At a glance
Advanced Drainage Systems Inc is worth $9.81B, about 24 times its fiscal 2026 earnings. Revenue grew 5.0% to $3.05B in fiscal 2026, with 14.0% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 9.0% a year. It pays a 0.58% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 8 years, and returned $1.46B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2022–FY2026. The stock returned −7.3% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +3.7% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 53.6% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 39.9% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 4 months and 2 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) makes plastic pipe and related products that capture, carry, store and treat rainwater, plus septic products for homes without a sewer connection. Its corrugated pipe, made from polyethylene and polypropylene resins, competes with concrete pipe, and a core strategy is persuading engineers and contractors to switch to plastic. Its products go into homes, commercial sites, roads and other infrastructure, and farm fields, where drainage can lift crop yields.
ADS reports two segments. Stormwater, 78.6% of net sales in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, sells pipe plus what ADS calls Allied Products, such as StormTech underground storage chambers, Nyloplast drainage structures, fittings and water-quality filters. ADS says selling these alongside pipe as a complete system is key to its growth and profitability. Wastewater, formerly called Infiltrator, made up 21.4%, up from 17.8% two years earlier. It sells plastic leachfield chambers, which spread septic-tank water into the soil, and onsite wastewater tanks.
On February 2, 2026, ADS completed its acquisition of National Diversified Sales (NDS), which makes channel drains, catch basins and access boxes for driveways, patios and yards, along with irrigation products. Fiscal 2026 revenue was about $3.05 billion. ADS estimates its addressable market at about $16 billion a year: roughly $14 billion in stormwater, including irrigation, and $2 billion in onsite wastewater.
Price history
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WMS -7.3% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Stormwater | $2.43B | 79.8% |
| Wastewater | $714.5M | 23.4% |
Latest results
- In Q1 FY2027 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $1.00B, up 20.6% from a year earlier, and net income was $168.5M (+17.1%).
- For fiscal 2026, revenue was $3.05B (+5.0% year over year; +9.0% a year from FY2021 to FY2026) with a 14% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2021–FY2026) | +9.0% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 20.3% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 18.7% good |
| Return on equity (FY2026) | 22.9% good |
| Return on assets (FY2026) | 9.5% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.45B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $1.98B | $224.2M | $373.5M |
| FY2022 | $2.77B | $271.3M | $125.8M |
| FY2023 | $3.07B | $507.1M | $540.9M |
| FY2024 | $2.87B | $509.9M | $534.1M |
| FY2025 | $2.90B | $450.2M | $368.5M |
| FY2026 | $3.05B | $426.5M | $569.3M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $9.81B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 23.9 |
| Dividend yield | 0.58% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Advanced Drainage Systems’s market value went from $1.13B at the end of 2016 to $9.81B on Oct 28, 2026, about 8.7 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 13%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $9.81B | -12.9% |
| 2025 | $11.26B | +25.7% |
| 2024 | $8.96B | -18.2% |
| 2023 | $10.96B | +61.3% |
| 2022 | $6.79B | -30.0% |
| 2021 | $9.70B | +64.6% |
| 2020 | $5.89B | +122.1% |
| 2019 | $2.65B | +91.4% |
| 2018 | $1.39B | +3.9% |
| 2017 | $1.33B | +18.0% |
| 2016 | $1.13B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMS price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -9.8% | -7.3% | +7.8% | +3.7% | +22.2% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -9.8% |
| 2025 | +26.0% |
| 2024 | -17.5% |
| 2023 | +72.4% |
| 2022 | -39.5% |
| 2021 | +63.5% |
| 2020 | +116.7% |
| 2019 | +67.6% |
| 2018 | +2.8% |
| 2017 | +17.3% |
| 2016 | -13.4% |
| 2015 | +5.3% |
| 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 53.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 53.6%, back to its old high 4.4 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 5.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 39.9%, back to its old high 1.6 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 0 sales ($0.00).
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 8.9% | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan Trust | 6% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.1% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in WMS
| AQWA Global X Clean Water ETF | 4.07% |
| PHO Invesco Water Resources ETF | 3.65% |
| XHB SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF | 3.46% |
| CGW Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF | 3.17% |
| FIW First Trust Water ETF | 3.15% |
| AIRR First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF | 3.15% |
| EFRA iShares Environmental Infrastructure and Industrials ETF | 2.88% |
| TBLU Tortoise Global Water ESG Fund | 2.41% |
What could go wrong
- Resin costs and supply can squeeze profits. Pipe is made from polyethylene and polypropylene resins whose prices move with oil and natural gas. Polypropylene suppliers are few. If ADS cannot pass higher resin costs or tariffs on to customers, profits shrink.
