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Crane Stock Soars, But the Best Could Be Yet to Come: Here's WhyCrane NXT NYSE: CXT reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $493 million, up 22% from a year earlier, as organic growth in its Security and Authentication Technologies business and contributions from Antares Vision supported results. The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share outlook following what management described as a strong first half of the year.

Adjusted EBITDA was $115 million in the quarter, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 23% and 150 basis points of organic margin expansion, according to Chief Financial Officer Christina Cristiano. Adjusted EPS increased 13% year over year to $1.10, while adjusted free cash flow totaled $79 million, for a conversion ratio of approximately 124%.

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Crane can fly to new highs in 2024“We are executing against our value creation priorities, delivering growth, building on our leadership positions, and driving operational excellence through organic margin expansion and strong free cash flow,” President and Chief Executive Officer Aaron Saak said.

Guidance Raised on Sales Momentum and Lower Non-Operating Expense Crane NXT raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $4.22 to $4.42 per share. The revised outlook reflects higher expected sales in the Security and Authentication Technologies, or SAT, segment as well as an improved forecast for non-operating expense.

The company maintained its forecast for total sales growth of 15% to 17% for the year and continues to expect adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 24%. It lowered its forecast for non-operating expense to approximately $80 million from $85 million, citing anticipated debt paydown and lower borrowing costs.

For the third quarter, Crane NXT expects low-double-digit sales growth overall and an adjusted EBITDA margin in the mid-20% range. SAT sales are expected to be flat to slightly down from the prior year because of a strong 2025 comparison, while Detection and Traceability Technologies, or DTT, sales are projected to rise in the mid-20% range.

Management said revenue in the second half will be more weighted toward the fourth quarter, in line with normal seasonality.

Currency Demand Drives SAT Growth and Record Backlog Second-quarter SAT sales totaled $227 million, rising about 17% year over year. Organic sales increased approximately 10%, driven by sustained international currency demand. The segment also benefited from one month of contribution from the De La Rue Authentication acquisition, which closed in May 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA in SAT was $59 million, with a 26% margin. Organic adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by about 200 basis points year over year, reflecting productivity actions in the currency business and planned authentication synergies.

SAT backlog reached a record of approximately $500 million. Saak said the company is adding capacity through partnerships and through expansion of micro-optics facilities in the U.S. and Europe. He said the investments are intended to support high mid-single-digit growth in international currency over the next several years and eventually double the company’s micro-optics capabilities.

Crane NXT now expects high-single-digit to low-double-digit SAT sales growth for the full year, supported by international currency backlog and customer demand. The company also renewed its U.S. passport paper contract with the U.S. Government Publishing Office, extending the relationship for another 10 years.

Within authentication, management expects to end 2026 with a mid-teens EBITDA margin. Cristiano said the company expects mid-single-digit revenue growth in authentication during the second half and approximately 100 basis points of margin expansion for the SAT segment for the full year.

Antares Integration Supports DTT Results DTT sales increased 26% year over year to $267 million, reflecting a full-quarter contribution from Antares Vision. The company expects Antares to contribute approximately $200 million to $210 million of sales in 2026, with the fourth quarter representing its largest quarterly contribution because of historical seasonality.

Management said Antares had been part of Crane NXT for about 150 days at the time of the call and that integration efforts were progressing. Saak said the company has implemented the Crane Business System, including training and Kaizen events, to pursue productivity and margin-improvement opportunities.

Antares backlog was approximately $125 million within DTT’s total segment backlog of $257 million. Crane NXT expects to deliver that Antares backlog over the next 12 months.

Saak said the company expects Antares to generate adjusted EBITDA margins in the teens for 2026 and to increase those margins into the low 20% range over the next several years. He also cited potential longer-term opportunities to apply authentication technology in pharmaceutical markets and leverage currency-business relationships in emerging markets for pharmaceutical traceability initiatives.

CPI Hardware Softness Offset by Margin Actions Crane Payment Innovations, or CPI, faced softer hardware demand, particularly in retail-related custom projects, while services continued to grow in the mid-single digits. CPI backlog was approximately $132 million at quarter-end, up about 10% sequentially, and the business reported a book-to-bill ratio of approximately 1.1 times.

Despite softer hardware demand, DTT expanded organic EBITDA margin by approximately 240 basis points through pricing discipline and productivity actions. Management expects CPI sales to decline in the low single digits in the third quarter before improving to low-single-digit growth in the fourth quarter.

For the full year, Crane NXT expects CPI sales to be slightly down, including mid-single-digit services growth, low-single-digit vending growth and a mid-single-digit decline in hardware sales.

Crane NXT ended the quarter with net leverage of approximately 2.7 times. The company plans to direct free cash flow toward debt reduction and expects to end 2026 with net leverage of about 2.3 times. Management maintained its expectation for full-year free-cash-flow conversion of 90% to 110%.

About Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT)Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers' important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions. The Crane Currency segment provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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Circle’s IBM Patent Deal Could Redraw the Stablecoin Infrastructure RaceCrane NYSE: CR reported record second-quarter results for 2026, citing core sales growth, margin expansion, rising backlog and stronger-than-expected contributions from its January acquisitions. The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to $6.85 to $7.05 per share, an increase of $0.20 at the midpoint.

