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Blue Bird Corporation

Rank #260Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

BLBD · Nasdaq · Industrials

Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD) — Rank #260 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.26) · ROE 19.5% · Piotroski F-Score 8 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0001589526 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally.

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The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines. The company also sells replacement bus parts; and provides extended warranties related to its products. Blue Bird Corporation sells its products through drop ship and a network of dealers, as well as directly to fleet operators, the United States government, and state governments; independent service centers; and maintains a parts distribution center. It has a collaboration with Ford Motor Company to create the next generation of F-53/F-59 commercial stripped chassis.

Blue Bird Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Macon, Georgia.

Industry
Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery
Sector
Industrials
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
October 3

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

2,008

Industry

Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery

Exchange

Nasdaq

12/12

Flags passed

BLBD passes 12/12 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Operating leverage expanding · Deferred revenue growing · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.26
Return on equity
19.5%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.78
Current ratio
1.64×
Net cash
$30.01M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
1.0%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
9.9%
Piotroski F-Score
8 / 9
Share dilution
-1.4%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 80th percentile of 21 SIC 37 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.26

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

80th pctl of 21 SIC 37 peers

Return on equity

19.5%

Gross margin

20.5%

45th pctl of 21 SIC 37 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

9.9%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

22.7%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

—

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

—

FCF CAGR (3Y)

—

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 20% above net income

Free cash flow

$153.34M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

20.1%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

1.0%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net cash $30.01M, F-Score 8/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.78

68th pctl of 20 SIC 37 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.64×

30th pctl of 21 SIC 37 peers

Quick ratio

0.54×

Net cash

$30.01M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

8 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.7 / 5

Good
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-1.4%3/5 Good
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency(non-payer or broken streak)
0 yr3/5 Good
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
17.0%5/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20212025
Decline
Op. Leverage
Startup
Hypergrowth
Capital Return

Price History

BLBD+210.5% · +25.4% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR

View full financial statements →

Source filings on SEC EDGAR: 10-K annual reports · 10-Q quarterly reports