- The NDS deal may not deliver. ADS completed its NDS acquisition on February 2, 2026. Combining the businesses could take longer than planned or fall short of expected benefits, key employees could leave, and NDS could underperform.
- Plastic must keep winning over concrete. Growth depends on converting demand from concrete and other pipe to ADS products. Its products also need approval from municipalities, state transportation departments and engineers; losing approvals or market share would hurt sales.
- A sizable debt load. Total debt was about $1.61 billion against $162 million of cash and investments as of June 30, 2026. ADS warns this debt could hurt its results and its ability to meet its loan obligations.
- Demand follows construction, housing and farm cycles. Sales depend on commercial building, home construction, public infrastructure funding and farm activity. Higher interest rates, tighter credit or reduced government spending can cut orders, and agricultural downturns can hit suddenly.
- Weather and fuel costs can hurt results. Drainage products are installed outdoors, so bad weather can delay construction projects and reduce sales. ADS also runs its own delivery fleet, which leaves it exposed to higher fuel and energy prices.
Recent events
- Major agreement signed; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Acquisition or sale of assets completed; Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
ADS pays a small but fast-growing dividend. Regular dividends per share rose every year from fiscal 2017 through fiscal 2026, excluding fiscal 2020, which included a special dividend. The dividend doubled from $0.36 a share in fiscal 2021 to $0.72 in fiscal 2026, yet that year it used only 13.2% of earnings and 9.9% of free cash flow (cash left after capital spending). The yield was just 0.58% as of October 28, 2026, so the stock supplies little income. Buybacks were larger, about $1.24 billion from fiscal 2022 to 2026, though the share count still rose 5.8% from October 2021 to July 2026.
The shares have fallen hard in market slumps. In the 2020 COVID crash they dropped 53.6% from February 19 to March 23, 2020, recovering by August 2020. In 2022 they fell 39.9% from January to June, then recovered by early August. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds, because nothing offsets one company's setbacks.
Questions investors ask
How does Advanced Drainage Systems make money?
ADS makes money by manufacturing and selling plastic drainage pipe and related products. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, its Stormwater segment, which includes corrugated pipe, underground storage chambers, drainage structures and fittings, produced 78.6% of net sales. Its Wastewater segment, which sells septic leachfield chambers and tanks, produced 21.4%. Revenue was about $3.05 billion, up 5%, and net income was about $426 million, down 5.3%. The operating margin, the share of sales left after operating costs, was 20.3%.
Does Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) pay a dividend?
Yes, though the yield was low: 0.58% as of October 28, 2026. Dividends were $0.72 a share in fiscal 2026, up from $0.36 in fiscal 2021. Regular dividends per share rose every year from fiscal 2017 through fiscal 2026, setting aside fiscal 2020, which included a special dividend. The fiscal 2026 dividend used 13.2% of earnings, a low payout. ADS returned more cash through buybacks, about $1.24 billion over fiscal 2022 to 2026.
What is NDS and why did Advanced Drainage Systems acquire it?
National Diversified Sales (NDS) designs and makes residential stormwater and drainage products, such as channel drains, catch basins, grates and access boxes used around driveways, patios and yards, plus irrigation products. ADS completed the acquisition on February 2, 2026, to broaden its residential water management lineup. After the deal, ADS reorganized its reporting into Stormwater and Wastewater segments. Its annual report warns the integration could take longer than planned, key staff could leave, or NDS could underperform.
How much debt does Advanced Drainage Systems have?
Advanced Drainage Systems had about $1.61 billion of total debt as of June 30, 2026, against roughly $162 million in cash and investments, for net debt (debt minus cash) of about $1.45 billion. Shareholders' equity was about $1.79 billion. ADS reported a new debt obligation in a February 27, 2026, filing. For comparison, free cash flow, the cash left after capital spending, was about $569 million in fiscal 2026. The company's annual report lists its level of debt as a risk.
How has Advanced Drainage Systems stock performed?
Strongly over 10 years, but unevenly. As of October 28, 2026, the stock returned about 22.2% a year over 10 years, or 640% in total, but only 3.7% a year over five years. It was down 7.3% over one year and 9.8% year to date. Calendar-year results swung from a 116.7% gain in 2020 to a 39.5% loss in 2022. On that date, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.9, based on fiscal 2026 earnings.