Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 24.0x · EV/EBITDA 14.9x · ROE 22.2%. (1996–2025 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $6.6B | $6.3B | $6.6B | $6.7B | $5.7B | $6.0B | $5.9B | $5.0B | $3.7B | $3.0B | $2.6B |
| Enterprise Value | $7.1B | $6.8B | $6.9B | $7.2B | $6.1B | $6.5B | $6.1B | $5.2B | $3.9B | $3.3B | $2.9B |
| P/E Ratio → | 24.03 | 22.59 | 22.99 | 114.07 | 31.62 | 279.56 | 47.28 | 36.31 | 29.55 | 115.70 | 28.65 |
| P/S Ratio | 3.52 | 3.36 | 3.62 | 3.73 | 3.72 | 4.25 | 4.35 | 3.53 | 2.70 | 2.51 | 2.29 |
| P/B Ratio | 4.90 | 4.61 | 5.73 | 6.89 | 6.15 | 7.14 | 6.93 | 6.76 | 5.69 | 4.94 | 4.67 |
| P/FCF | 22.36 | 21.33 | 27.06 | 133.04 | 50.06 | 39.70 | 37.23 | 38.58 | 15.97 | 14.52 | 24.08 |
| P/OCF | 18.15 | 17.32 | 22.11 | 71.77 | 36.09 | 29.90 | 28.41 | 30.02 | 13.77 | 13.02 | 19.52 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 3.61 | 3.84 | 4.01 | 4.01 | 4.61 | 4.49 | 3.71 | 2.87 | 2.79 | 2.53 |
| EV / EBITDA | 14.92 | 14.28 | 15.31 | 24.53 | 20.74 | 88.27 | 28.64 | 22.98 | 18.43 | 43.12 | 14.85 |
| EV / EBIT | 17.58 | 16.82 | 16.86 | 28.27 | 23.55 | 187.77 | 34.12 | 26.08 | 21.49 | 74.00 | 17.29 |
| EV / FCF | — | 22.89 | 28.67 | 143.01 | 53.98 | 43.01 | 38.44 | 40.51 | 16.94 | 16.17 | 26.61 |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 46.5% | 46.5% | 47.6% | 47.7% | 44.1% | 43.9% | 44.2% | 45.6% | 45.1% | 45.0% | 45.4% |
| Operating Margin | 21.4% | 21.4% | 21.5% | 12.9% | 15.7% | 1.6% | 12.7% | 13.4% | 12.8% | 3.3% | 14.0% |
| Net Profit Margin | 14.9% | 14.9% | 15.8% | 3.3% | 11.8% | 1.5% | 9.2% | 9.8% | 9.1% | 2.2% | 8.0% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 22.2% | 22.2% | 27.0% | 6.2% | 20.4% | 2.5% | 15.7% | 20.0% | 19.8% | 4.4% | 17.0% |
| ROA | 11.7% | 11.7% | 13.0% | 2.6% | 7.5% | 1.0% | 6.8% | 8.2% | 7.5% | 1.7% | 6.6% |
| ROIC | 17.9% | 17.9% | 19.5% | 12.2% | 13.3% | 1.4% | 12.8% | 15.3% | 14.3% | 3.3% | 14.0% |
| ROCE | 19.2% | 19.2% | 20.7% | 12.0% | 11.7% | 1.2% | 11.2% | 13.5% | 12.7% | 3.1% | 13.9% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 0.46 | 0.46 | 0.48 | 0.67 | 0.66 | 0.77 | 0.42 | 0.55 | 0.56 | 0.78 | 0.69 |
| Debt / EBITDA | 1.32 | 1.32 | 1.22 | 2.21 | 2.06 | 8.73 | 1.66 | 1.77 | 1.71 | 6.13 | 1.99 |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.52 | 0.48 | 0.60 | 0.23 | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.56 | 0.49 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.86 | 1.71 | 1.51 | 6.80 | 0.90 | 1.09 | 1.05 | 4.39 | 1.41 |
| Debt / FCF | — | 1.56 | 1.61 | 9.98 | 3.92 | 3.31 | 1.21 | 1.93 | 0.96 | 1.65 | 2.53 |
| Interest Coverage | 12.64 | 12.64 | 11.17 | 5.42 | 12.01 | 3.19 | 18.83 | 14.67 | 9.60 | 2.94 | 10.26 |
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 3.01 | 3.01 | 2.79 | 2.36 | 2.54 | 2.40 | 2.58 | 2.50 | 2.33 | 2.15 | 2.14 |
| Quick Ratio | 1.82 | 1.82 | 1.76 | 1.48 | 1.57 | 1.55 | 1.79 | 1.83 | 1.77 | 1.62 | 1.67 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.57 | 0.57 | 0.57 | 0.44 | 0.50 | 0.58 | 0.76 | 0.73 | 0.69 | 0.46 | 0.51 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.73 | 0.82 | 0.82 | 0.64 | 0.58 | 0.70 | 0.81 | 0.84 | 0.71 | 0.85 |
| Inventory Turnover | 2.93 | 2.93 | 3.19 | 3.20 | 2.52 | 2.80 | 3.07 | 4.13 | 4.77 | 4.28 | 6.09 |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | 59.66 | 56.36 | 60.17 | 72.37 | 69.52 | 72.58 | 69.35 | 66.81 | 79.76 | 68.49 |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1.9% |
| Payout Ratio | 29.5% | 29.5% | 27.6% | 125.4% | 39.8% | 321.2% | 53.7% | 46.0% | 46.1% | 201.9% | 53.4% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 4.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 0.9% | 3.2% | 0.4% | 2.1% | 2.8% | 3.4% | 0.9% | 3.5% |
| FCF Yield | 4.5% | 4.7% | 3.7% | 0.8% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 2.6% | 6.3% | 6.9% | 4.2% |
| Buyback Yield | 1.4% | 1.4% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 2.6% | 2.7% | 1.8% | 1.2% | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 2.3% | 1.9% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $39M | $40M | $39M | $39M | $39M | $39M | $39M | $39M | $39M | $38M |
Municipal Procurement Timing Volatility
