Plexus Corp Overview
Plexus Corp. is a mid-cap, high-mix, low-to-medium-volume electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider that has deliberately narrowed its addressable market to products that are technically complex and heavily regulated. Rather than competing on unit cost against the tier-one scale players, Plexus competes on qualification barriers: FDA Quality System Regulation and ISO 13485 for medical devices, AS9100 and NADCAP for aerospace, ITAR self-declaration and FAR 145 for defence and repair, and ATEX/IECEx for hazardous-environment industrial equipment. Its offer spans the full product lifecycle — design and development, supply chain solutions, new product introduction, manufacturing and sustaining services — which raises switching costs and lengthens program tenure well beyond a conventional build-to-print relationship. Roughly 190 customers, no single customer above 10% of sales, and a three-sector focus (Aerospace/Defense, Healthcare/Life Sciences, Industrial) give it unusual diversification for its size. The trade-off is structurally higher inventory and selling and administrative intensity than volume-oriented EMS peers.
The company's own description
The fiscal 2025 Form 10-K opens: "At Plexus, we help create the products that build a better world. Driven by a passion for excellence, we partner with our customers to design, manufacture and service highly complex products in demanding regulatory environments. From life-saving medical devices and mission-critical aerospace and defense products to industrial automation systems and semiconductor capital equipment, our innovative solutions across the lifecycle of a product converge where advanced technology and human impact intersect."
The stated vision is "to help create the products that build a better world"; the stated mission is "to be the leader in highly complex products and demanding regulatory environments." Management organises execution around four strategic pillars, quoted from the 10-K:
- Market Focus — "We engineer innovative solutions for customers in growth markets featuring highly complex products and demanding regulatory environments."
- Superior Execution — "We are dedicated partners to our customers, committed to achieving zero defects and perfect delivery through operational excellence."
- Passion Meets Purpose — "We are united as a team and guided by our values."
- Discipline by Design — "We hold ourselves accountable to delivering shareholder value through consistent application of a disciplined financial model."
Independent characterisation
Plexus is a contract service organisation, not a product company. The 10-K is explicit: "Other than certain test equipment, manufacturing equipment and software used for internal operations, we do not design or manufacture our own proprietary products." There is therefore no product IP portfolio, no licensing revenue stream, no subscription revenue and no branded catalogue. Revenue is essentially 100% services-and-assembly revenue recognised against customer programs.
The economic model has three characteristics that distinguish Plexus from the broader EMS field:
Turnkey material procurement dominates. Plexus states that it provides "most of our solutions on a turnkey basis, under which we procure and warehouse all materials required for product assembly," with a minority provided on consignment. Turnkey means the pass-through cost of components flows through revenue and cost of sales. This inflates revenue relative to value-add, depresses reported gross margin toward the 9–10% band, and — critically — means the balance sheet carries the inventory. Inventories were $1.23 billion at FY2025 year-end against $4.03 billion of revenue, and $1.49 billion at 4 July 2026 against a run-rate above $5 billion.
Advanced payments partially offset the working capital burden. Customers fund a significant portion of that inventory. Advanced payments from customers stood at $575.9 million at FY2025 year-end and $602.9 million at 4 July 2026 — a structurally important, low-visibility source of financing that reduces days in the cash cycle by roughly 47–55 days in recent quarters. Any deterioration in customer willingness to prepay would be a material working capital event.
Complexity is the moat and the cost. Management concedes in the 10-K that relative to competitors, "lower manufacturing volumes, production flexibility, unique fulfillment requirements and complex regulatory and quality requirements typically result in higher investments in inventory and selling and administrative costs for us." S&A ran at $199.5 million, or 4.9% of revenue, in fiscal 2025 — high for an EMS provider, and the direct cost of the engineering, quality and regulatory apparatus that constitutes the competitive barrier.
Value chain position and customer types
Plexus sits between component suppliers and branded OEMs. It influences component selection through early design engagement, which gives it modest leverage with suppliers, but it does not manufacture semiconductors, printed circuit boards or most mechanical components. Its customers are, per the 10-K, "industry-leading, branded product companies, along with other technology pioneering start-ups and emerging companies that may or may not maintain manufacturing capabilities." Approximately 190 customers were served in fiscal 2025; the ten largest accounted for 49.1% of net sales in FY2025 versus 47.8% in FY2024 — and that concentration has risen sharply during the fiscal 2026 ramp, reaching 55% in the third quarter of fiscal 2026.
End markets served
Three reported market sectors, with semiconductor capital equipment carved out as a named subsector within Industrial:
- Aerospace/Defense — commercial aerospace, defence electronics, European defence, security and detection systems, space.
- Healthcare/Life Sciences — advanced surgical systems and medical robotics, life sciences and diagnostics, medical devices and equipment (including imaging and patient monitoring, the two subsectors management credited for FY2025 growth).
- Industrial — data and communications, energy, industrial equipment, transportation, and semiconductor capital equipment across both front-end wafer fabrication equipment and back-end equipment.
Strategy
Stated strategy — verbatim themes
The company's stated financial model, quoted from the 10-K: "Our primary long-term goal is to achieve a 9-12% compounded annual revenue growth rate while earning a return on invested capital ('ROIC') of 15%, which would significantly exceed our weighted average cost of capital ('WACC') and represent positive economic return." Fiscal 2025 WACC was 8.9%; fiscal 2026 WACC is 9.0%.
Two operating slogans recur: "Quality Begins with Me" (the manufacturing quality promise) and "zero defects and perfect delivery" (the execution standard cited in both the strategy and in explanations of new-business wins).
Medium-term financial targets and guidance
The abandonment of the "$5 billion by fiscal 2025" target without a formal replacement milestone is a credibility item; management has since reverted to the percentage-growth framing.
New business momentum — the leading indicator
Plexus discloses two proprietary leading indicators every quarter: manufacturing wins (annualised revenue when fully ramped) and the qualified manufacturing opportunity funnel.
The funnel reached a record $4.5 billion in fiscal Q3 2026, and fiscal 2025 delivered 141 manufacturing wins totalling $941 million in annualised revenue, of which fiscal Q4 alone contributed 28 wins worth $274 million. The Q3 FY2026 cohort of 31 wins worth $255 million included "significant wins for our Aerospace/Defense market sector as well as a new partnership in our Industrial market sector manufacturing a battery energy storage system for data centers."
Strategic initiatives announced in the last 24 months
Products & Services
Plexus does not sell products. Its catalogue is a set of five integrated service lines applied across three market sectors, plus a carved-out semiconductor capital equipment practice. The company's own framing is the "Product Realization Value Stream." Pricing is negotiated program by program and is not disclosed for any offering; management notes only that "many of our customers permit quarterly or other periodic adjustments to pricing based on changes in component prices and other factors." Where the company discloses a named customer program it is generally through the customer's own announcement. The catalogue below is organised as the company organises it.
