Federal Signal Corporation

Federal Signal, founded in 1901, builds specialty vehicles and safety equipment for cities, government agencies, and industrial and commercial customers. Most revenue comes from its Environmental Solutions Group, which brought in $1.84 billion, or 84.3% of the company's $2.18 billion in 2025 sales. Its brands include Elgin street sweepers, Vactor sewer cleaners, Guzzler industrial vacuum loaders, TRUVAC safe-digging trucks that use suction and water to expose underground pipes and utility lines, and New Way garbage trucks. It also makes dump truck bodies and trailers. The group earns ongoing revenue from parts, service, repairs, equipment rentals and training.

The smaller Safety and Security Systems Group brought in $343 million, or 15.7% of 2025 revenue. It makes lightbars and sirens for emergency vehicles, public warning systems, industrial signaling gear, and alarm and public address systems. Customers include police, fire and ambulance services, campuses, military facilities and industrial sites.

Products reach customers through dealers, distributors and the company's own sales force. About 79% of 2025 sales were in the U.S., 13.6% in Canada and 7.8% in Europe and elsewhere. No single customer made up 10% or more. The company runs 26 main factories in five countries and grows partly through acquisitions; it acquired Hog, New Way and Kinloch in 2025. Its backlog, meaning orders not yet delivered, was $1.04 billion at December 31, 2025.

• In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $655.5M, up 18.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $79.6M (+16.9%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.18B (+17.1% year over year; +14.0% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 11.3% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $83.4M in buybacks and $131.0M in dividends.
• Regular dividend per share increased 3 years in a row.
• Regular dividends per share grew +11.8% a year over 5 years (FY2020–FY2025).
• Dividends took 13.8% of earnings and 15% of free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed -0.1% from Oct 31, 2021 to Sep 30, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

Federal Signal’s market value went from $935.1M at the end of 2016 to $6.92B on Oct 28, 2026, about 7.4 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 5%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-10-30 to 2026-10-30 (25 read): 1 open-market purchases ($222K) and 6 sales ($3.3M).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in FSS

1. Depends on local government budgets. Many customers are local government agencies whose spending depends on tax revenue, budgets and politics. The company says its sales to governments have historically lagged the U.S. economy by one to two years.
2. Customers and dealers need access to credit. Growth depends on customers being able to finance costly vehicles and on dealers having enough capital. If lending tightens, customers may delay orders, and dealer problems could disrupt sales.
3. Supply delays for engines, chassis and steel. Engines come from a select few suppliers, and products are built on truck chassis that customers sometimes provide. Shortages or price jumps in chassis, steel or parts could delay deliveries and squeeze profits.
4. Acquisitions may disappoint or hide liabilities. The company completed three acquisitions in 2025. Deals can underperform or carry unknown liabilities. A weak one could force a writedown of goodwill, the premium paid over the value of a company's assets.
5. Cyclical demand tied to the U.S. economy. About 79% of 2025 sales were in the U.S., and industrial customers cut spending when business slows. The company says sales and profits fell in previous downturns and expects similar swings ahead.
6. Tariffs, trade disputes and currency swings. About 21% of 2025 sales were outside the U.S. Tariffs, trade disputes and currency moves could raise costs or hurt demand. The annual report flags tariff uncertainty after a February 2026 Supreme Court ruling.

• May 20, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Apr 22, 2026 Shareholder vote results
• Mar 2, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Feb 26, 2026 Executive or board change
• Jan 16, 2026 Other company announcement
• Jan 14, 2026 Investor presentation or announcement
• Dec 18, 2025 Other company announcement
• Dec 1, 2025 Acquisition or sale of assets completed

Federal Signal pays a small, growing dividend. Dividends per share rose from $0.32 in 2020 to $0.56 in 2025, about 11.8% a year. The payout held at $0.36 in 2022, then rose in 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2025, dividends used 13.8% of earnings and 15% of free cash flow, which is the cash left from operations after capital spending. The yield was 0.52% as of October 28, 2026, so the stock offers little income. Buybacks totaled $83.4 million from 2021 through 2025, yet the share count was essentially flat between October 2021 and June 2026.

The share price has fallen hard in downturns. It dropped 76.8% in the 2008 financial crisis and needed 56 months from its March 2009 low to regain its prior peak. It lost 27.6% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered within five months of the low. It fell 26.8% in early 2022 and recovered by October 2022. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.