At a glance
Maximus Inc is worth $3.24B, about 11 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 2.4% to $5.43B in fiscal 2025, with 5.9% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 9.4% a year. It pays a 2.09% dividend yield, and returned $967.3M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −26.9% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −4.4% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 32.1% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 30.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 2 months and 4 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Maximus runs large public programs for governments. A Virginia corporation founded in 1975, it staffs contact centers, handles enrollment and appeals, conducts medical assessments and builds technology for agencies. Most of its work is in the U.S., but it also serves the UK, Canada and the Middle East. Substantially all of its customers are government agencies. Revenue was $5.43 billion in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025.
The largest segment, U.S. Federal Services, produced 56.5% of revenue. For the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, it runs the contact centers for 1-800-MEDICARE and the Affordable Care Act marketplace. It also supports borrowers with Department of Education student loans and performs medical disability exams for the Department of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Services (32.5%) works for state and local governments on Medicaid, children's health insurance, state insurance exchanges, family cash assistance and child support. The company says it is the largest provider of Medicaid eligibility and enrollment support. Outside the U.S. made up the other 11%.
By type of work, program operations brought in 48.8% of revenue and clinical services 38.7%. Most contracts in the federal segment are performance-based: Maximus is paid per transaction, such as each assessment or appeal processed. Others pay costs plus a fee, or hourly rates. These carry less risk but thinner profit margins.
Price history
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MMS -26.9% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Program Operations | $2.65B | 48.8% |
| Clinical Services | $2.10B | 38.7% |
| Employment & Other | $354.8M | 6.5% |
| Technology Solutions | $324.7M | 6% |
By business segment
| U.S. Federal Services | $3.07B | 56.5% |
| U.S. Services | $1.76B | 32.5% |
| Outside the US | $599.9M | 11% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $1.28B, down 5.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $103.6M (-2.3%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $5.43B (+2.4% year over year; +9.4% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 5.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +9.4% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 9.7% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 6.7% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 19.1% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 7.8% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.58B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $3.46B | $214.5M | $203.9M |
| FY2021 | $4.25B | $291.2M | $480.8M |
| FY2022 | $4.63B | $203.8M | $233.7M |
| FY2023 | $4.90B | $161.8M | $223.6M |
| FY2024 | $5.31B | $306.9M | $401.1M |
| FY2025 | $5.43B | $319.0M | $366.2M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $3.24B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 11.2 |
| Dividend yield | 2.09% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Maximus’s market value went from $3.61B at the end of 2016 to $3.24B on Oct 28, 2026, down 10%; since the end of 2025 it is down 31%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $3.24B | -31.2% |
| 2025 | $4.70B | +4.4% |
| 2024 | $4.50B | -12.0% |
| 2023 | $5.12B | +14.8% |
| 2022 | $4.46B | -9.7% |
| 2021 | $4.94B | +9.7% |
| 2020 | $4.50B | -5.5% |
| 2019 | $4.76B | +14.0% |
| 2018 | $4.17B | -10.5% |
| 2017 | $4.66B | +29.0% |
| 2016 | $3.61B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMS price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -27.2% | -26.9% | -3.8% | -4.4% | +3.0% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -27.3% |
| 2025 | +17.5% |
| 2024 | -9.7% |
| 2023 | +16.0% |
| 2022 | -6.4% |
| 2021 | +10.3% |
| 2020 | -0.1% |
| 2019 | +15.9% |
| 2018 | -8.5% |
| 2017 | +28.7% |
| 2016 | -0.4% |
| 2015 | +3.0% |
| 2014 | +25.2% |
| 2013 | +39.8% |
| 2012 | +54.0% |
| 2011 | +27.2% |
| 2010 | +32.5% |
| 2009 | +44.4% |
| 2008 | -8.0% |
| 2007 | +26.7% |
| 2006 | -15.6% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 24.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 44.2%, back to its old high 10.3 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 25.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 32.1%, back to its old high 2.4 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 29.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 30.5%, back to its old high 3.9 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 4 open-market purchases ($325K) and 3 sales ($578K), 3 of them under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 3, 2025 | Michelle F. Link Chief of Human Resources | sell (plan) | $351K |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Michelle F. Link Chief of Human Resources | sell (plan) | $174K |
| Feb 10, 2026 | Bruce Caswell CEO & President, Director | buy | $133K |
| Feb 10, 2026 | Bruce Caswell CEO & President, Director | buy | $104K |
| Feb 9, 2026 | David Mutryn Chief Financial Officer | buy | $76K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 12.3% | Dec 31, 2024 |
| FMR LLC | 10.6% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.45% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.23% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Fuller & Thaler Asset Management, Inc. | 5.14% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 5.1% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Victory Capital Management, Inc. | 0.03% | Sep 30, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in MMS
| QVAL Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Value ETF | 2.2% |
| FSCS First Trust SMID Capital Strength ETF | 0.95% |
| SFLO VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF | 0.69% |
| QSML WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund | 0.62% |
| PAMC Pacer Lunt MidCap Multi-Factor Alternator ETF | 0.62% |
| RFV Invesco S&P MidCap 400® Pure Value ETF | 0.61% |
| LST Leuthold Select Industries ETF | 0.53% |
| SMLV SPDR SSGA US Small Cap Low Volatility Index ETF | 0.49% |
What could go wrong
- Heavy reliance on a few big contracts. About 60% of fiscal 2025 revenue came from its ten largest contracts, and roughly one-fifth from a single federal agency. Losing or shrinking any major contract could cut revenue and profit sharply.