Service line 1 — Design and Development
Delivered through six design centres worldwide using standardised tools and processes. Disclosed sub-offerings:
- Product Strategy — front-end concept definition and roadmap work; target customer is typically an emerging-technology company or an OEM entering an adjacent category.
- Product Development — full new product development and product commercialisation, spanning electrical, mechanical, firmware and software engineering.
- Design for Excellence (DfX) — design-for-manufacturability, design-for-test, design-for-serviceability and design-for-sustainability reviews. Strategically this is the wedge: the 10-K notes "the breadth of our capabilities across the product lifecycle enables us to integrate supply chain, manufacturing and service expertise into our designs," which is how design engagements convert into downstream manufacturing awards.
- Test Engineering — specialised design of test solutions, including custom automated test equipment.
Disclosed design-centre locations: Neenah (120 Main Street, Wisconsin); Raleigh, North Carolina; Guadalajara, Mexico; Livingston, Scotland; Oradea, Romania; Penang, Malaysia.
Commercial significance in FY2025: management stated that "efforts to diversify our engineering solutions engagements successfully drove increased wins for fiscal 2025." Absolute engineering-solutions revenue is not separately disclosed.
Service line 2 — Supply Chain Solutions
- Early Engagement — supplier and component selection influence during design, described by the company as its principal lever over supplier performance: "Plexus can influence the selection of new product materials, and therefore the selection of suppliers who outperform their peers."
- Program Sustainment — ongoing sourcing, risk management and trade compliance across the program life.
- Managed inventory programs — Plexus holds and manages finished goods or work-in-process on behalf of certain customers, sometimes at customer sites. The 10-K flags this as a working capital and financial exposure risk.
- Proprietary risk management tools — referenced but not named or specified in the filing.
Materials procured include advanced semiconductors, diodes, power management modules, microcontrollers, memory modules, interconnects, inductors, resistors, capacitors, power supplies, cable and wire, plus custom-engineered non-electronic content: moulded/formed plastics, sheet metal fabrications, aluminium extrusions, robotics, motors, vision sensors, motion/actuation assemblies, fluidics, displays, die castings, hardware and fasteners.
Service line 3 — New Product Introduction (NPI)
A dedicated organisation focused on time-to-market and the transition to full-volume manufacturing. Named components: design for excellence, product lifecycle assessment, specialised design of test solutions, and rapid prototyping. Target customer: any customer moving a design from validated prototype to production, including customers whose design work was done elsewhere.
Service line 4 — Manufacturing
- End-to-End Manufacturing — full box-build and systems integration.
- Integrated Test and Inspection — including, per the 10-K's technology investment discussion, real-time vision and anomaly detection systems.
- Fulfillment and Logistics — direct order fulfilment to global end customers, and configuration management for high-mix product families.
Manufacturing capabilities are gated by facility-level certifications rather than by a product catalogue. The certification map disclosed in the FY2025 10-K is the closest thing Plexus has to a specification sheet:
Seventeen of eighteen manufacturing facilities are certified to ISO 14001; three of eighteen to ISO 45001; two of eighteen to ISO 50001.
Service line 5 — Sustaining Services
Formerly branded "Aftermarket Services," renamed by fiscal 2023. Named sub-offerings:
- Aftermarket Services, Repair and Refurbishment — including depot repair.
- Product Life Cycle Extension — design-for-serviceability influence, obsolescence management.
- Distribution Management — spare parts management and part recovery.
The company describes this as "a proactive and circular approach to service to help keep products in the market," and it is both a margin enhancer and a sustainability differentiator. Sustaining services achieved record wins for fiscal 2025. A named fiscal Q4 2025 win was a follow-on award for the remediation and repair of a therapeutics product, awarded to the Guadalajara, Mexico campus.
Named flagship customer programs disclosed publicly
Because Plexus does not own product IP, "flagship offerings" are customer programs it is publicly associated with:
Semiconductor capital equipment practice
Broken out on the company website as a distinct practice with two sub-domains: front-end wafer fabrication equipment and back-end equipment. This is housed within the Industrial market sector for reporting purposes. It is the primary intended tenant of the Plexus Bridgeview facility in Penang and was the single largest contributor to Industrial's 42% year-on-year growth in fiscal Q3 2026.
Product Portfolio
| Certification / registration | AMER | APAC | EMEA |
|---|---|---|---|
ISO 9001:2015 (baseline, all manufacturing and engineering sites) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
ISO 13485:2016 (medical) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
21 CFR Part 820 (FDA finished medical device) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
JGMP accreditation (Japan) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
GMP-Korea certification | Yes | Yes | Yes |
ANVISA accreditation (Brazil) | Yes | No | No |
NMPA registration (China) | No | Yes | No |
ISO 14001 (environmental management) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety) | No | No | Yes |
ANSI/ESD S20.20 (electrostatic discharge) | Yes | Yes | No |
ITAR self-declaration | Yes | No | No |
AS9100 (aerospace) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
NADCAP | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FAR 145 (FAA repair station) | Yes | No | No |
EASA repair approval | Yes | No | No |
ATEX/IECEx (explosive atmospheres) | No | No | Yes |
IRIS (railway) | No | Yes | No |
ISO 50001:2011 (energy management) | No | No | Yes |
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) | No | No | Yes |
TL9000 (telecommunications) | Yes | No | No |
| Program / customer | Description | Date / status |
|---|---|---|
Bevi smart water dispenser | Manufactured at the Appleton, Wisconsin facility; voted "Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin" for 2023 | Disclosed October 2023 |
Simbe Robotics | Partnership to scale manufacturing of retail inventory robots for global demand | Announced May 2024 |
Evolv Technology | Selected Plexus as new strategic contract manufacturing partner for AI-based weapons detection screening systems | Announced 6 November 2025 |
Riverside Research | Strategic partnership to rapidly develop reusable modular hardware and software for intelligence and defence markets | Announced May 2026 |
Data centre battery energy storage system | New Industrial-sector manufacturing partnership for a BESS designed for data centres | Won in fiscal Q3 2026 |
Therapeutics product remediation and repair | Sustaining-services follow-on award, Guadalajara campus | Won in fiscal Q4 2025 |
GE Vernova | Recipient of GE Vernova's Supplier Innovation Award for the APAC region | October 2025 |
Financial Narrative
Fiscal years: FY2021 ended 2 October 2021; FY2022 ended 1 October 2022; FY2023 ended 30 September 2023; FY2024 ended 28 September 2024; FY2025 ended 27 September 2025.
