At a glance
Franklin Electric Co Inc is worth $4.27B, about 30 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 5.4% to $2.13B in fiscal 2025, with 6.9% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 11.3% a year. It pays a 1.15% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $545.4M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +2.6% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +3.6% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 28.4% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 27.7% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 5 months and 4 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Franklin Electric, an Indiana company founded in 1944, makes the pumps, motors and controls that move water and fuel. It built the first water-lubricated submersible motor, the kind that runs underwater inside a well. Revenue was about $2.13 billion in fiscal 2025. Its customers include specialty distributors, equipment makers, oil and utility companies, and water well contractors. It reaches them through its own sales force and independent representatives. No single customer made up more than 10% of sales in 2023, 2024 or 2025.
Water Systems is the largest segment, with about $1.26 billion, or 59% of revenue. It sells pumps, motors, drives and water treatment equipment for homes, farms, towns and industry. It earns 25% to 30% of its sales in developing countries, many of which lack city water systems. Distribution brought in about $701 million (33%). It is a group of U.S. groundwater wholesalers called the Headwater Companies that supply water well contractors. Energy Systems brought in $299 million (14%). It supplies the equipment between a gas station's underground tanks and its fuel dispensers, plus monitoring devices for power utilities, rail and data centers.
The segment figures add up to more than the total because some sales between segments are counted twice. About 68% of total revenue came from the United States. Sales are usually weakest in the first quarter, when Northern Hemisphere winters slow well drilling.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
FELE +2.6% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Water Systems | $1.26B | 59% |
| Distribution | $700.7M | 32.9% |
| Energy Systems | $299.0M | 14% |
By geography
| United States | $1.45B | 67.9% |
| Foreign | $684.8M | 32.1% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $633.6M, up 8.9% from a year earlier, and net income was $60.6M (+262.3%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.13B (+5.4% year over year; +11.3% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 6.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +11.3% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 12.6% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 9.1% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 11.1% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 7.6% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-401.6M weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.25B | $100.5M | $189.0M |
| FY2021 | $1.66B | $153.9M | $99.6M |
| FY2022 | $2.04B | $187.3M | $59.8M |
| FY2023 | $2.07B | $193.3M | $274.3M |
| FY2024 | $2.02B | $180.3M | $219.7M |
| FY2025 | $2.13B | $147.1M | $193.5M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $4.27B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 30 |
| Dividend yield | 1.15% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Franklin Electric Co’s market value went from $1.80B at the end of 2016 to $4.27B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.4 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 0%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $4.27B | +0.4% |
| 2025 | $4.25B | -4.5% |
| 2024 | $4.45B | -0.1% |
| 2023 | $4.46B | +20.7% |
| 2022 | $3.69B | -15.9% |
| 2021 | $4.39B | +37.3% |
| 2020 | $3.20B | +20.3% |
| 2019 | $2.66B | +32.6% |
| 2018 | $2.00B | -6.3% |
| 2017 | $2.14B | +18.7% |
| 2016 | $1.80B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FELE price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +2.0% | +2.6% | +5.9% | +3.6% | +11.4% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +2.0% |
| 2025 | -0.8% |
| 2024 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | +22.4% |
| 2022 | -14.8% |
| 2021 | +37.8% |
| 2020 | +22.1% |
| 2019 | +35.3% |
| 2018 | -5.6% |
| 2017 | +19.2% |
| 2016 | +45.7% |
| 2015 | -27.1% |
| 2014 | -15.1% |
| 2013 | +45.2% |
| 2012 | +44.0% |
| 2011 | +13.3% |
| 2010 | +36.2% |
| 2009 | +5.3% |
| 2008 | -25.6% |
| 2007 | -24.8% |
| 2006 | +30.5% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 58.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 64.5%, back to its old high 25 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 24.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 28.4%, back to its old high 4.9 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 9.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 27.7%, back to its old high 3.5 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 3 sales ($1.5M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 2026 | Jonathan M. Grandon Chief Administrative Officer | sell | $884K |
| May 22, 2026 | Jonathan M. Grandon Chief Administrative Officer | sell | $413K |
| May 26, 2026 | delancey w davis President, Headwater Companies | sell | $190K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 13.3% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.4% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in FELE
| IWTR iShares MSCI Water Management Multisector ETF | 2.36% |
| JSML Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF | 2.24% |
| AQWA Global X Clean Water ETF | 2.18% |
| FIW First Trust Water ETF | 1.92% |
| EFRA iShares Environmental Infrastructure and Industrials ETF | 1.6% |
| CGW Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF | 1.5% |
| NVIR Horizon Kinetics Energy and Remediation ETF | 1.46% |
| FSCS First Trust SMID Capital Strength ETF | 1.01% |
What could go wrong
- Fewer private wells as cities expand. Many of its products go into private water wells. If rural areas switch to city water systems, or governments restrict groundwater pumping, demand for its well pumps, motors and controls could shrink.
