, Niew said the business should perform at historical levels, though the company expects a 2% to 3% revenue headwind, particularly in the first half, from the expiration of a supplier's last-time-buy arrangement tied to the divested consumer business. Management said the lost stamping revenue was on a cost-plus basis and is not expected to have a substantial effect on EBIT. Chief Financial Officer John Anderson said med tech and specialty audio gross margin could rise by about one percentage point in 2027 from the low-50% range discussed for 2026. Margins, cash flow and capital allocation. Third-quarter gross margin in med tech and specialty audio was 51.9%. Precision devices gross margin was 41.6%, up 10 basis points from a year earlier, as higher volume was partly offset by unfavorable inventory adjustments. Research and development expense rose to $10 million from $9 million a year earlier, reflecting higher project spending in both segments. Selling, general and administrative expense increased by $4 million to $30 million, due primarily to higher sales commissions, incentive compensation and additional headcount supporting demand and new product initiatives. Knowles generated $45 million in operating cash flow and spent $7 million on capital expenditures during the quarter. It also repurchased 695,000 shares for $25 million and reduced bank borrowings by $15 million. The company ended the quarter with $47 million in cash, $116 million drawn under its revolving credit facility and more than $330 million in liquidity. Anderson said capital spending is expected to rise to 5% to 7% of revenue in 2027, above the company's historical 3% to 5% range, as Knowles invests in precision devices capacity. Management also said it expects to continue pursuing strategic acquisitions while funding internal growth investments, returning capital to shareholders and reducing debt. Fourth-Quarter outlook and 2027 commentary. For the fourth quarter, Knowles forecast revenue of $180 million to $190 million, representing 14% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. The company projected adjusted EBIT margin of 23% to 25%, adjusted EPS of $0.39 to $0.43, and operating cash flow of $60 million to $70 million. * R&D expense is expected to be $10 million to $12 million. * Selling and administrative expense is expected to be $29 million to $31 million. * Interest expense is projected at $1.5 million. * The effective tax rate is expected to be 15% to 19%. * Capital spending is projected at $8 million in the fourth quarter and about 5% of full-year revenue. For the full year, Anderson said the company expects revenue growth of 16% at the midpoint of its guidance and adjusted EBITDA growth of 24% over 2025. Both measures would exceed the upper end of the targets presented at Knowles' May 2025 investor day, he said. Management said it sees continued margin expansion potential. Anderson said the company's fourth-quarter guidance implies gross margin slightly above 46% at the midpoint and that Knowles sees room for roughly 100 basis points of annual gross-margin improvement, supplemented by operating leverage. Niew said the company expects to exit 2026 above 25% EBITDA margin and sees a path toward 30% over the medium term. Looking beyond its core markets, Knowles highlighted opportunities in its Micro Solutions Group, pulse-power capacitors, attenuators and inductors. Niew said Micro Solutions Group revenue was about $1 million in 2025, could approach $3 million in 2026, exceed $5 million in 2027 and rise above $10 million in 2028. He said management plans to provide more detail on these growth initiatives during 2027. About Knowles (NYSE:KN). Knowles Corporation NYSE: KN is a global manufacturer of advanced electronic components and solutions for audio, communications, medical, industrial and other specialized applications. The company develops products that support sound capture, audio processing, signal management and high-performance connectivity in a range of electronic devices and systems. Its portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, audio processors, speakers, receivers, balanced armature drivers and other acoustic components. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. Before you consider Knowles, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Knowles wasn't on the list. 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Knowles Corporation has launched its ATT A-Series Attenuators, expanding its RF component portfolio. The new surface mount attenuators deliver stable electrical performance and repeatable attenuation from DC to 20 GHz using precision thin-film technology. The A-Series combines attenuation accuracy, high power handling, and wideband performance in a compact, industry-standard footprint. Products are available in standard attenuation values from 0 dB to 20 dB, with custom configurations offered. The attenuators target applications including radar systems, phased-array antennas, satellite communications, and RF test equipment. The launch advances Knowles' strategy to become a comprehensive source for high-performance RF components. The Illinois-based company manufactures specialty electronic components for MedTech, Defence, and Industrial markets.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) cut to "Hold" at Zacks Research. Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports. Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on KN. Robert W. Baird set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Knowles in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Knowles from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Knowles from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Knowles from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.67. Knowles trading down 0.4%. Shares of Knowles stock opened at $36.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 47.72 and a beta of 1.59. Knowles has a twelve month low of $20.57 and a twelve month high of $42.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $36.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. Knowles had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 10.63%.The company had revenue of $166.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. Knowles's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Knowles has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Knowles will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider buying and selling. In other Knowles news, Director Cheryl L. Shavers sold 6,618 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $259,888.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,842.21. The trade was a 15.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 6,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.28, for a total transaction of $224,137.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 127,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,641,844.60. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.24% of the company's stock. Institutional trading of Knowles. Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles during the second quarter worth about $571,614,000. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles during the 2nd quarter worth $117,000,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 2nd quarter worth about $102,398,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Knowles by 3.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 809,015 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $20,776,000 after buying an additional 25,778 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company's stock. About Knowles. Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a global supplier of advanced audio, electronic and specialty component technologies. The company develops products that enable sound capture, processing and delivery in applications ranging from consumer electronics and communications equipment to medical devices and industrial systems. Knowles' product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, audio processors, speakers and related acoustic components. It also provides capacitors, resistors and other specialty electronic components, as well as precision devices used in medical, defense, aerospace and other demanding applications. With operations and customers across North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets, Knowles serves manufacturers in the consumer electronics, mobile communications, hearing health, automotive, industrial and aerospace and defense sectors. Receive News & Ratings for Knowles Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Knowles and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.