Income statement
Note: the FY2021–FY2023 non-GAAP presentations did not add back stock-based compensation; the FY2024 and FY2025 presentations do. FY2021 and FY2022 stock-based compensation is derived from the per-share amounts disclosed in the respective earnings releases and should be treated as approximate.
The data points that were verified: D&A was $58.5 million for the nine months ended 28 June 2025 and $57.4 million for the nine months ended 4 July 2026. On that basis full-year D&A is running in the high-$70 million range, but the precise figure is not confirmed here.
Revenue CAGR, FY2021–FY2025: 4.6%. This is materially below management's stated 9–12% long-term compound growth goal, and the shortfall is the central financial story of the period.
Balance sheet
Plexus carries no goodwill and no material identifiable intangibles on its balance sheet — a direct consequence of having made no acquisitions in more than two decades. Every dollar of the $1.45 billion equity base at FY2025 year-end is tangible. This is unusual among EMS peers and materially raises the quality of reported book value and returns on capital.
Cash flow
FY2022 operating cash flow and capital expenditure are derived from the disclosed FY2022 free cash flow of $(127.9) million and the disclosed year-on-year capex increase of $44.5 million from the FY2021 base of $57.1 million; they are consistent but not directly quoted from a cash flow statement.
Ratios
Cash cycle days for FY2022 and FY2023 reflect a reclassification in the presentation of advanced payments from customers disclosed in the FY2023 Q4 release, which reduced reported cash cycle by 27 and 16 days respectively; the FY2021 figure uses the older "days in cash deposits" convention and is not strictly comparable.
Commentary on trends, inflections and drivers
The FY2021–FY2023 build phase. Revenue grew 25% cumulatively across FY2022–FY2023, but this was demand fulfilment against a supply-constrained backdrop rather than clean growth. The signature of the period is on the balance sheet, not the income statement: inventories rose from $972 million at FY2021 year-end to $1.60 billion a year later, a $631 million build, financed by a $208 million increase in short-term debt and a $574 million surge in advanced payments from customers. Free cash flow swung from +$85.5 million to −$127.9 million. Days in inventory peaked at 154 at FY2023 year-end. Margins did not improve: GAAP operating margin fell from 5.2% in FY2021 to 4.7% in both FY2022 and FY2023, as component repricing was dilutive and start-up inefficiency on new ramps absorbed the volume benefit.
The FY2024 trough. Revenue fell 5.9% to $3.96 billion on customer inventory corrections, particularly in Healthcare/Life Sciences (down 17% year on year, from $1,875 million to $1,555 million), and weakness in semiconductor capital equipment. GAAP operating margin bottomed at 4.2%, dragged by $20.3 million of restructuring (two site closures plus severance) and $5.1 million of accelerated stock-based compensation from an executive retirement. Net income fell 20% and ROIC fell to 11.8%, only 360 basis points above WACC — the weakest economic return in the period. Yet FY2024 produced record free cash flow of $341.3 million, because the inventory that had been built in FY2022–FY2023 was liquidated: inventories fell $251 million and operating cash flow reached $436.5 million. This is the classic EMS pattern — cash flow is counter-cyclical to revenue.
The FY2025 inflection. Revenue recovered only 1.8%, but earnings quality improved sharply on three levers. First, gross margin reached 10.1%, the first double-digit gross margin in the period, on operational efficiency initiatives and a favourable customer mix shift. Second, interest expense collapsed from $28.9 million to $11.6 million as debt was reduced from $247 million to $138 million, adding roughly $0.62 to diluted EPS on its own. Third, the effective tax rate fell to 8.0% from 13.7%. Net income rose 54.6% to $172.9 million and diluted EPS rose 56% to $6.26 — of which only a modest portion was operational. Investors should note that the FY2025 tax rate is not a run rate: the FY2025 10-K warns that a global minimum tax "has been, or is anticipated to be, implemented in many of the countries in which Plexus operates," that it will "materially and unfavourably impact our existing tax holidays and effective tax rate," and that the impact is embedded in fiscal 2026 estimates. Consistent with that, the nine-month fiscal 2026 effective tax rate was 19.0% against 12.2% in the prior-year period, and the adjusted rate used in the ROIC calculation rose from 8% to 16%.
The FY2026 breakout. Fiscal 2026 is a different regime. Nine-month revenue of $3.538 billion is up 19.0% on $2.975 billion; fiscal Q3 revenue of $1.305 billion was up 28% year on year and 12% sequentially. Nine-month non-GAAP operating margin reached 6.1%, above the 6% target that had eluded the company for years, and nine-month adjusted diluted EPS reached $6.13 against $5.29. Management raised full-year fiscal 2026 guidance to "in excess of 20% revenue growth" with greater than 6% non-GAAP operating margin, and guided fiscal Q4 revenue of $1.330–$1.380 billion.
The cost of that growth is working capital. Nine-month fiscal 2026 operating cash flow was $38.99 million against $117.2 million in the prior-year period, as inventories consumed $259.9 million (versus a $37.5 million release a year earlier) and receivables consumed $140.2 million. Free cash flow guidance for fiscal 2026 has been walked down twice — from approximately $100 million at the October 2025 guide, to $50–$75 million at the April 2026 guide, to an expected usage of free cash flow for the full year at the July 2026 guide, with "a return to meaningful free cash flow generation in early fiscal 2027." Current debt rose from $45.8 million at FY2025 year-end to $183.8 million at 4 July 2026, and total debt from $137.8 million to $275.5 million. Encouragingly, cash cycle days actually improved to 62 in fiscal Q3 2026 — the best in over five years — so the cash consumption is growth-driven, not efficiency-driven. That is the right kind of cash burn, but it is cash burn.
