Federal Signal

FSS · NYSE · Industrials · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

FSS · Last close · November 6, 2026

$113.44

Federal Signal's revenue rose 17.1% to $2.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 15.6%, up from 15.1% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $227 million, up 19.1%. It paid out $74 million in dividends and buybacks, 32% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.3%.

FEDERAL SIGNAL CORPORATION Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed February 25, 2026 · 0001628280-26-011576 Updated November 5, 2026

Revenue

$2.2B

17.1%

Operating margin

15.6%

0.5 pts

Net income

$247M

14.0%

Free cash flow

$227M

19.1%

Return on capital

16.2%

1.9 pts

Market cap

$7.0B

Nov 6 close

P/E

23.5x

On $4.82 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What Federal Signal does

Federal Signal, founded in 1901, designs and makes vehicles, equipment and systems for municipal, government, industrial and commercial customers. It has two reportable segments. The Environmental Solutions Group makes street sweepers (Elgin), sewer cleaners (Vactor), industrial vacuum loaders (Guzzler), vacuum- and hydro-excavation trucks, waterblasting equipment, road-marking equipment, refuse collection vehicles, dump truck bodies and trailers, and specialty vehicles used in metal extraction. The Safety and Security Systems Group makes public safety equipment, such as vehicle lightbars and sirens, industrial signaling equipment, public warning systems and alarm and public address systems.

The company earns money from selling this equipment, and also from parts, service and repair, equipment rentals and training. Environmental Solutions sells through a dealer network or directly, depending on the product and place. It runs 26 manufacturing facilities in five countries and sells in all regions of the world.

In 2025 it bought the Hog waterblasting business, New Way Trucks, which makes refuse collection vehicles, and some assets of Kinloch Equipment & Supply. All three joined the Environmental Solutions segment.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Competition in highly competitive markets.
Not getting raw materials, parts or finished goods on time and at a fair cost.
Relying on dealers and on credit being available to dealers and customers.
Acquisitions that go badly or bring unknown liabilities.
Product liability, warranty and recall claims, and the costs of following regulations.

From Federal Signal's annual report on Form 10-K, filed February 25, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 21.2% a year and net income 21.2% a year, with the share count about the same.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	40	48	61	91	64
Debt incl. finance leases	283	363	299	224	567
Net debt (negative means net cash)	242	316	238	133	503
Net debt to EBITDA	1.3x	1.5x	0.8x	0.4x	1.2x
Debt to equity	0.4x	0.4x	0.3x	0.2x	0.4x
Interest coverage	29.0x	15.6x	11.4x	22.5x	24.2x
Current ratio	2.5x	2.9x	2.9x	2.7x	3.0x
Quick ratio	1.2x	1.3x	1.4x	1.3x	1.4x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project Federal Signal's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open Federal Signal's projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, 1 insider bought $221,540 of Federal Signal shares on the open market, and 2 insiders sold $3.3 million.

Buys and sells by month

US$ millions, open-market purchases (up) and sales (down) by officers, directors and 10% owners in each month.

BoughtSold

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Aug 4, 2026	Diane BoninaVP, Gen'l Counsel & Secretary	Sold	14,856	$130.44	$1.9 million	Form 4
Aug 4, 2026	Brenda ReichelderferDirector	Sold	6,070	$131.02	$795,291	Form 4
Aug 3, 2026	Diane BoninaVP, Gen'l Counsel & Secretary	Sold	4,408	$128.75	$567,530	Form 4
Mar 10, 2026	Richard A MaueDirector	Bought	2,000	$110.77	$221,540	Form 4

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	7 of 9	7 of 9	8 of 9
Rule of 40	29.6%	18.3%	27.6%
Altman Z''	5.99	6.75	5.75
Accruals ratio	−2.4%	−0.9%	−0.4%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Fail
Current ratio rose	Fail	Fail	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Fail	Pass
Gross margin rose	Pass	Pass	Pass
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
F-score	7 of 9	7 of 9	8 of 9

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put Federal Signal side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Federal Signal	FY25	17.1%	15.6%	10.4%	16.2%	1.2x	8
Trinity Industries	FY25	−29.9%	30.1%	14.6%	—	—	—	Compare
Greenbrier Companies	FY26	−24.0%	5.8%	−9.7%	3.5%	5.8x	—	Compare
GATX	FY25	9.8%	—	—	4.0%	10.6x	—	Compare
Alamo Group	FY25	−1.5%	9.4%	9.2%	10.8%	−0.5x	5	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	708	898	1,090	1,221	1,131	1,213	1,435	1,723	1,862	2,180
Revenue growth	−7.8%	26.9%	21.3%	12.1%	−7.4%	7.3%	18.3%	20.1%	8.1%	17.1%
Gross profit	183	221	282	323	294	289	345	450	533	631
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	61	74	122	147	131	131	161	224	281	341
Net income	44	62	94	108	96	101	120	157	216	247
Diluted EPS (US$)	0.71	1.02	1.54	1.76	1.56	1.63	1.97	2.56	3.50	4.01
Diluted shares (millions)	61	60	61	62	62	62	61	62	62	62
Cash flow
Cash from operations	25	73	93	103	136	102	72	194	231	255
Capital expenditure	6	8	14	35	30	37	53	30	41	28
Free cash flow	19	65	79	68	106	64	19	164	191	227
Dividends paid	17	17	19	19	19	22	22	24	29	34
Share buybacks	38	0	1	1	14	15	16	6	7	40
Acquisitions	103	269	0	50	5	132	50	55	40	501
Stock-based compensation	5	5	8	9	8	8	10	13	16	15
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	51	38	37	32	82	40	48	61	91	64
Debt incl. finance leases	64	277	209	220	210	283	363	299	224	567
Total assets	643	992	1,024	1,166	1,209	1,366	1,524	1,620	1,765	2,393
Total liabilities	249	535	494	524	507	582	663	619	579	1,011
Shareholders' equity	394	457	530	642	702	784	861	1,002	1,186	1,382
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	25.9%	24.6%	25.9%	26.4%	26.0%	23.8%	24.0%	26.1%	28.6%	28.9%
Operating margin	8.6%	8.2%	11.2%	12.0%	11.6%	10.8%	11.2%	13.0%	15.1%	15.6%
Net margin	6.2%	6.9%	8.6%	8.9%	8.5%	8.3%	8.4%	9.1%	11.6%	11.3%
Free cash flow margin	2.6%	7.2%	7.2%	5.5%	9.4%	5.3%	1.3%	9.5%	10.2%	10.4%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	−5.2%	34.1%	28.5%	17.6%	2.0%	12.6%	19.6%	29.6%	18.3%	27.6%
Return on capital	10.8%	13.2%	14.6%	15.0%	12.2%	12.0%	11.7%	14.4%	18.0%	16.2%
Return on equity	10.9%	14.5%	19.0%	18.5%	14.3%	13.5%	14.6%	16.9%	19.8%	19.2%
Return on assets	6.7%	7.5%	9.3%	9.9%	8.1%	7.8%	8.3%	10.0%	12.8%	11.9%
Net debt to EBITDA	0.2x	2.3x	1.1x	1.0x	0.7x	1.3x	1.5x	0.8x	0.4x	1.2x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Federal Signal's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Federal Signal.