At a glance
Armstrong World Industries Inc is worth $6.55B, about 22 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 12.1% to $1.62B in fiscal 2025, with 19.0% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 11.6% a year. It pays a 0.87% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 7 years, and returned $800.5M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −18.4% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +9.4% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 39.7% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 35.9% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 17 months and 20 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Armstrong World Industries, a Pennsylvania company incorporated in 1891, makes ceilings, specialty walls and exterior metal products, mainly for office (including data centers), education, healthcare, transportation and retail buildings in the United States, Canada and Latin America. About 63% of 2025 sales went to building materials distributors, which resell to contractors, and nearly 7% to home centers. After Home Depot bought distributor GMS and Lowe's bought Foundation Building Materials in late 2025, each retailer, including its new distributor, topped 10% of Armstrong's gross sales.
The bigger segment, Mineral Fiber, brought in $1.03 billion, or 63.6% of 2025 revenue of $1.62 billion. It makes suspended ceiling tiles from mineral fiber and fiberglass that control noise, resist fire and save energy, and most of its commercial sales go into renovating existing buildings. The segment also includes Armstrong's half of WAVE, a company it co-owns with Worthington Enterprises that makes the metal grid holding ceiling tiles in place.
Architectural Specialties, at $590 million or 36.4%, sells premium and custom ceilings and walls in metal, wood, felt, resin and glass, plus exterior metal products. Most of its sales go into new buildings and are tied to individual projects, which makes them less predictable. Armstrong has expanded it through acquisitions, including 3form and Zahner in 2024 and Geometrik and Parallel in 2025.
Price history
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AWI -18.4% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Mineral Fiber | $1.03B | 63.6% |
| Architectural Specialties | $590.1M | 36.4% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $475.8M, up 11.9% from a year earlier, and net income was $91.9M (+6.5%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $1.62B (+12.1% year over year; +11.6% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 19% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +11.6% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 26.6% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 15.2% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 34.3% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 16% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-398.2M weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $936.9M | $-99.1M | $163.4M |
| FY2021 | $1.11B | $183.2M | $107.4M |
| FY2022 | $1.23B | $202.9M | $107.6M |
| FY2023 | $1.30B | $223.8M | $149.7M |
| FY2024 | $1.45B | $264.9M | $184.0M |
| FY2025 | $1.62B | $308.7M | $246.1M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $6.55B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 22.1 |
| Dividend yield | 0.87% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Armstrong World Industries’s market value went from $2.31B at the end of 2016 to $6.55B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.8 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 20%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $6.55B | -20.5% |
| 2025 | $8.24B | +33.8% |
| 2024 | $6.16B | +41.8% |
| 2023 | $4.34B | +38.7% |
| 2022 | $3.13B | -43.2% |
| 2021 | $5.51B | +54.8% |
| 2020 | $3.56B | -21.9% |
| 2019 | $4.56B | +58.0% |
| 2018 | $2.89B | -9.7% |
| 2017 | $3.20B | +38.6% |
| 2016 | $2.31B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWI price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -17.5% | -18.4% | +30.1% | +9.4% | +15.6% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -17.5% |
| 2025 | +36.3% |
| 2024 | +45.0% |
| 2023 | +45.3% |
| 2022 | -40.3% |
| 2021 | +57.4% |
| 2020 | -20.0% |
| 2019 | +62.8% |
| 2018 | -3.6% |
| 2017 | +44.9% |
| 2016 | -8.6% |
| 2015 | -10.5% |
| 2014 | -11.3% |
| 2013 | +13.6% |
| 2012 | +35.9% |
| 2011 | +2.0% |
| 2010 | +47.6% |
| 2009 | +80.1% |
| 2008 | -37.8% |
| 2007 | -5.4% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 73% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 75.4%, back to its old high 7.4 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 35.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 39.7%, back to its old high 16.6 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 28.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 35.9%, back to its old high 19.9 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 1 open-market purchases ($100K) and 0 sales ($0.00).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2026 | Roy W Templin Director | buy | $100K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 11.5% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.24% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.23% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| The London Company | 4.94% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Capital International Investors | 1.8% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in AWI
| PSCI Invesco S&P SmallCap Industrials ETF | 2.71% |
| XSHQ Invesco S&P SmallCap Quality ETF | 2.63% |
| XSMO Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum ETF | 1.86% |
| CAFG Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF | 1.61% |
| VIOG Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF | 0.99% |
| IJT iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF | 0.98% |
| SLYG SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF | 0.97% |
| FNY First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund | 0.59% |
What could go wrong
- Heavy dependence on Home Depot and Lowe's. Home Depot and Lowe's bought two of Armstrong's largest distributors in 2025 and together accounted for $937.8 million of gross sales that year. Losing business or pricing pressure from either could hurt results.