Financial Detail
Segment Revenue
| Segment (USD M) | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMER net sales | 1318 | 1311 | 1558 | 1219 | 1216 |
APAC net sales | 1851 | 2300 | 2358 | 2213 | 2393 |
EMEA net sales | 313 | 316 | 403 | 538 | 440 |
Elimination of inter-segment sales | -113 | -116 | -109 | -10 | -16 |
Total net sales | 3369 | 3811 | 4210 | 3961 | 4033 |
Segment Revenue
| Segment share of total revenue (%) | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMER | 39.1 | 34.4 | 37.0 | 30.8 | 30.2 |
APAC | 54.9 | 60.4 | 56.0 | 55.9 | 59.3 |
EMEA | 9.3 | 8.3 | 9.6 | 13.6 | 10.9 |
Segment Revenue
| Segment YoY growth (%) | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AMER | -0.5 | 18.8 | -21.8 | -0.2 |
APAC | 24.3 | 2.5 | -6.1 | 8.1 |
EMEA | 1.0 | 27.5 | 33.5 | -18.2 |
Total | 13.1 | 10.5 | -5.9 | 1.8 |
Segment Revenue
| Segment operating income (USD M) | FY2023 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|
AMER | 79.7 | 39.6 |
APAC | 289.6 | 289.3 |
EMEA | 1.6 | 13.4 |
Corporate and other costs | -175.1 | -174.6 |
Total operating income | 195.8 | 167.7 |
Segment Revenue
| Segment operating margin (%) | FY2023 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|
AMER | 5.1 | 3.2 |
APAC | 12.3 | 13.1 |
EMEA | 0.4 | 2.5 |
Segment Revenue
| Segment (USD M) | Q3 FY2025 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
AMER | 312 | 397 | 428 |
APAC | 594 | 652 | 774 |
EMEA | 117 | 116 | 109 |
Eliminations | -5 | -1 | -6 |
Total | 1018 | 1164 | 1305 |
Segment Revenue
| Market sector (USD M) | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aerospace/Defense | 493 | 493 | 579 | 698 | 689 |
Healthcare/Life Sciences | 1327 | 1565 | 1875 | 1555 | 1629 |
Industrial | 1549 | 1753 | 1756 | 1708 | 1715 |
Total | 3369 | 3811 | 4210 | 3961 | 4033 |
Segment Revenue
| Market sector share of revenue (%) | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aerospace/Defense | 15 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 17 |
Healthcare/Life Sciences | 39 | 41 | 44 | 39 | 40 |
Industrial | 46 | 46 | 42 | 43 | 43 |
Segment Revenue
| Market sector (USD M) | Q3 FY2025 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
Aerospace/Defense | 183 | 212 | 233 |
Healthcare/Life Sciences | 420 | 473 | 483 |
Industrial | 415 | 479 | 589 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Net sales (USD M) | 3368.9 | 3811.4 | 4210.3 | 3960.8 | 4033.0 |
Cost of sales (USD M) | 3045.6 | 3464.1 | 3815.8 | 3582.3 | 3626.5 |
Gross profit (USD M) | 323.3 | 347.2 | 394.6 | 378.5 | 406.5 |
Selling and administrative expenses (USD M) | 143.8 | 167.0 | 175.6 | 190.5 | 199.5 |
Restructuring and other charges (USD M) | 3.3 | 2.0 | 23.1 | 20.3 | 4.7 |
Operating income (USD M) | 176.3 | 178.2 | 195.8 | 167.7 | 202.4 |
Interest expense (USD M) | 14.3 | 15.9 | 31.5 | 28.9 | 11.6 |
Interest income (USD M) | 1.4 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
Miscellaneous, net (USD M) | -3.0 | -5.3 | -6.4 | -13.2 | -6.7 |
Income before income taxes (USD M) | 160.4 | 158.3 | 161.0 | 129.5 | 188.0 |
Income tax expense (USD M) | 21.5 | 20.1 | 21.9 | 17.7 | 15.1 |
Net income (USD M) | 138.9 | 138.2 | 139.1 | 111.8 | 172.9 |
Basic EPS (USD) | 4.86 | 4.96 | 5.04 | 4.08 | 6.39 |
Diluted EPS (USD) | 4.76 | 4.86 | 4.95 | 4.01 | 6.26 |
Diluted weighted average shares (millions) | 29.167 | 28.439 | 28.114 | 27.909 | 27.616 |
Dividends per share (USD) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Non-GAAP adjusted operating income (USD M) | 179.5 | 180.2 | 218.9 | 218.5 | 236.7 |
Non-GAAP adjusted net income (USD M) | 141.8 | 140.1 | 160.4 | 159.5 | 205.2 |
Non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS (USD) | 4.86 | 4.92 | 5.70 | 5.72 | 7.43 |
Stock-based compensation expense (USD M) | 24.8 | 23.3 | 21.4 | 30.5 | 29.6 |
Financial Analysis
| Margin (%) | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross margin | 9.6 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 10.1 |
Operating margin (GAAP) | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 5.0 |
Operating margin (non-GAAP) | 5.3 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.9 |
Pre-tax margin | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.7 |
Net margin | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.3 |
S&A as % of revenue | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
Effective tax rate | 13.4 | 12.7 | 13.6 | 13.7 | 8.0 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash and cash equivalents (USD M) | 270.2 | 274.8 | 256.2 | 345.1 | 306.5 |
Accounts receivable (USD M) | 519.7 | 737.7 | 661.5 | 622.4 | 656.6 |
Contract assets (USD M) | 115.3 | 138.5 | 142.3 | 120.6 | 150.7 |
Inventories (USD M) | 972.3 | 1602.8 | 1562.0 | 1311.4 | 1229.8 |
Total current assets (USD M) | 1930.9 | 2816.1 | 2672.2 | 2477.2 | 2398.8 |
Property, plant and equipment, net (USD M) | 395.1 | 444.7 | 492.0 | 501.1 | 546.1 |
Operating lease right-of-use assets (USD M) | 72.1 | 65.1 | 69.4 | 74.4 | 72.9 |
Total assets (USD M) | 2461.9 | 3393.2 | 3321.2 | 3153.8 | 3137.1 |
Accounts payable (USD M) | 635.0 | 805.6 | 646.6 | 606.4 | 726.6 |
Advanced payments from customers (USD M) | 205.0 | 779.3 | 760.4 | 709.2 | 575.9 |
Total current liabilities (USD M) | 1128.7 | 2006.2 | 1812.7 | 1643.3 | 1518.7 |
Short-term debt and finance leases (USD M) | 66.3 | 274.0 | 240.2 | 157.3 | 45.8 |
Long-term debt and finance leases (USD M) | 187.0 | 187.8 | 190.9 | 90.0 | 92.0 |
Total debt and finance leases (USD M) | 253.3 | 461.7 | 431.1 | 247.3 | 137.8 |
Net debt / (net cash) (USD M) | -16.8 | 186.9 | 174.8 | -97.8 | -168.7 |
Total liabilities (USD M) | 1433.7 | 2297.5 | 2106.8 | 1829.0 | 1682.5 |
Total shareholders' equity (USD M) | 1028.2 | 1095.7 | 1214.4 | 1324.8 | 1454.6 |
Working capital (USD M) | 802.2 | 809.9 | 859.6 | 833.9 | 880.1 |
Goodwill (USD M) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Identifiable intangible assets (USD M) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash flow from operations (USD M) | 142.6 | -26.3 | 165.8 | 436.5 | 249.2 |
Capital expenditures (USD M) | 57.1 | 101.6 | 104.0 | 95.2 | 95.2 |
Free cash flow (USD M) | 85.5 | -127.9 | 61.8 | 341.3 | 154.0 |
Share repurchases (USD M) | 108.5 | 50.4 | 40.9 | 55.7 | 65.0 |
Dividends paid (USD M) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Capex as % of revenue | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
Financial Analysis
| Ratio | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Return on equity (%) | 13.9 | 13.0 | 12.0 | 8.8 | 12.4 |
Return on assets (%) | 5.9 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 5.5 |
ROIC, company-defined (%) | 15.4 | 13.0 | 13.4 | 11.8 | 14.6 |
