KE
Kimball Electronics, Inc.
KE's outlook is improving despite an expensive valuation.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over KE overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
KE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
KE's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable, but its cash flow is under pressure.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
KE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 12x | $10.17 | -49% |
| Forward | 13x | $20.10 | — |
| Fair | 15x | $12.92 | -36% |
| Current | 24x | $20.10 | — |
| Expensive | 27x | $22.42 | +12% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KE's PE is in its expensive range at 24x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 13x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
VRT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $210 | — |
| Current | 39x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 58x | $308 | +47% |
| Fair | 72x | $383 | +83% |
| Expensive | 88x | $472 | +125% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VRT has the edge over KE in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
KE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for KE, with profitability holding steady.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
VRT has the edge over KE on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
KE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.59 | +90% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.84 | -13% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.13 | +66% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.05 | +50% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.97 | +213% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.96 | +92% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.68 | -16% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.70 | -45% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.31 | -86% |
KE's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.84 over the past year, against $2.27 in late 2023.
VRT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.14 | +71% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.35 | +102% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.98 | +131% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.41 | +166% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.65 | +75% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.09 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.72 | +64% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.28 | +7.6% |
VRT has the edge over KE on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
KE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $390.8M | +6.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $371.6M | -2.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $352.9M | -5.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $341.3M | -4.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $365.6M | -2.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $380.5M | -12% |
| Q1 2025 | $374.6M | -12% |
| Q4 2024 | $357.4M | -15% |
KE's revenue is recovering but still below its 2023 peak: $391M last quarter, up 6.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.2% | -0.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.8% | +3.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.3% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3.1% | +0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4% | +1.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.3% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.1% | +4.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.3% | -1.6 points |
KE's operating margin was 3.2% last quarter, down 0.8 points from the same quarter a year ago.
VRT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +26% |
VRT has the edge over KE on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +4.2 points |
VRT has the edge over KE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
KE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$28.3M | -$25.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $34M | -50% |
| Q1 2026 | $494K | -98% |
| Q4 2025 | -$11.2M | -149% |
| Q3 2025 | -$2.5M | -108% |
| Q2 2025 | $68.4M | +73% |
| Q1 2025 | $27M | -9.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.1M | +$67M |
KE's free cash flow was −$5M over the past year, against $116M the year before.
VRT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $654.9M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $926.5M | +233% |
| Q1 2026 | $654.2M | +145% |
| Q4 2025 | $885.6M | +143% |
| Q3 2025 | $463.5M | +36% |
| Q2 2025 | $277.9M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.8M | +162% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.5M | +18% |
VRT has the edge over KE on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
KE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.8% | -187K shares |
| 1 year | -1.3% | -328K shares |
| 3 years | -2.6% | -657K shares |
| 5 years | -2.8% | -720K shares |
| Available history | -3% | -749K shares |
KE has the edge over VRT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $2.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $4M |
| Q4 2025 | $4.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $3M |
| Q1 2025 | $3M |
| Q4 2024 | $3.1M |
KE spent $14M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 33% from the year before.
VRT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -64.9K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +4.4M shares |
| 5 years | +10% | +36M shares |
| Available history | +63% | +152M shares |
VRT has 393M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | $599.9M |
KE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 2.2x | Moderate |
KE's net debt is about 1.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than a year a year ago.
VRT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
VRT has the edge over KE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
KE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 21.9 | Neutral |
KE's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 22 (neutral).
VRT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.4 | Neutral |
VRT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 26 (neutral).
KE PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | KE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 0.4% below |
| PE % | 77 | 58 | 19 pts above |
KE has the edge over VRT on valuation relative to its sector.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT is trading at 39x earnings, a 63% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
KE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $25.1 | 20% below |
| 20 week MA | $24.9 | 19% below |
| 50 week MA | $25.8 | 22% below |
| 100 week MA | $23.5 | 15% below |
| 200 week MA | $23.4 | 14% below |
KE is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 14% below its 200-week average.
VRT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $221.8 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $254.4 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $253.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $189.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $123.5 | 70% above |
VRT has the edge over KE on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
KE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $17.9 | $15.6 | -12% |
| 2021 | $15.6 | $21.2 | +36% |
| 2022 | $21.2 | $22.4 | +5.4% |
| 2023 | $22.4 | $27.0 | +20% |
| 2024 | $27.0 | $18.8 | -30% |
| 2025 | $18.8 | $29.2 | +55% |
| 2026 YTD | $29.2 | $20.1 | -31% |
KE is down 31% so far in 2026, after finishing higher in four of the previous six years.
VRT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.9 | $18.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $18.9 | $24.9 | +31% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $12.8 | -48% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $48.0 | +275% |
| 2024 | $48.0 | $115.1 | +140% |
| 2025 | $115.1 | $167.6 | +46% |
| 2026 YTD | $167.6 | $209.6 | +25% |
VRT has the edge over KE on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.