Quality Investor
MarketsPortfolioEvidenceTestedCompareWatchlistAbout 

Knowles Corporation

Rank #281Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

KN · NYSE · Technology

Knowles Corporation (KN) — Rank #281 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.24) · ROE 5.7% · Piotroski F-Score N/A.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0001587523 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) and microwave filters, balanced armature speakers, and medtech microphones in Asia, the United States, Europe, rest of Americas, and internationally.

Show more

It operates in two segments, Precision Devices (PD) and Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA). The PD segment focuses on the custom design and delivery of high performance capacitor products and RF solutions primarily serving the defense, industrial, medtech, and electrification/energy markets. The MSA segment designs and manufactures balanced armature speakers and microphones for the hearing health; and specialty audio applications that serve the medtech and industrial markets. The company manufactures and sells film, electrolytic, and mica capacitors that are used in medtech, defense, and industrial electrification applications. It serves the defense, medtech, electric vehicle, industrial, and communications markets through original equipment manufacturers, their contract manufacturers, suppliers, sales representatives, and distributors.

Knowles Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois.

Industry
Electronic Components
Sector
Technology
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31

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

5,200

Industry

Electronic Components

Exchange

NYSE

10/10

Flags passed

KN passes 10/10 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • 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

No data FCF vs investment · Free cash flow — not counted as a pass.

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
0.24
Return on equity
5.7%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.35
Current ratio
3.27×
Net cash
-$79.30M

Cash Flow

Positive FCF
N/A
Cash-backed earnings
N/A
Accruals healthy
N/A
SBC / revenue
4.8%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
7.2%
Piotroski F-Score
N/A
Share dilution
-2.3%

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 43rd percentile of 47 SIC 36 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.24

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

43rd pctl of 47 SIC 36 peers

Return on equity

5.7%

Gross margin

43.2%

50th pctl of 47 SIC 36 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

7.2%

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)

7.4%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

-4.9%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

—

FCF CAGR (3Y)

—

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No data

Free cash flow

—

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

N/A

FCF vs net income

—

(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).

N/A

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

N/A

SBC / revenue

4.8%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $79.30M

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.35

73rd pctl of 45 SIC 36 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

3.27×

63rd pctl of 47 SIC 36 peers

Quick ratio

1.65×

Net cash

-$79.30M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

N/A

Only 7/9 components determinable.

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.3 / 5

Good
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-2.3%4/5 Strong
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency(non-payer or broken streak)
0 yr3/5 Good
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
1.8%3/5 Good

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Decline
Op. Leverage
Value
Hypergrowth
Capital Return

Price History

KN+84.4% · +13.0% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR

View full financial statements →

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