Weighted average cost of capital (%) | 8.1 | 9.3 | 9.0 | 8.2 | 8.9 |
Economic return (%) | 7.3 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 5.7 |
Current ratio (x) | 1.71 | 1.40 | 1.47 | 1.51 | 1.58 |
Total debt / equity (x) | 0.25 | 0.42 | 0.35 | 0.19 | 0.09 |
Interest coverage, operating income / interest expense (x) | 12.4 | 11.2 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 17.4 |
Asset turnover, revenue / average assets (x) | 1.42 | 1.30 | 1.25 | 1.22 | 1.28 |
Cash conversion cycle, Q4 exit (days) | 85 | 73 | 87 | 64 | 63 |
Days in inventory, Q4 exit | 116 | 144 | 154 | 127 | 118 |
Days in accounts receivable, Q4 exit | 56 | 60 | 59 | 54 | 57 |
Days in accounts payable, Q4 exit | -76 | -72 | -64 | -59 | -70 |
Days in advanced payments, Q4 exit | -24 | -70 | -75 | -68 | -55 |
Geographic Revenue
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
AMER net sales (USD M) | 1558 | 1219 | 1216 |
APAC net sales (USD M) | 2358 | 2213 | 2393 |
EMEA net sales (USD M) | 403 | 538 | 440 |
AMER YoY growth (%) | 18.8 | -21.8 | -0.2 |
APAC YoY growth (%) | 2.5 | -6.1 | 8.1 |
EMEA YoY growth (%) | 27.5 | 33.5 | -18.2 |
Geographic Revenue
| Country (USD M) | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
Malaysia | 1846 | 1887 | 1757 |
United States | 869 | 1002 | 817 |
Mexico | 442 | 557 | 506 |
Romania | 217 | 298 | 423 |
Geographic Revenue
| Long-lived assets by location (USD M) | FY2023 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|
Malaysia | 159 | 173 |
United States | 107 | 97 |
Mexico | 78 | 74 |
Romania | 52 | 57 |
Corporate | 52 | 51 |
Total | 561 | 575 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Share price (USD) | 255.34 |
Change on the day | +8.40 (+3.40%) |
Previous close (USD) | 246.94 |
Day's range (USD) | 250.03 – 256.67 |
52-week range (USD) | 132.03 – 307.06 |
Market capitalisation (USD B) | 6.81 |
Shares outstanding (millions) | 26.65 |
Beta | 0.89 |
Average daily volume context | 146,677 shares traded on 11 September 2026 |
Next earnings date | 21 October 2026 |
Capital Markets
| Date | Closing price (USD) | Source |
|---|---|---|
9 October 2025 | 147.25 | MarketBeat quote page |
~11 January 2026 | approximately 162 (implied by analyst target commentary) | Nasdaq analyst target article |
~April 2026 | 204.96 | Nasdaq analyst target article |
29 April 2026 | 246.33 | StockTitan quote at CFO transition announcement |
Q3 FY2026 buyback average | 258.75 | Q3 FY2026 earnings release |
~22 June 2026 | 255.94 | WallStreetZen |
4 September 2026 | 245.98 | StockTitan |
11 September 2026 | 255.34 | StockAnalysis / CBOE |
52-week low | 132.03 | StockAnalysis |
52-week high | 307.06 | StockAnalysis |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
Trailing twelve-month revenue (USD B) | 4.60 | +14.2% year on year |
Trailing twelve-month net income (USD M) | 185.41 | +14.0% |
Trailing twelve-month EPS (USD) | 6.77 | +15.4% |
P/E, trailing | 37.70 | On TTM GAAP EPS |
P/E, forward | 25.55 | On consensus forward non-GAAP EPS |
P/E on FY2025 GAAP diluted EPS of $6.26 | 40.8 | Analyst calculation |
P/E on FY2025 non-GAAP diluted EPS of $7.43 | 34.4 | Analyst calculation |
Enterprise value (USD B) | approximately 6.77 | Market cap $6.81B + total debt $275.5M − cash $314.1M, at 4 July 2026 balance sheet |
EV / TTM sales (x) | approximately 1.47 | Analyst calculation |
EV / TTM operating income (x) | approximately 29.4 | On TTM GAAP operating income of approximately $230.7M (FY2025 $202.4M less 9M FY2025 $149.3M plus 9M FY2026 $177.6M) |
EV / EBITDA (x) | — | — |
Price / book (x) | approximately 4.45 | On shareholders' equity of $1,528.8M at 4 July 2026 |
Dividend yield | 0.0% | No dividend has ever been declared |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
Consensus rating | Buy | September 2026, 5 analysts polled by S&P Global |
Average 12-month price target (USD) | 305.75 | +19.7% versus the 11 September close |
Lowest target (USD) | 275 | — |
Highest target (USD) | 330 | Stifel, July 2026 |
Capital Markets
| Date | Firm | Analyst | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
~April 2026 | Stifel | Ruben Roy | Target raised to $200 from $150, Hold maintained (pre-Q2) |
30 April 2026 | Needham | James Ricchiuti | Target raised to $285 from $206, Buy |
~30 April 2026 | Raymond James | — | Target raised to $275 from $205, Outperform |
~1 May 2026 | Stifel | — | Target raised to $280 from $250, Buy |
~June 2026 | Needham | James Ricchiuti | Target raised to $310 from $285, Buy |
~July 2026 | Stifel | — | Target raised to $330 from $280, Buy |
~August 2026 | Sidoti | Anja Soderstrom | Upgraded to Buy from Neutral, $308 target |
Capital Markets
| Fiscal year | Repurchases (USD M) | Average price (USD) | Programme detail |
|---|---|---|---|
FY2021 | 108.5 | 84.78 | Multiple programmes; $46.9 million of a $50 million authorisation remaining at year-end |
FY2022 | 50.4 | 83.55 | $46.5 million of the then-current $50 million authorisation remaining at year-end |
FY2023 | 40.9 | 95.96 | $5.7 million remaining of the $50 million authorisation at year-end |
FY2024 | 55.7 | 103.81 | 2024 Programme completed; 2025 Programme of $50.0 million approved August 2024 |
FY2025 | 65.0 | 136.80 | 2025 Programme completed (362,325 shares for $50 million); new $100.0 million authorisation approved 14 May 2025; $85.0 million remained available at FY2025 year-end |
FY2026 9M | 64.1 | — | Q1: $22.4 million at $146.36; Q3: $20.6 million at $258.75; $21.4 million remaining of the $100.0 million authorisation at Q3 FY2026 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | Q3 FY2026 (4 July 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
Current portion of long-term debt and finance leases (USD M) | 157.3 | 45.8 | 183.8 |
Long-term debt and finance leases (USD M) | 90.0 | 92.0 | 91.6 |
Total debt and finance leases (USD M) | 247.3 | 137.8 | 275.5 |
Cash and cash equivalents (USD M) | 345.1 | 306.5 | 314.1 |
Net debt / (net cash) (USD M) | -97.8 | -168.7 | -38.6 |
Operating lease obligations, current (USD M) | 14.7 | 8.3 | 7.6 |
Operating lease obligations, long-term (USD M) | 32.3 | 29.4 | 23.9 |
Analyst Conclusions
Management guidance
Implied fiscal 2026 full-year revenue at the guidance midpoint: nine-month actual of $3.538 billion plus a $1.355 billion fourth quarter equals approximately $4.89 billion, or 21.3% growth on fiscal 2025's $4.033 billion. Implied full-year non-GAAP diluted EPS: $6.13 for nine months plus $2.55 at the midpoint equals approximately $8.68, up 16.8% on fiscal 2025's $7.43 — with the growth rate held back relative to revenue by the normalising tax rate. Note that fiscal 2026 is a 53-week year, which flatters the growth rate by roughly one to two percentage points.
