Greenbrier Companies

GBX · NYSE · Industrials · Financials, fiscal 2017 to 2026

GBX · Last close · November 6, 2026

$41.51

Greenbrier Companies' revenue fell 24.0% to $2.5 billion in fiscal 2026. Its operating margin was 5.8%, down from 11.1% a year earlier. Free cash flow was −$240 million. It paid out $56 million in dividends and buybacks. The diluted share count fell 1.1%.

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC. Latest fiscal year ended August 31, 2026 10-K filed October 26, 2026 · 0001193125-26-431954 Updated November 5, 2026

Revenue

$2.5B

24.0%

Operating margin

5.8%

5.3 pts

Net income

$79M

61.3%

Free cash flow

−$240M

Return on capital

3.5%

4.6 pts

Market cap

$1.3B

Nov 6 close

P/E

16.7x

On $2.49 EPS, FY26

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 Greenbrier Companies does

Greenbrier designs, builds and sells freight railcars in North America, Europe and Brazil, and provides wheel services, component parts, railcar maintenance and railcar conversion services in North America. Its railcars include covered hoppers, tank cars, boxcars, flat cars, intermodal cars and cars for carrying vehicles. It also owns a fleet of railcars that comes mainly from its own factories, and it offers fleet management, regulatory and leasing services to railroads and other railcar owners.

It has two reportable segments: Manufacturing and Leasing & Fleet Management. Manufacturing earns money from building railcars, parts and wheel and maintenance work. Leasing & Fleet Management earns lease payments and management fees, and Greenbrier also sells railcars with leases attached to investors. Its owned lease fleet is about 20,900 railcars, 98.0% of them on lease as of August 31, 2026. It also holds joint venture stakes, including in a Brazilian railcar maker, Greenbrier-Maxion, and in a U.S. axle maker.

The company says its integrated model, which combines manufacturing, services and leasing, creates cross-selling chances among its segments.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Weaker demand for railcars during economic downturns and rail industry cycles.
Tariffs and trade rules that raise its costs or reduce demand, including U.S. tariffs now covering tank cars and rail parts.
A U.S. Customs ruling that it evaded duties on certain railcar couplers, which it is appealing.
Dependence on a limited number of customers and suppliers for its railcar business.
Lower lease use or lower values for the railcars it owns.

From Greenbrier Companies's annual report on Form 10-K, filed October 26, 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 2017 to 2026, earnings per share fell 4.2% a year and net income 4.2% a year, while buybacks cut the share count by 2%.

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	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Cash and short-term investments	543	282	352	306	235
Debt incl. finance leases	—	—	1,756	1,751	1,837
Net debt (negative means net cash)	—	—	1,404	1,445	1,602
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	3.2x	3.0x	5.8x
Debt to equity	—	—	1.3x	1.1x	1.2x
Interest coverage	2.6x	2.5x	3.8x	4.4x	1.8x
Current ratio	—	—	—	—	—
Quick ratio	—	—	—	—	—

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 Greenbrier Companies' 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 Greenbrier Companies' projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, no insider bought Greenbrier Companies shares on the open market, and 2 insiders sold $492,600.

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
Jul 13, 2026	William GlennSVP & President, Europe	Sold	4,000	$48.15	$192,600	Form 4
Jan 30, 2026	William J. KruegerSVP, COO, The Americas	Sold	6,000	$50.00	$300,000	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	FY24	FY25	FY26
Piotroski F-score	—	—	—
Rule of 40	−12.1%	−9.0%	−33.8%
Altman Z''	—	—	—
Accruals ratio	−4.1%	−1.4%	0.9%

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	FY24	FY25	FY26
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Pass	Fail
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Fail
Debt fell relative to assets	—	Pass	Fail
Current ratio rose	—	—	—
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Pass	Pass
Gross margin rose	Pass	Pass	Fail
Revenue rose relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Fail
F-score	—	—	—

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

Compare

Put Greenbrier Companies 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
Greenbrier Companies	FY26	−24.0%	5.8%	−9.7%	3.5%	5.8x	—
Federal Signal	FY25	17.1%	15.6%	10.4%	16.2%	1.2x	8	Compare
Trinity Industries	FY25	−29.9%	30.1%	14.6%	—	—	—	Compare
Allison Transmission	FY25	−6.7%	29.2%	22.0%	20.8%	1.4x	6	Compare
GATX	FY25	9.8%	—	—	4.0%	10.6x	—	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	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Income statement
Revenue	2,169	2,520	3,034	2,792	1,748	2,978	3,944	3,545	3,240	2,461
Revenue growth	−19.1%	16.1%	20.4%	−8.0%	−37.4%	70.4%	32.5%	−10.1%	−8.6%	−24.0%
Gross profit	421	409	366	353	232	306	441	558	608	334
Research and development	4	6	5	6	6	5	4	5	6	6
Operating income	260	253	184	168	41	118	176	324	360	144
Net income	116	152	71	49	32	47	62	160	204	79
Diluted EPS (US$)	3.65	4.68	2.14	1.46	0.96	1.40	1.89	4.96	6.35	2.49
Diluted shares (millions)	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	32	32	32
Cash flow
Cash from operations	286	103	−21	272	−40	−150	71	330	266	40
Capital expenditure	86	177	198	67	139	381	362	398	280	279
Free cash flow	200	−74	−219	205	−180	−531	−291	−69	−15	−240
Dividends paid	25	30	33	35	36	36	36	38	40	43
Share buybacks	0	0	0	0	20	0	57	1	23	13
Acquisitions	27	35	362	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	26	29	11	9	15	16	12	17	18	16
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	612	531	330	834	647	543	282	352	306	235
Debt incl. finance leases	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1,756	1,751	1,837
Total assets	2,398	2,466	2,991	3,174	3,391	3,852	3,978	4,254	4,361	4,434
Total liabilities	1,219	1,081	1,549	1,701	1,914	2,422	2,568	2,718	2,663	2,742
Shareholders' equity	1,018	1,250	1,277	1,293	1,308	1,277	1,255	1,376	1,532	1,574
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	19.4%	16.2%	12.1%	12.7%	13.2%	10.3%	11.2%	15.8%	18.8%	13.6%
Operating margin	12.0%	10.0%	6.1%	6.0%	2.4%	4.0%	4.5%	9.2%	11.1%	5.8%
Net margin	5.3%	6.0%	2.3%	1.8%	1.9%	1.6%	1.6%	4.5%	6.3%	3.2%
Free cash flow margin	9.2%	−2.9%	−7.2%	7.3%	−10.3%	−17.8%	−7.4%	−1.9%	−0.5%	−9.7%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	−9.8%	13.2%	13.2%	−0.6%	−47.7%	52.5%	25.1%	−12.1%	−9.0%	−33.8%
Return on capital	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	8.0%	3.5%
Return on equity	12.3%	13.4%	5.6%	3.8%	2.5%	3.6%	4.9%	12.2%	14.0%	5.1%
Return on assets	5.5%	6.2%	2.6%	1.6%	1.0%	1.3%	1.6%	3.9%	4.7%	1.8%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.2x	3.0x	5.8x

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