At a glance
Knowles Cor is worth $2.94B, about 70 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 7.2% to $593.2M in fiscal 2025, with 7.5% kept as profit; over 3 years it has grown 7.4% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $254.7M buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +47.9% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +10.5% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 34.5% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 49.6% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 9 months and 36 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Knowles makes specialty electronic components: high-performance capacitors (parts that store and release electrical energy), radio frequency (RF) filters that let only certain signals through, microphones, and balanced armature speakers (miniature speakers used in hearing aids). The company was founded in 1946 and is based in Itasca, Illinois. It had about 5,200 employees in 11 countries as of December 31, 2025. It sells to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs, the companies that build finished products), both directly and through sales representatives and distributors.
Precision Devices, the larger of its two segments, brought in $328.9 million. That was 55% of the $593.2 million in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025. This segment sells capacitors and RF filters for defense, industrial, medical and electrification/energy uses, and a significant portion of its revenue depends on US government contracts. Its rivals include Kyocera AVX, Yageo's Kemet products and Vishay. MedTech & Specialty Audio brought in $264.3 million, or 45%. It sells speakers and microphones mainly to hearing aid makers and specialty audio markets, and its main rival is Sonion. Its sales tend to peak in the fourth quarter, when customers launch new products.
Hearing aid maker WS Audiology made up 11% of 2025 revenue, down from 16% in 2023. Electronics distributor TTI made up 10%. By region, the United States accounted for 42% of revenue, Asia 38% and Europe 16%.
Price history
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KN +47.9% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Precision Devices | $328.9M | 55.4% |
| MedTech & Specialty Audio | $264.3M | 44.6% |
By geography
| United States | $248.8M | 41.9% |
| Asia | $226.1M | 38.1% |
| Europe | $95.4M | 16.1% |
| Other Americas | $12.0M | 2% |
| Other | $10.9M | 1.8% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $184.0M, up 20.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $21.6M (+24.1%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $593.2M (+7.2% year over year; +7.4% a year from FY2022 to FY2025) with a 7.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2022–FY2025) | +7.4% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 11.9% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 5.7% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 4.2% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $14.0M good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $764.3M | $6.6M | — |
| FY2021 | $868.1M | $150.4M | — |
| FY2022 | $478.8M | $-430.1M | — |
| FY2023 | $456.8M | $72.4M | — |
| FY2024 | $553.5M | $-237.8M | — |
| FY2025 | $593.2M | $44.2M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $2.94B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 69.5 |
| Dividend yield | None |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Knowles Cor’s market value went from $1.48B at the end of 2016 to $2.94B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.0 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 61%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $2.94B | +61.3% |
| 2025 | $1.82B | +4.0% |
| 2024 | $1.76B | +8.6% |
| 2023 | $1.62B | +8.2% |
| 2022 | $1.49B | -30.7% |
| 2021 | $2.16B | +27.6% |
| 2020 | $1.69B | -12.7% |
| 2019 | $1.94B | +61.3% |
| 2018 | $1.20B | -8.5% |
| 2017 | $1.31B | -11.5% |
| 2016 | $1.48B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KN price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +62.1% | +47.9% | +38.7% | +10.5% | +9.1% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +62.1% |
| 2025 | +7.5% |
| 2024 | +11.3% |
| 2023 | +9.1% |
| 2022 | -29.7% |
| 2021 | +26.7% |
| 2020 | -12.9% |
| 2019 | +58.9% |
| 2018 | -9.2% |
| 2017 | -12.3% |
| 2016 | +25.4% |
| 2015 | -43.4% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 31.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 34.5%, back to its old high 8.6 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 49.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 49.6%, back to its old high 35.6 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 19 sales ($17.3M), 9 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2026 | Jeffrey Niew President & CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $5.9M |
| May 5, 2026 | Jeffrey Niew President & CEO, Director | sell | $4.7M |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Jeffrey Niew President & CEO, Director | sell (plan) | $1.7M |
| Aug 12, 2026 | John S. Anderson Senior Vice President & CFO | sell (plan) | $1.2M |
| Feb 19, 2026 | Keith Barnes Director | sell | $1.1M |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 15% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 7.85% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 5.9% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. | 5.1% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.02% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Ariel Investments, LLC | 4.8% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Neuberger Berman Group LLC | 3.7% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC | 1.5% | Dec 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in KN
| MGMT Ballast Small/Mid Cap ETF | 1.22% |
| GSC Goldman Sachs Small Cap Core Equity ETF | 0.7% |
| XSLV Invesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF | 0.65% |
| JPSV JPMorgan Active Small Cap Value ETF | 0.6% |
| CAFG Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF | 0.57% |
| HAPS Harbor Human Capital Factor US Small Cap ETF | 0.26% |
| VIOV Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 0.22% |
| SLYV SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF | 0.22% |
What could go wrong
- Heavy reliance on a few big customers. In 2025, the five biggest customers of the hearing-health segment (MSA) made up about 76% of its sales. WS Audiology alone was about 24% of MSA sales and 11% of total revenue.