Consensus for calendar 2026 net income of approximately $223 million and for 2027 of approximately $257 million implies continued mid-teens earnings growth.
Bull case
1. The growth inflection is real, sourced and visible, not a cyclical bounce. Revenue growth has accelerated in a straight line across fiscal 2026: +10% in Q1, +19% in Q2, +28% in Q3, guided +28% in Q4. Management attributes it to new program ramps and market share gains before end-market demand. That attribution is corroborated by the leading indicators: $941 million of annualised wins in fiscal 2025, $283 million in Q1 FY2026, $255 million in Q3 FY2026, and a record $4.5 billion qualified funnel. Ramp-driven growth has a two-to-three-year tail as programs reach full volume, which is why management can signal fiscal 2027 growth potentially above 9%–12% with a straight face. Against a five-year revenue CAGR of 4.6%, a durable move to double-digit growth is a genuine regime change and is the entire basis for the multiple re-rating.
2. Margin structure has permanently improved, and the 6% target has been cleared. Gross margin crossed 10% for the first time in the period in fiscal 2025 and held at 10.1% in fiscal Q3 2026 despite a heavy ramp quarter. Non-GAAP operating margin reached 6.3% in Q3 FY2026 and 6.1% for nine months, against 5.5% in fiscal 2024. Two site closures, two rounds of severance and $42.8 million of restructuring across FY2024–FY2025 removed fixed cost from a smaller revenue base; that cost base is now absorbing a 20%-plus larger revenue base. Operating leverage from here is arithmetically powerful: fiscal Q4 guidance of 6.1%–6.5% non-GAAP margin on $1.355 billion of revenue implies approximately $85 million of quarterly non-GAAP operating income against $61 million a year earlier.
3. Capital discipline is verifiable and structurally embedded. ROIC exceeded WACC in each of the last five years and hit 14.9% in fiscal Q3 2026 — the best in nearly five years and 590 basis points above cost of capital. The balance sheet carries no goodwill, no material intangibles, and was in net cash at fiscal 2025 year-end. Cash cycle days reached 62 in Q3 FY2026, the best in over five years, meaning the current cash consumption is pure growth investment rather than deteriorating efficiency. Critically, ROIC and economic return are 40% and 40% weightings in executive incentive plans respectively, so the discipline is compensated, not merely stated. Management guides to a return to meaningful free cash flow generation in early fiscal 2027, at which point a materially larger earnings base converts to cash.
Bear case
1. The valuation now requires the acceleration to persist through a semiconductor cycle it has never survived. At $255.34 the shares trade at 37.7x trailing GAAP earnings and roughly 4.5x tangible book, for a business whose net margin has never exceeded 4.3% in five years and whose revenue CAGR over that period was 4.6%. The largest single driver of the fiscal 2026 acceleration is Industrial, up approximately 42% year on year in Q3, powered by semiconductor capital equipment — the sector Plexus's own 10-K describes as having "historically been subject to significant cyclicality and volatility." Plexus lived through the last semi-cap downturn: fiscal 2024 revenue fell 5.9%, AMER operating income halved, ROIC fell to 11.8% and the shares languished near $100. A repeat, arriving against a 37.7x multiple rather than a 20x multiple, would be far more painful. Top-ten customer concentration has already risen to 55% from 48%, so the ramp is not broadly based.
2. Cash generation has inverted precisely as the equity has re-rated on quality. Nine-month fiscal 2026 operating cash flow was $39.0 million, down 67% from $117.2 million, with inventories consuming $259.9 million. Free cash flow guidance has been cut twice in nine months — from approximately $100 million, to $50–$75 million, to a usage. Gross debt has doubled from $137.8 million to $275.5 million and the net cash position has largely evaporated, from $168.7 million to $38.6 million. Buyback capacity is nearly exhausted, with $21.4 million left of the $100 million authorisation. If the ramp stalls at any point, Plexus will be carrying $1.5 billion-plus of inventory purchased against forecasts, financed by revolver, on turnkey terms — the precise configuration that produced the fiscal 2022 free cash flow of negative $127.9 million.
3. Reported earnings quality is thinner than the headline suggests, and the tax tailwind is reversing. Fiscal 2025's 56% diluted EPS growth was substantially non-operational: interest expense fell $17.3 million (worth roughly $0.62 of EPS) and the effective tax rate dropped from 13.7% to 8.0% (worth roughly $0.38 of EPS). Together those two items account for a large share of the increase from $4.01 to $6.26. Both are now working the other way. The 10-K states plainly that the global minimum tax "will materially and unfavourably impact our existing tax holidays and effective tax rate," and the nine-month fiscal 2026 rate has already jumped to 19.0% from 12.2%; the adjusted rate used in the ROIC bridge doubled from 8% to 16%. Interest expense is also rising again, from $2.5 million in Q3 FY2025 to $4.1 million in Q3 FY2026, as the revolver funds working capital. Meanwhile the gap between GAAP and non-GAAP is widening — Q3 FY2026 GAAP EPS of $1.58 against non-GAAP of $2.32, a 47% premium — and GAAP operating margin actually fell year on year in Q3, from 5.3% to 4.7%.
