News · Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS) · Basic Materials

Carpenter Technology rises 0.9% after record fiscal 2026 and capacity plans

Session of October 6, 2026 · Published October 7, 2026 · 3 min read

What happened

Carpenter Technology (CRS) rose 0.9% on October 6, 2026, after the company said fiscal 2026 delivered another record year for earnings and that it is pursuing a capacity expansion to meet demand from aerospace and defense customers. The stock closed at $395.71 after opening 1.0% above the previous close, and trading volume was 0.7 times its 20-day average. Carpenter reported the developments at its annual meeting, according to MarketBeat.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 6, 2026, CRS closed at $395.71, up 0.9% on the day and 18.6% lower than 30 sessions earlier.

How big was the move

The session was an ordinary one for this stock: the price change equaled 0.4 times a typical daily move for this stock and the computed interpretation flags a normal-sized session. The stock outperformed its Basic Materials sector median by 0.5 percentage points while matching the market's direction; the S&P 500 rose 0.6% on the day. Over the last five sessions the stock rose 1.0% while the S&P 500 rose 1.9%, and the stock’s market sensitivity, a beta of 1.64, indicates it tends to move more than the market.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 6, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 3.1%, so the latest move equals 0.3 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 6.2%) are unusual.

The technical picture

The stock traded below its moving averages: 2.7% below its 20-day moving average, 16.0% below its 50-day moving average and 10.5% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend, even as the stock remained 36.8% below its 52-week high. Momentum measures were muted; the Relative Strength Index (14 days) read 34, inside a neutral range. Volatility was 40% annualized over 60 days, lower than 79% of its own readings over five years.

Closing price over the past year. CRS ends the period 36.1% below its 52-week high, below its 50-day average ($471.16) and below its 200-day average ($442.17).

Recent price action showed a one-month decline of 16.8% and a three-month decline of 32.7%, while the one-year change rose 59.9%, leaving the stock 43.4 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500 over the year. Those mixed signals—strong one-year gains coupled with steeper declines in shorter intervals—suggest investors have been rotating around the name while overall longer-term momentum remained positive.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through June 30, 2026, Carpenter reported revenue of $3.12 billion, a figure that grew 8.6% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were $10.52, which rose 41.8% from a year earlier. Gross margin expanded to 30.6% from 26.7% a year earlier, and operating margin increased to 22.5% from 18.1% a year earlier, pointing to improving profitability across the income statement.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $851M, 12.6% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

Free-cash-flow margin stood at 11.6% and return on invested capital was 17.1%. The balance sheet showed net debt of 0.4 times EBITDA, and the company reduced share count over one year by 0.4%. Those metrics underline a business converting profit growth into cash while keeping leverage moderate.

Valuation measures show the stock at 37.6 times trailing earnings and 29.7 times expected earnings. The stock’s free-cash-flow yield stood at 1.9%, and its price to trailing earnings was higher than 64% of its own readings over the past five years, with a five-year median of 36.6 times earnings. PromtFinance factor scores rank Growth at 88 (Strong) and Revisions at 91 (Exceptional), while Value is 27 (Very weak) and Quality is 74 (Positive), indicating strong growth expectations and favorable recent analyst revisions despite a stretched valuation on traditional measures.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Carpenter last reported on July 30, 2026, when earnings per share were $3.23 against $3.09 expected, 4.5% above estimates. The company has beaten estimates in 10 consecutive quarters, with an average surprise over the last four reports of 7.2% above estimates. Typical two-day reactions after recent reports have been muted, with the stock fell 1.3% on average following earnings releases.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows $3.23, against $2.21 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Analysts covering the stock numbered 21, and the consensus rating is Buy with 67% of ratings at Buy. The consensus price target is $550.60, which is 39.1% above the closing price, leaving a sizable gap between current trading levels and analyst expectations.

What to watch

October 22, 2026: next earnings report date
Consensus price target of $550.60 from 21 analysts
Company pursuit of a capacity expansion announced at its annual meeting
The company reported fiscal 2026 delivered another record year for earnings
Consecutive quarters beating estimates: 10

Full CRS analysis: scores, chart and financials →