According to current market data, MSA trades at a forward P/E of 19.20, which suggests investors are pricing in the durability of its fire service replacement cycles rather than the cyclicality of its industrial gas detection segment compared to broader industrial peers.
The current valuation multiple appears to reflect a premium over commodity PPE manufacturers, likely due to the recurring revenue potential of the 'Safety io' software ecosystem. Investors should monitor whether the PEG ratio of 1.37 remains sustainable if the transition to service-oriented revenue models experiences delays in scaling.
Based on reported figures, MSA's ROIC has fluctuated between 3.8% and 5.9% over the last ten quarters, indicating that the company is currently struggling to generate returns on invested capital that consistently exceed its cost of capital during this integration phase.
The persistent gap between ROIC and historical performance suggests that the recent acquisition-heavy strategy has yet to yield the expected synergies. Analysts should investigate whether the rising goodwill balance is masking a decay in the underlying return profile of the core manufacturing business.
As reported in quarterly filings, the cash conversion cycle remains elevated, peaking at 147 days in 2026Q1, which highlights the significant working capital drag caused by the lumpy, project-based nature of municipal fire service procurement and inventory management.
The high days inventory outstanding, which reached 128 days in the most recent quarter, suggests that MSA must maintain substantial stock to meet regulatory-driven demand. This inventory dependence warrants further investigation into whether supply chain bottlenecks are forcing inefficient capital allocation in the detection segment.
Based on the provided quarterly data, MSA has maintained a disciplined debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45 as of 2026Q1, demonstrating a conservative approach to capital structure that provides a significant buffer against the inherent volatility of its project-based revenue streams.
The interest coverage ratio of 12.69 suggests that debt service remains highly comfortable, even during periods of revenue contraction. This financial health appears to be a deliberate strategy to maintain the capacity for future bolt-on acquisitions without compromising the company's long-term dividend commitments.
The P/E ratio is frequently misapplied to MSA because it fails to account for the non-cash charges related to legacy liabilities and the lumpy revenue recognition inherent in municipal contract cycles, which can artificially depress earnings in any given quarter.
Investors should instead prioritize EV/EBITDA or free cash flow yield to better capture the underlying operational cash generation of the business. Relying solely on P/E may lead to an inaccurate assessment of the company's true earning power during periods of heavy investment in the software-as-a-service transition.
Includes 30+ ratios · 30 years · Updated daily
DCF models, multiple analysis, and analyst estimates.
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Compare growth, multiples, and margins vs sector.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying MSA stock.
MSA Safety Incorporated's current P/E ratio is 24.0x. The historical average is 28.6x. This places it at the 66th percentile of its historical range.
MSA Safety Incorporated's current EV/EBITDA is 14.9x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 16.0x.
MSA Safety Incorporated's return on equity (ROE) is 22.2%. This is above the typical threshold of 15-20% considered good for most companies. The historical average is 14.5%.
Based on historical data, MSA Safety Incorporated is trading at a P/E of 24.0x. This is at the 66th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
MSA Safety Incorporated's current dividend yield is 1.23% with a payout ratio of 29.5%.
MSA Safety Incorporated has 46.5% gross margin and 21.4% operating margin. Operating margin above 20% indicates strong pricing power and cost efficiency.
MSA Safety Incorporated's Debt/EBITDA ratio is 1.3x, indicating moderate leverage. A ratio below 2x is generally considered financially healthy.