- Fuel rules drive boom-and-bust demand. Energy Systems sales can jump when new air-quality or fuel-containment rules take effect, then fall once customers comply. The company may lack capacity during the rush or fail to cut costs afterward.
- Mining and energy downturns. Coal, iron ore, gold, copper, oil and gas producers use its pumps. Their spending follows volatile commodity prices, so a slump in those industries can hit sales and margins.
- Housing slowdowns reduce demand. Some of its products are installed in new homes. When economic swings reduce housing starts in the U.S. or abroad, sales, profit margins and operating results can all suffer.
- Metal costs with little hedging. It purchases steel, stainless steel, copper and aluminum on the open market and generally does not hedge, or lock in, commodity and energy prices. Cost spikes it cannot pass on would hurt margins.
- Acquisitions carry cost and integration risk. Acquisitions are part of its growth plan. In 2025 it acquired PumpEng in Australia and Barnes de Colombia. Deals can disappoint, and the premium paid, carried as goodwill, could later be written down.
Recent events
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; Acquisition or sale of assets completed; Unregistered sale of shares; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Franklin Electric pays a small but growing dividend. It has raised the payout for at least nine straight years through fiscal 2025. Dividends per share rose from $0.64 in FY2020 to about $1.10, roughly 11.6% a year. The FY2025 dividend used about 34% of earnings and 26% of free cash flow (cash from operations after capital spending). The yield was a modest 1.15% as of October 28, 2026. Buybacks (share repurchases) were larger: $336 million over FY2021–FY2025, including $166 million in FY2025, versus $209 million in dividends. The share count fell about 5% between October 2021 and October 2026.
The stock has fallen sharply in downturns. It dropped about 65% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 25 months from the low to recover. It fell about 28% in both the 2020 COVID crash and the 2022 bear market, recovering within five months each time. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
How does Franklin Electric make money?
Mainly by making and selling pumps, motors and controls that move water and fuel. Fiscal 2025 revenue was about $2.13 billion. Water Systems brought in about 59%. It makes submersible motors, pumps, drives and water treatment equipment for homes, farms, towns and industry. Distribution, a group of U.S. groundwater wholesalers called the Headwater Companies, added about 33%. Energy Systems, which equips gas stations and makes monitoring devices for power infrastructure, added about 14%. The figures add up to more than the total because some sales between segments are counted twice.
Does Franklin Electric raise its dividend every year?
Yes, so far. Franklin Electric has raised its dividend for at least nine straight years through fiscal 2025, and the true streak may be longer. Dividends per share reached about $1.10 in FY2025, up from about $0.64 in FY2020. That is an average gain of 11.6% a year. The FY2025 payout used about 34% of earnings. The yield was 1.15% as of October 28, 2026. Past increases do not guarantee future ones.
How has Franklin Electric stock performed over the long term?
Well over 10 years, and more slowly over five. As of October 28, 2026, the share price had gained about 11.4% a year over 10 years, or 195% in total. It gained only about 3.6% a year over five years and 2.6% over one year. The price was roughly flat in calendar 2024 (up 1.8%) and 2025 (down 0.8%). Over about 21 years of price history, its worst drop from a peak was 71%.
What is Franklin Electric's P/E ratio?
About 30 as of October 28, 2026, based on fiscal 2025 diluted earnings of $3.22 per share. The P/E (price-to-earnings ratio) compares the share price with a year of profit per share. That earnings figure was down from $4.11 in FY2023. FY2025 net income dropped 18.4% even though revenue grew 5.4%. The quarter ended September 30, 2026, was stronger: revenue rose 8.9% and net income 262% from a year earlier.
Who are Franklin Electric's main competitors?
In its annual report, the company names Grundfos, Pentair and Xylem as its main rivals in water pumping. In fuel equipment for gas stations, it names Vontier and Dover. It describes all its markets as highly competitive, with rivals competing on design, quality, performance, availability and price. For investors who want broader exposure, water-focused ETFs that hold the stock may be worth comparing. Examples are First Trust Water ETF (FIW) and iShares MSCI Water Management Multisector ETF (IWTR).