NATIONAL PRESTO INDUSTRIES INC

Profitable defense/housewares company but cash is nearly depleted with negative operating cash flow from a large inventory build.

Strengths

• Underlying profitability remains healthy (ROA 82.8th pct, net margin 64.7th pct) and Defense backlog ballooned to $1.75B
• Strong current ratio (4.2) and a long-dated union contract; cash drain is inventory-driven, not operating losses

Risks

• Cash and investments of only $3.8M with ~0.4 quarters runway (6th pct) and negative FCF of -$36M / negative operating cash margin
• Housewares gross margin collapsed to 8% on China tariffs; reported net earnings fell 20% and a $2.7M vendor deposit was written off

Notable findings

• Exec changeRecent 8-K item 5.02 8-K ↗
• Cash burnNegative free cash flow (-36.2M)
• Customer concentration~25% of revenue from one customer/distributor —  Gross profit of the Housewares/Small Appliance segment decreased $17,889,000 from $25,478,000 (25% of sales) in 2024 to $7,589,000 (8% of sales) in 2025, primarily reflecting the decrease in sale
• China exposureHousewares gross margin collapsed to 8% on China tariffs; reported net earnings fell 20% and a $2
• Revenue declineRevenue -27.6% YoY
• Insider sellingInsider selling — 2 open-market sale(s) by 2 insider(s) (cluster of 2 insiders, ~$418,053, last 6mo) Form 4 ↗