Key catalysts and monitorables, next twelve months
Analyst verdict
Plexus enters fiscal 2027 as a fundamentally different company from the one that closed fiscal 2024, and the equity market has spent eleven months repricing that fact — the shares are up roughly 73% from October 2025 and have doubled since March 2025. The re-rating is not unearned. The business has cleared its 6% non-GAAP operating margin objective, is generating a return on invested capital 590 basis points above cost of capital, carries no goodwill and no material intangibles, and is growing revenue at 28% year on year against a five-year CAGR of 4.6%. The growth is traceable to a specific, disclosed mechanism — 141 manufacturing wins worth $941 million in fiscal 2025 and a record $4.5 billion qualified funnel — rather than to a generalised cyclical recovery, which is why management can credibly signal fiscal 2027 growth above its long-term goal. Very few mid-cap industrials can point to a comparable combination of accelerating growth, expanding margin and a genuinely clean balance sheet.
The difficulty is that almost all of that is now in the price, and the two things that made fiscal 2025 look exceptional are reversing. A 37.7x trailing multiple on a business with a 4.3% peak net margin leaves no room for a semi-cap air pocket, and semiconductor capital equipment is the single largest contributor to the current acceleration. More immediately, the cash statement has inverted: operating cash flow is down 67% year to date, free cash flow guidance has been cut twice to a full-year usage, the net cash position has fallen from $168.7 million to $38.6 million, gross debt has doubled, and the buyback authorisation is nearly spent. The turnkey inventory model that made fiscal 2024 a record cash year makes fiscal 2026 a cash-consuming one — that is the model working as designed, but it means the equity is being valued on earnings that the business is not currently converting. Layer on a tax rate that has already moved from 8.0% to 19.0% under the global minimum tax, interest expense that is rising again, and a GAAP-to-non-GAAP gap that reached 47% in the most recent quarter, and the quality of the reported number deserves closer scrutiny than the headline growth rate invites.
The balanced view: Plexus is executing well and has structurally improved its earning power, but the market is now paying a growth multiple for a company whose historical claim to quality was capital discipline rather than growth. The decisive test arrives on 21 October 2026, when management must simultaneously deliver a fourth quarter well above consensus, quantify the fiscal 2026 cash usage, and put a credible number on the promised fiscal 2027 free cash flow recovery. If cash conversion returns as guided while growth holds above the 9%–12% goal, the current multiple is defensible and the Street's $305.75 average target is reachable. If cash conversion slips again, investors will find themselves holding a cyclical contract manufacturer at 38 times earnings — a position that has historically ended badly in this industry. This dossier does not offer an investment recommendation; the material facts and the tensions between them are set out above for the reader's own judgement.
END OF DOSSIER
Executive Leadership
| Name | Title | Notes on tenure and background |
|---|---|---|
Todd P. Kelsey | President & Chief Executive Officer | Age 60. Joined Plexus 1994 as a Design Engineer in the Engineering Solutions Group. CEO since 2016; President 2016–2022 and 2024–present. Previously EVP & COO 2013–2016, EVP Global Customer Services, SVP Global Customer Services, SVP Engineering Solutions. B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.B.A., University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Director of Steelcase Inc. and chair of its Audit Committee until December 2025 |
David Abuhl | Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer | Appointed effective 11 May 2026. Joined Plexus and the Leadership Team in September 2025 as SVP-Finance. Previously 15+ years at Kimberly-Clark Corporation, most recently CFO-Enterprise Supply Chain with oversight of approximately $14 billion of cost of goods sold; earlier EMEA Finance Director and CFO for Kimberly-Clark Professional across approximately 70 countries. M.B.A., SMU Cox School of Business; B.A. in Business and Economics, Wheaton College. Base salary $550,000 with a Variable Incentive Compensation Plan target of 80% of base |
Oliver K. Mihm | Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer | Named executive officer; fiscal 2025 base salary $620,000 (up 10.7%), VICP target 90% of base |
Angelo M. Ninivaggi | Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer & Secretary | Also titled Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel in the proxy. Fiscal 2025 base salary $560,000 (up 2.8%), VICP target 80%. Chairs the executive Sustainability Committee |
Lori Ney | Chief Human Resources Officer | Directs human capital strategy; reports quarterly to the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee |
Victor (Pang Hau) Tan | Regional President — APAC | Named executive officer; fiscal 2025 base salary $521,068 (up 7.3%), VICP target 70% |
Mike Running | Regional President — AMER | — |
Frank Zycinski | Regional President — EMEA | — |
Kyle McMillan | Chief Information & Technology Officer | Reports directly to the President and CEO; directs global IT vision and strategy |
Scott Theune | Chief Quality Officer | — |
Ryan Weiland | Senior Vice President — Global Engineering Solutions | — |
Chris Hood | Senior Vice President — Global Supply Chain | — |
Heather Beresford | Senior Vice President — Sustaining Services | — |
Ryan Miller | Senior Vice President — Global Market Development | Appointed to the Leadership Team during 2026 |
Bill Novak | Corporate Controller | — |
Steve Rogers | Vice President — Tax and Treasurer | — |
Jackie Bowers | Vice President — Financial Planning & Analysis | — |
Kristine Groholski | Vice President — Brand, Strategy Deployment and Community Engagement | — |
Shawn Harrison | Vice President — Investor Relations | Investor and media contact of record |
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
September 2025 | David Abuhl joins Plexus as Senior Vice President-Finance and joins the Leadership Team |
28–29 April 2026 | Patrick J. Jermain, EVP & CFO, announces retirement after 15+ years at Plexus including 12 as CFO. Board appoints David Abuhl as SVP & CFO effective 11 May 2026 |
11 May 2026 | Abuhl assumes the role of principal financial and accounting officer |
31 July 2026 | Jermain's advisory period ends; retirement effective |
Fiscal Q3 2026 | $12.9 million ($12.5 million net of tax, $0.46 per diluted share) of accelerated stock-based compensation recorded in S&A "as a result of previously announced executive retirement agreements" (plural) |