President and CEO Alex Alcala said the quarter reflected “strong execution across the company and continued momentum across our portfolio.” Total sales increased 26% from a year earlier, including 5% core growth, while adjusted operating profit rose 37%, according to Executive Vice President and CFO Rich Maue.

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3 Unique AI Software Plays With Strong Analyst SupportTotal company adjusted operating margin expanded 180 basis points to a record 21.3%. Maue said the improvement reflected higher core sales, acquisitions, productivity initiatives and favorable pricing net of inflation. The company said its adjusted results excluded a benefit from IEEPA tariff recoveries during the quarter, which it characterized as one-time recoveries not expected to materially recur during the remainder of the year.

Aerospace segment posts double-digit core growth Crane’s Aerospace & Advanced Technologies segment generated $339 million in second-quarter sales, up 31% from the prior year. Core sales rose 13.3%, led by broad-based commercial aerospace and defense demand.

MarketBeat Week in Review – 07/06 - 07/10The segment’s backlog reached nearly $1.3 billion, rising 11% on a core basis from a year earlier and 7% sequentially. Including the Druck acquisition, backlog increased 20% year over year.

Alcala said Crane saw strength across commercial and military aerospace, including new program wins. During the quarter, the company was selected to supply components for GE’s RISE program and announced it would provide a brake control system for the Otto Aerospace Phantom 3500 business jet.

Crane also cited growing defense-related demand. Alcala said the company has about $35 million of current content across more than 10 missile programs, including systems related to THAAD, Patriot and Tomahawk. Customer requests for quotations and forecasts indicate demand that could expand fourfold or fivefold by the end of the decade, he said.

For the full year, Crane now expects Aerospace & Advanced Technologies core sales growth to finish slightly above its long-term range of 7% to 9%. Segment adjusted operating margin was 25.8%, compared with 26.6% a year earlier, as the acquired Druck business had a dilutive effect on margins. Maue said the segment would have been roughly 100 basis points more profitable in the quarter without the acquisition’s impact.

Process Flow backlog improves sequentially Process Flow Technologies recorded sales of $386 million, up 21% from the prior-year period. Core sales declined 1.4%, while the Panametrics, Reuter-Stokes and optek acquisitions added nearly 22 percentage points of growth. Foreign exchange added 0.8 percentage points.

Although core foreign-exchange-neutral backlog was down 2% from a year earlier, it increased 2% sequentially. Core orders were approximately flat year over year. The segment posted adjusted operating margin of 22.2%, up about 80 basis points from the prior-year quarter despite acquisition-related dilution.

Management said demand and orders strengthened during the quarter, supporting expectations for year-over-year core growth to turn positive in the second half. Alcala pointed to improving quote activity and signs of recovery in chemical production, particularly in the Americas, alongside continued demand in industrial power generation, water and wastewater, cryogenics and nuclear-related markets.

Crane secured cryogenic projects from SpaceX and Blue Origin during the quarter. The company also said it continues to support nuclear-facility restarts, including Constellation Energy’s Crane Clean Energy Center, while pursuing future opportunities in pressurized-water reactors and small modular reactors through Reuter-Stokes.

The company maintained its full-year Process Flow Technologies outlook for core growth ranging from flat to low single digits. Maue said both volume and price are expected to contribute to second-half growth, and management expects strong operating leverage as volumes improve.

Acquisitions outperform initial expectations Crane said the four businesses acquired in January—Panametrics, Druck, Reuter-Stokes and optek—are performing ahead of plan. Management said integrations are progressing faster than expected, synergies are arriving sooner and additional growth and margin opportunities have been identified.

As a result, Crane increased its expectation for the acquisitions’ full-year earnings contribution to about $0.20 per share, up from approximately $0.15 per share previously.

Maue said the company originally expected the acquired portfolio to grow 4% to 6% and improve margins by 200 basis points in 2026, later increasing the margin expectation to 300 basis points. He now expects growth to exceed the original range and margin improvement to reach roughly 350 basis points or more for the year.

Balance sheet supports M&A focus Crane repaid $100 million of debt during the quarter and another $90 million after quarter-end, reducing pro forma net leverage to about 1.2 times. The company said its target leverage range is 2 times to 3 times and that acquisitions remain its primary capital-allocation priority.

Alcala said Crane’s pipeline of potential deals has “never been stronger” across both Aerospace & Advanced Technologies and Process Flow Technologies, though he said there was nothing imminent to announce. The company is seeking highly engineered, mission-critical technologies that can strengthen its franchises, expand exposure to attractive markets and support long-term margin expansion.

For the second half, Crane expects third-quarter results to be similar to the second quarter, followed by a modestly lower fourth quarter due to normal seasonality. The company continues to forecast 2026 corporate expense of $80 million to $85 million, net non-operating expense of about $58 million and a tax rate of approximately 23%.

About Crane (NYSE:CR)Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

Should You Invest $1,000 in Crane Right Now?Before you consider Crane, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Crane wasn't on the list.

While Crane currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

The AI wave will soon hit public markets with Anthropic and OpenAI set to go public later this year. However, you don't have to wait to invest. This report shows seven AI stocks that you can buy today while the big model providers get ready to go public.

Get This Free Report