Quality Investor

Tennant Company

Rank #149Capital Return

TNC · NYSE · Industrials

Tennant Company (TNC) — Rank #149 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.38) · ROE 8.2% · Piotroski F-Score N/A.

As-of 2026-09-15 · CIK 0000097134 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Tennant Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets floor cleaning equipment in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.

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The company offers manual and autonomous mechanized cleaning equipment for industrial and commercial use, detergent-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies, aftermarket parts and consumables, and equipment maintenance and repair services. It also provides business solutions such as financing, rental and leasing programs, and machine-to-machine asset management solutions. In addition, the company offers robotic cleaning equipment; IRIS, an asset management solution; ec-H2O NanoClean, a detergent-free cleaning solution; and ReadySpace, a rapid-drying carpet cleaning technology. It offers its products under the Tennant, Nobles, Alfa Uma Empresa Tennant, IPC, Gaomei, and Rongen brands, as well as private-label brands. The company serves retail establishments, distribution centers, factories and warehouses, public venues such as arenas and stadiums, office buildings, schools and universities, hospitals and clinics, and others. It markets its products to contract cleaners and businesses through direct sales and service organizations, as well as through a network of authorized distributors.

Tennant Company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Industry
Specialty Industrial Machinery
Sector
Industrials
State
MN
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31

Price History

TNC-2.8% · -0.6% CAGRSPY+80.5% · +12.5% CAGR

Company Snapshot

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

Market Cap

$1.16B

P/E (annual)

28.9

P/S (annual)

1.0

P/B

2.2

P/OCF (annual)

17.9

Shareholder Yield

0.6%

Employees

4,500

Industry

Specialty Industrial Machinery

Exchange

NYSE

Signal Flags

3 green1 yellow2 red
Operating leverage expandingOperating income growing faster than revenue
Deferred revenue growingRevenue and deferred revenue both growing — retention signal
Sequential beat (rev + EPS)Both revenue and EPS exceeded prior quarter — 2-quarter streak
Disclosure regressionA previously-disclosed line item is no longer reported — worth checking the filing for why
Balance sheet deterioratingNet cash collapsed with receivables or inventory outpacing revenue
Valuation convergenceEPS declining, shares diluting, and revenue growth decelerating simultaneously

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.38
Return on equity
8.2%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.37
Current ratio
2.04×
Net cash
-$197.20M

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.9%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
7.1%
Piotroski F-Score
N/A
Share dilution
1.3%

Terry Smith quality gate

Passes 1/5 Terry Smith thresholds

1 of 5 threshold not computable from filed data.

What Growth Is Priced In

Implied revenue growth (10Y)

12.9%

incredible deal

The annual FCF growth rate today's price requires over a 10-year horizon (discount rate 10%, terminal growth 2.5%).

Dilution drag: 1.3% — per-share value needs a total required return of 14.2% once share-count change is priced in.

vs. own 6-year median revenue growth: 6.6%

priced above its own history

Cost-of-equity sensitivity (implied growth at different discount rates)

r = 8%

8.3%

r = 10% (base)

12.9%

r = 12%

16.9%

Net debt / market cap: 15.6%

Base FCF: $43.3M3Y mean FCF: $52M

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

22.2xCheap
22.2xmed 31.0x43.4x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

1.3xFair
1.0xmed 1.3x1.5x

P / B

Price / book value per share

3.3xCheap
3.3xmed 3.8x4.3x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

3.3xExpensive
2.6xmed 3.2x3.6x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

28.8xFair
12.5xmed 28.8x42.4x

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

Profitability

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.38

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

83rd pctl of 36 SIC 35 peers

Return on equity

8.2%

Gross margin

40.2%

46th pctl of 36 SIC 35 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

7.1%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2018201920202021
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

3.8%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

-12.9%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

Anti-fragile safety

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.37

26th pctl of 36 SIC 35 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

2.04×

49th pctl of 36 SIC 35 peers

Quick ratio

1.21×

Net cash

-$197.20M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Cash-flow health

Free cash flow

$43.30M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF / net income

-0.01

Cash-backing of earnings.

FCF/NI divergence

Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.9%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Dividend safety

Composite score

3.0 / 5

Good
Payout ratio
50.0%4/5 Strong
FCF coverage
1.98×3/5 Good
Dividend growth streak
9 yr4/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 1.37 · IC N/A1/5 Weak

Piotroski F-Score

F-Score

N/A

Only 8/9 components determinable.

Lifecycle Phase History

20162021
Capital Return
Value