- Reliance on the WAVE joint venture. WAVE, the ceiling-grid company Armstrong co-owns 50/50 with Worthington Enterprises, is important to its earnings. Weaker WAVE results, quality problems or a change in Worthington's ownership or strategy could hurt Armstrong.
- Exposure to North American construction cycles. Sales depend on commercial construction and renovation in North America. Rising office vacancies or fewer building starts can cut demand, and a drop in starts can hit new-construction sales up to 24 months later.
- Energy and raw material cost swings. Plants use large amounts of natural gas and some petroleum-based materials, and certain inputs come from just one or a few suppliers. Tariffs or supply disruptions could raise costs Armstrong cannot fully pass on.
- Frequent acquisitions bring integration risk. Armstrong bought 3form, Zahner, Geometrik and Parallel between April 2024 and December 2025 and says it will likely pursue more deals. Acquired businesses may cost more or deliver less than expected.
- Union contracts and labor costs. Most manufacturing workers are unionized. Contracts covering about 260 employees at one U.S. plant were due to expire during 2026, and strikes, tough renegotiations or labor shortages could disrupt production or raise costs.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Other company announcement
- Executive or board change
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Shareholder vote results; Other company announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
Armstrong's dividend is growing but small, yielding 0.87% as of October 28, 2026, so it provides little income on its own. The dividend has risen at least seven years in a row, growing from $0.81 a share in 2020 to about $1.26 in 2025, about 9.3% a year. The 2025 payout used just 17.9% of earnings and 22.4% of free cash flow (cash left after spending on plants and equipment). Buybacks are larger: from 2021 to 2025 the company spent $562 million repurchasing shares versus $238 million on dividends, and the share count fell 11.2% between February 2022 and October 2026.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns: about 75% in the 2008 financial crisis, 40% in the 2020 COVID crash and 36% in the 2022 market slump. It needed about 17 and 20 months to recover from the last two. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds, because one company's setbacks are not offset by other holdings.
Questions investors ask
How does Armstrong World Industries make money?
Armstrong makes money selling ceiling systems, specialty walls and exterior metal products, mostly to building materials distributors that resell them to contractors. In 2025, its Mineral Fiber segment, which sells acoustic ceiling tiles mainly for renovations, produced $1.03 billion, or 63.6% of $1.62 billion in revenue. Architectural Specialties, which sells premium and custom designs mainly for new buildings, produced $590 million, or 36.4%. Armstrong also earns half the profits of WAVE, a ceiling-grid maker it co-owns with Worthington Enterprises.
Does Armstrong World Industries raise its dividend every year?
Yes, so far. Armstrong has raised its dividend per share at least seven years in a row, through 2025, and the streak may be longer. It grew from $0.81 in 2020 to about $1.26 in 2025, roughly 9.3% a year. The yield was a modest 0.87% as of October 28, 2026, and the 2025 dividend used only 17.9% of earnings. Its 10-K says future dividends are not guaranteed.
Who are Armstrong World Industries' biggest customers?
Home Depot and Lowe's each accounted for more than 10% of Armstrong's gross sales in 2025, counting distributors they bought that year: Home Depot acquired GMS in September and Lowe's acquired Foundation Building Materials in October. Gross sales to the two groups totaled $937.8 million. Overall, about 63% of 2025 net sales went to building materials distributors and nearly 7% to home centers. The 10-K flags the loss of key customers as a major risk.
How has Armstrong World Industries stock performed?
Strong over longer periods, weak over the latest year. As of October 28, 2026, the share price had risen about 30.1% a year over three years, 9.4% a year over five years and 15.6% a year over 10 years. After gains of about 45% in both 2023 and 2024 and 36% in 2025, it was down 17.5% year to date and 18.4% over one year. Its price-to-earnings ratio, based on 2025 earnings, was 22.1.
How much debt does Armstrong World Industries have?
Armstrong had $469.6 million of total debt as of September 30, 2026. Subtracting $71.4 million of cash and investments leaves net debt of about $398 million, less than the $430.9 million of operating income (profit from its main operations) it earned in 2025. Shareholders' equity was $893.8 million. The 10-K warns that its debt could limit its ability to invest, pursue its strategy and return cash to shareholders.