Knowles (NYSE:KN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Knowles (NYSE:KN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $162.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.23 million. Knowles had a return on equity of 9.84% and a net margin of 7.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Knowles updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.220-0.260 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Knowles’ conference call:

• Knowles reported strong results: Q4 revenue of $162M (+14% YoY), FY revenue of $593M (+7% YoY), Q4 cash from operations of $47M and full-year cash from operations of $114M, all above guidance.
• Precision Devices and MedTech momentum: Precision Devices revenue was $90M in Q4 (+23% YoY) with wins across defense, MedTech, industrial, EV and energy, and the company says book-to-bill >1 with a robust design-win pipeline.
• Large energy/specialty film ramp underway: a Greenville capacity expansion is being installed and the company expects the energy/pulse-power ramp to be at full volume by end of Q2 and forecasts $50–$65M revenue from the specialty film category in 2026.
• Operational and near-term margin headwinds: the specialty film line incurred higher scrap and production inefficiencies that partially offset margin gains, SG&A rose (incentive comp), and the company exited the quarter with $54M cash and $114M borrowings under its revolver.

Knowles Trading Up 9.0%

NYSE:KN traded up $2.22 on Friday, reaching $26.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,615,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,929. Knowles has a 12-month low of $12.19 and a 12-month high of $27.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.86 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Insider Activity

In other Knowles news, CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $1,987,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 739,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,593,305. This represents a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $5,050,000. 2.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knowles

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KN. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 19,691 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Knowles by 94.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Knowles by 0.7% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 168,600 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,930,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Knowles by 8.0% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 20,289 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Knowles by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,722 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knowles News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Knowles this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Knowles reported $0.36 EPS vs. $0.35 consensus and revenue of $162.2M vs. ~$156.2M expected; revenue rose ~13.8% year-over-year, showing clear near-term top-line momentum. Knowles Reports Q4 & Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Provides Outlook for Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Demand acceleration — Analysts and press note accelerating demand for MEMS microphones, which along with a specialty film production ramp is supporting the company’s revenue growth outlook. This underpins medium-term secular growth drivers for the audio segment. Knowles earnings on deck as MEMS microphone demand accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 revenue target and specialty-film lift — Management is targeting ~12% revenue growth for Q1 2026 and issued revenue guidance of $143M–$153M, signaling the company sees continued strength from product ramps and specialty-film volumes. Knowles outlines 12% revenue growth target for Q1 2026 amid strong demand and specialty film ramp
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance largely in line — Knowles set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $0.220–$0.260 (consensus ~ $0.220) and revenue guidance that includes the Street estimate at the low end; guidance validates recovery but doesn’t offer a large surprise upside. Knowles Reports Q4 & Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Provides Outlook for Q1 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risk — The stock trades with a relatively high PE (~56x) and remains sensitive to execution on ramps and macro-driven consumer electronics demand; any slowdown could pressure expectations. KN stock page

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on KN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a report on Monday, December 29th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Knowles in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Knowles to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $30.00 price objective on Knowles in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Knowles from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.67.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.