- Defense sales depend on government contract rules. A significant portion of Precision Devices sales depends on US government contracts. These come with strict purchasing rules. Breaking them could interrupt or end the company's status as a government contractor.
- Powerful buyers can push prices down. A few large companies hold much of the hearing-aid market, which gives them power to bargain on price. Older products also face steady price cuts, which Knowles tries to offset by lowering its own costs.
- Few backup options for key parts. Some critical materials and components come from a single specialized supplier, and some of these suppliers also serve competitors or customers. If one stops delivering, Knowles may not find and approve a replacement in time.
- Tariffs, export rules and Asian factories. The hearing-health segment's factories are in Asia, and Asia accounted for 38% of 2025 revenue. Changes in tariffs, trade policy, export restrictions or sanctions could raise costs or limit where Knowles can sell.
- Swings in metal prices and currencies. Knowles uses metals such as palladium, gold, copper and stainless steel, and their prices move a lot. It can pass some cost increases on to customers, but not always. Currency moves also affect results.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Knowles does not pay a dividend, and it paid none from 2021 through 2025. For an income investor, that means the shares pay out no regular cash. Any return comes from price gains, and drawing income means selling shares. The company returns cash through buybacks (buying back its own stock) instead. It spent $254.7 million on buybacks over those five years, including $65.0 million in 2025. The share count fell 8.3%, from about 92.3 million in October 2021 to about 84.7 million as of October 23, 2026.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns. In the 2020 COVID crash it dropped 34.5%, then regained its prior high about 8.6 months after the low. In the 2022 bear market it fell 49.6% and took about 35.6 months from the low to recover, getting back to its prior high on October 1, 2025. Its share price history does not go back to the 2008 crisis. A single stock like this carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Knowles make money?
Knowles makes money by selling specialty electronic components to companies that build finished products. In 2025, the Precision Devices segment brought in 55% of the $593.2 million total revenue. It sells high-performance capacitors and radio frequency filters for defense, industrial, medtech and electrification/energy uses. The MedTech & Specialty Audio segment brought in the other 45%. It sells balanced armature speakers and microphones, mainly to hearing aid makers. Knowles sells directly to manufacturers and through distributors such as TTI.
Does Knowles pay a dividend?
No. Knowles paid no dividends from 2021 through 2025. It returns cash through share buybacks instead, spending $254.7 million over those five years, including $65.0 million in 2025. Buybacks cut the share count by 8.3% between October 2021 and October 2026. That gives each remaining share a larger claim on profits. For an income investor, the shares pay out no regular cash, so drawing income would mean selling shares.
Is Knowles profitable?
Yes, in its latest full year, but its results have swung widely. Knowles earned $44.2 million in net income on $593.2 million of revenue in 2025. That is a net margin of 7.5%, or $0.50 per diluted share. It reported net losses of $430.1 million in 2022 and $237.8 million in 2024. In the quarter ended September 30, 2026, revenue rose 20.3% from a year earlier, and net income rose 24.1% to $21.6 million.
What is Knowles' P/E ratio?
Knowles' P/E ratio was about 69.5 as of October 28, 2026. That is based on 2025 earnings of $0.50 per diluted share and a market value of about $2.9 billion. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio compares the share price with profit per share. A high figure means buyers are paying a lot for each dollar of past profit, often because they expect earnings to grow. The shares had risen 62.1% in 2026 through that date and 47.9% over the prior 12 months.
Is Knowles stock volatile?
Yes. Knowles shares have swung more than the overall market. As of October 28, 2026, the stock's one-year beta was 1.83. Beta measures how much a stock moves compared with the market, so 1.83 means the shares tended to move about 1.8 times as much. The shares fell as much as 24.8% from a peak during that year. The worst drop in its 12.7-year price history was 70.2%, and it lost 49.6% in the 2022 bear market.