NOVTNovanta Inc.
Is the business good?
The checks split: earnings fully cash-backed (1.9×), but margins compressing.
Mixed fundamental signals. Nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year health from the filings.
Operating profit is fully backed by cash. Conversion is improving vs a year ago.
Operating profit is falling even as sales grow, costs are outrunning the top line.
A balanced mix of margins, efficiency, and leverage. ROE 5% = margin × turnover × leverage.
Unless marked, from derived.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is NOVT?
Novanta Inc. earns 6.5% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so growth costs more than it returns.
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 2.5 points below what the capital costs: growth destroys value
- Operating margin
- 9.0%
Operating margin · Scientific & Technical Instruments median 16% · 12 months to Q2 2026
- Cash conversion
- 1.87×
Cash conversion · 1.55× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
- Share count, year on year
- +14%
Share count, year on year · shareholders own a smaller slice than a year ago
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 9.5% |
| FY2021 | 9.1% |
| FY2022 | 12% |
| FY2023 | 13% |
| FY2024 | 12% |
| FY2025 | 9.6% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 45%
- Operating margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 9.0%
- Net margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 6.0%
- Free cash flow margin
- 11%
- R&D as % of revenue
- 9.2%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $1.03B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- $114M
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $62M
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 6.5%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.
Scientific & Technical Instruments
Ranks #6 of 12 by RyuScore