- Exposure to government budgets and policy. In fiscal 2025, about 55% of revenue came from the U.S. federal government and 33% from states and localities. Budget cuts, policy shifts or pricing changes can shrink or end the programs Maximus runs.
- Contracts must be rebid and can end early. Most work is won through competitive bids. When contracts expire they can go to rivals, and rivals can protest awards. Governments can also end contracts early, leaving revenue gaps and unrecovered costs.
- Penalties, audits and underpriced contracts. Missing performance standards can trigger damages and penalties. Government audits can force refunds or suspension from bidding. If Maximus underestimates costs when bidding, a contract can earn less than expected or lose money.
- Breaches of health and personal data. Many projects handle protected health information and other personal data. Maximus says its systems have been breached and that data losses have hurt the business. Future incidents could add costs and reputational harm.
- Large debt relative to cash. As of June 30, 2026, Maximus had about $1.64 billion of debt and $57 million of cash and investments. The company warns the debt could hurt the business and its ability to meet obligations.
Recent events
- Major agreement signed; Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
Maximus pays a dividend but has no streak of annual increases. It paid $1.12 a share in fiscal 2020 through 2023 and $1.20 in fiscal 2024 and 2025, about 1.4% growth a year. In fiscal 2025 that used 21.5% of earnings and 18.8% of free cash flow (cash left after capital spending). The yield was 2.09% as of October 28, 2026. Buybacks have been larger: $620 million over fiscal 2021–2025, including $447 million in fiscal 2025, versus $347 million in dividends. The share count fell 15.5% from November 2021 to August 2026.
The stock has fallen sharply in downturns: 44.2% in the 2008 crisis, 32.1% in the 2020 COVID crash and 30.5% in the 2022 bear market. Each time it got back to its prior high about 2 to 10 months after the low. Its deepest drop in 21 years of price history, 46.5%, came in the 12 months to October 28, 2026. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Maximus make money?
Maximus earns fees from governments for running public programs. In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, it had $5.43 billion of revenue. Program operations such as contact centers and enrollment brought in 48.8%, and clinical services such as medical disability exams for veterans brought in 38.7%. Most of its federal contracts pay per transaction, such as each assessment or appeal processed. Others pay costs plus a fee, or hourly rates. These carry less risk but lower margins.
How much of Maximus's revenue comes from the federal government?
About 55% of Maximus's revenue in fiscal 2025 came from the U.S. federal government, and about 33% came from state and local agencies. Roughly one-fifth came from a single federal agency, and about 60% from its ten largest contracts. Because the business is so concentrated, losing or shrinking one big contract, or a change in government spending, could noticeably affect results.
Does Maximus raise its dividend every year?
No. Maximus paid $1.12 a share in each fiscal year from 2020 through 2023. It raised the dividend to $1.20 in fiscal 2024 and held it there in fiscal 2025. The dividend used 21.5% of fiscal 2025 earnings, and the yield was 2.09% as of October 28, 2026. The company has returned more cash through buybacks: $620 million over fiscal 2021–2025, compared with $347 million in dividends.
How much debt does Maximus have?
Maximus had about $1.64 billion of total debt and $57 million of cash and investments as of June 30, 2026. Shareholders' equity was $1.74 billion. In fiscal 2025 it generated $366 million of free cash flow, which is the cash left after capital spending. The company lists its debt as a risk factor and warns it could hurt the business and its ability to meet obligations.
Who are Maximus's competitors?
Maximus names General Dynamics Information Technology, Deloitte, Leidos, IBM, Accenture and Booz Allen Hamilton as its main competitors in federal work, along with other federal contractors. It warns that many rivals have much greater financial resources. Most of its business is won through competitive bids, and rivals can protest awards it wins. In state and local health programs, the company says it is the largest provider of Medicaid eligibility and enrollment support.