MSA
MSA Safety Incorporated
MSA's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks cheap: trading at 22x earnings, below its usual 37x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
MSA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
MSA's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
MSA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 18x | $175 | — |
| Current | 22x | $175 | — |
| Cheap | 24x | $183 | +5% |
| Fair | 36x | $276 | +58% |
| Expensive | 127x | $988 | +466% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSA's PE is in its cheap range at 22x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings.
MSA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MSA, with profitability improving.
MSA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.72 | +25% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.78 | +9.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.04 | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.40 | +2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.08 | -1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.09 | +2.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.01 | +1.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.25 | +7.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.21 | +397% |
MSA earned $7.78 per share over the past year, up 9.7% from the year before.
MSA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $536.4M | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $503.3M | +6.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $463.6M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $510.9M | +2.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $468.4M | +8.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $474.1M | +2.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $421.3M | +1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $499.7M | +0.9% |
MSA's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $536M last quarter, up 15% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 16% | -3.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | +4.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | +1.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 22% | -1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | -1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | -3.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 24% | +2.9 points |
MSA's operating margin was 16% last quarter, down 3.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MSA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $68.2M | -32% |
| Q2 2026 | $82.7M | +118% |
| Q1 2026 | $65.1M | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $106M | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $100.5M | +43% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.9M | -2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $51M | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $93.5M | -36% |
MSA generated $322M in free cash flow over the past year, up 14% from the year before.
MSA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -50K shares |
| 1 year | -1.6% | -633K shares |
| 3 years | -2% | -803K shares |
| 5 years | -2% | -783K shares |
| Available history | -1.4% | -542K shares |
MSA has 39M diluted shares, down 1.6% from a year ago, with $139M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $26M |
| Q1 2026 | $60.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $39.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $30.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $18.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $9.9M |
MSA spent $139M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 132% from the year before.
MSA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.8x | Very low |
MSA's net debt is about 1.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from a year a year ago.
MSA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.5 | Oversold |
MSA's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (oversold).
MSA PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | MSA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 6.6% below |
| PE % | 8 | 58 | 50 pts below |
MSA is trading at 22x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
MSA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $178.6 | 2.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $181.0 | 3.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $176.3 | 0.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $169.6 | 3% above |
| 200 week MA | $168.1 | 3.9% above |
MSA has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 3.9% above its 200-week average.
MSA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $127.4 | $149.0 | +17% |
| 2021 | $149.0 | $147.2 | -1.2% |
| 2022 | $147.2 | $140.7 | -4.4% |
| 2023 | $140.7 | $168.8 | +20% |
| 2024 | $168.8 | $167.2 | -1% |
| 2025 | $167.2 | $163.9 | -2% |
| 2026 YTD | $163.9 | $174.6 | +6.6% |
MSA has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 6.6% so far in 2026.