Water management company Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) reported Q2 CY2026 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 19.7% year on year to $159.5 million. Its GAAP profit of $1.62 per share was 22% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Northwest Pipe (NWPX) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $159.5 million vs analyst estimates of $154.7 million (19.7% year-on-year growth, 3.1% beat)
- EPS (GAAP): $1.62 vs analyst estimates of $1.33 (22% beat)
- Operating Margin: 13.3%, up from 9.9% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 6.2%, up from 1.4% in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $1.22 billion
"The second quarter of 2026 marked another outstanding quarter for NWPX Infrastructure as we delivered record financial results highlighted by revenue of $159.5 million, gross profit of $34.4 million, representing a 21.5% gross margin, and diluted earnings per share of $1.62," said Scott Montross, President and Chief Executive Officer of NWPX Infrastructure.
Company Overview
Playing a large role in the Integrated Pipeline (IPL) project in Texas to deliver ~350 million gallons of water per day, Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) is a manufacturer of pipeline systems for water infrastructure.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance can indicate its overall quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Over the last five years, Northwest Pipe grew its sales at an exceptional 14.4% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth surpassed the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss cycles, industry trends, or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. Northwest Pipe’s annualized revenue growth of 10.4% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results suggest healthy demand. 
This quarter, Northwest Pipe reported year-on-year revenue growth of 19.7%, and its $159.5 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 3.1%.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 3.1% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection doesn’t excite us and suggests its products and services will see some demand headwinds. At least the company is tracking well in other measures of financial health.
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Operating Margin
Northwest Pipe has done a decent job managing its cost base over the last five years. The company has produced an average operating margin of 9.3%, higher than the broader industrials sector.
Looking at the trend in its profitability, Northwest Pipe’s operating margin rose by 3.4 percentage points over the last five years, as its sales growth gave it operating leverage.
In Q2, Northwest Pipe generated an operating margin profit margin of 13.3%, up 3.3 percentage points year on year. The increase was encouraging, and because its operating margin rose more than its gross margin, we can infer it was more efficient with expenses such as marketing, R&D, and administrative overhead.
Earnings Per Share
Revenue trends explain a company’s historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth — for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.
Northwest Pipe’s EPS grew at 24.2% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, higher than its 14.4% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.
Diving into Northwest Pipe’s quality of earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Northwest Pipe’s operating margin expanded by 3.4 percentage points over the last five years. On top of that, its share count shrank by 1.3%. These are positive signs for shareholders because improving profitability and share buybacks turbocharge EPS growth relative to revenue growth. 
Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business.
For Northwest Pipe, its two-year annual EPS growth of 41.3% was higher than its five-year trend. We love it when earnings growth accelerates, especially when it accelerates off an already high base.
In Q2, Northwest Pipe reported EPS of $1.62, up from $0.91 in the same quarter last year. This print easily cleared analysts’ estimates, and shareholders should be content with the results. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Northwest Pipe’s full-year EPS to shrink by 1.8% from $4.99 to $4.90.
Key Takeaways from Northwest Pipe’s Q2 Results
We enjoyed seeing Northwest Pipe beat analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Zooming out, we think this was a good print with some key areas of upside. The stock remained flat at $123.44 immediately after reporting.
Northwest Pipe put up rock-solid earnings, but one quarter doesn’t necessarily make the stock a buy. Let’s see if this is a good investment. If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).