Fiscal 2024 | $5.1 million of accelerated stock-based compensation recorded in connection with a previously announced executive retirement agreement |
2024 | Todd Kelsey resumes the office of President alongside CEO |
| Executive | Base salary (USD) | Increase vs FY2024 (%) | VICP target (% of base) | VICP maximum (% of base) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Todd P. Kelsey | 1,100,000 | 0.0 | 135 | 270 |
Patrick J. Jermain | 640,000 | 0.0 | 85 | 170 |
Oliver K. Mihm | 620,000 | 10.7 | 90 | 180 |
Angelo M. Ninivaggi | 560,000 | 2.8 | 80 | 160 |
Victor (Pang Hau) Tan | 521,068 | 7.3 | 70 | 140 |
| Component (USD) | Todd P. Kelsey, FY2025 |
|---|---|
Salary | 1,100,000 |
Non-equity incentive / bonus | 1,671,694 |
Stock awards (grant date fair value) | 7,766,185 |
Option awards | 0 |
All other compensation | 301,379 |
Total | 10,839,258 |
| Director | Age | Tenure | Independent | Committee assignments | Principal background |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dean A. Foate | 67 | 25 years (12 as Chair) | No | None (ineligible under Nasdaq rules) | Chair of the Board since 2013; retired President & CEO of Plexus 2002–2016; joined Plexus 1984; former Plexus COO; former director of Regal Rexnord |
Todd P. Kelsey | 60 | 9 years | No | None | President & CEO of Plexus |
Michael V. Schrock | 72 | 19 years (11 as Lead Director) | Yes | Compensation & Leadership Development | Independent Lead Director; Senior Advisor/Operating Consultant, Oak Hill Capital Partners; former President & COO of Pentair plc; Chairman of Atkore International Group |
Dr. Joann M. Eisenhart | 66 | 10 years | Yes | Compensation & Leadership Development (Chair) | Retired EVP & Chief People Officer, Northwestern Mutual; formerly SVP-HR at Pfizer; Ph.D. Inorganic Chemistry (UW-Madison), Ph.D. Human and Organizational Development (Fielding) |
Rainer Jueckstock | 66 | 12 years | Yes | Audit (Chair) | Retired EVP of Tenneco Inc.; former CEO and co-CEO of Federal-Mogul; designated audit committee financial expert |
Karen M. Rapp | 58 | 7 years | Yes | Audit; Compensation & Leadership Development | Retired EVP, CFO & Treasurer of National Instruments; former SVP Corporate Development at NXP; director of Microchip Technology (Audit chair) and Cohu, Inc.; designated audit committee financial expert |
Paul A. Rooke | 67 | 8 years | Yes | Governance & Sustainability (Chair) | Retired Chairman & CEO of Lexmark International |
Randy J. Martinez | 70 | 4 years | Yes | Audit; Governance & Sustainability | Former President & CEO of MTS Systems Corp.; former senior roles at AAR Corporation; retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and Command Pilot |
Joel Quadracci | 56 | 5 years | Yes | Compensation & Leadership Development; Governance & Sustainability | Chairman, President & CEO of Quad/Graphics, Inc. |
Jennifer B. Wuamett | 60 | 3 years | Yes | Compensation & Leadership Development; Governance & Sustainability | EVP, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Sustainability Officer of NXP Semiconductors N.V. |
| Director | Cash fees (USD) | Stock awards (USD) | Other (USD) | Total (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dean A. Foate | 260,000 | 190,033 | 28,070 | 478,103 |
Michael V. Schrock | 130,000 | 190,033 | 0 | 320,033 |
Joann M. Eisenhart | 110,000 | 190,033 | 0 | 300,033 |
Rainer Jueckstock | 110,000 | 190,033 | 0 | 300,033 |
Paul A. Rooke | 110,000 | 190,033 | 0 | 300,033 |
Randy J. Martinez | 100,000 | 190,033 | 0 | 290,033 |
Joel Quadracci | 100,000 | 190,033 | 0 | 290,033 |
Karen M. Rapp | 100,000 | 190,033 | 0 | 290,033 |
Jennifer B. Wuamett | 100,000 | 190,033 | 0 | 290,033 |
| Holder | Shares | % of shares outstanding | Filing basis |
|---|---|---|---|
BlackRock, Inc. | 4,123,364 | 15.41 | 13G/A filed 30 April 2025, as of 31 March 2025 |
The Vanguard Group, Inc. | 3,683,845 | 13.77 | 13G/A filed 30 October 2025, as of 30 September 2025 |
Disciplined Growth Investors, Inc. | 2,168,854 | 8.11 | 13G filed 1 August 2008 (stale filing as presented in the proxy) |
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 1,415,376 | 5.29 | 13G/A filed 15 April 2025, as of 31 March 2025 |
Competitive Landscape
| Competitor | Approximate scale | Overlap with Plexus | Relative positioning |
|---|---|---|---|
Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) | Largest EMS provider globally | Minimal direct overlap; sets the industry cost benchmark | Volume/consumer scale; expanding into servers and automotive, which adds capacity to the market |
Flex Ltd. | Approximately $26 billion (2024) | Industrial, medical, automotive | Scale competitor; aggressive on high-volume bids; strong and growing data-centre business |
Jabil Inc. | Over $30 billion (2024) | Healthcare, industrial, AI infrastructure | The most end-market-diversified of the large peers; expanding into AI infrastructure |
Celestica Inc. | Approximately $9.6 billion (2024) | Aerospace/defence, industrial, capital equipment | The strongest performer in the peer set; has broken out via AI/data-centre connectivity and cloud, achieving margins well above the 1%–3% EMS net-margin norm |
Sanmina Corporation | Approximately $8 billion | Medical, defence, industrial, complex regulated builds | The closest direct analogue on regulated complexity; non-GAAP operating margins in the 5%–6% range, pristine balance sheet, top-10 customer concentration approximately 79% in fiscal 2025 |
Benchmark Electronics, Inc. | Approximately $3–4 billion | Medical, aerospace/defence, semi-cap, industrial | The single closest comparable to Plexus by size and market mix; differentiates on RF, mechatronics and engineering services; has struggled to convert revenue into net profit |
Fabrinet | Mid-cap | Photonics and precision optical/mechanical assembly | Adjacent rather than head-to-head; competes for precision assembly work in Asia |
Kimball Electronics | Mid-cap | Medical, industrial, automotive | Overlaps in regulated durables; balanced North America / Mexico / Europe footprint |
Zollner Elektronik | European private | Industrial, medical, aerospace in Europe | Contests EMEA niches where Plexus is sub-scale |
Kitron ASA | European small-cap | Defence, medical, industrial in the Nordics | Contests EMEA niches; has been a notable defence-cycle beneficiary |
TT Electronics / Nortech Systems | Small-cap | Industrial and medical electronics | Regional niche competition |
Customer in-house manufacturing | n/a | All sectors | The 10-K names this explicitly: "Plexus also competes with in-house capabilities of current and potential customers." Reshoring and vertical reintegration are live threats |
| Metric | Plexus (FY2025, primary) | Celestica (2024, secondary) | Sanmina (approx., secondary) | Benchmark Electronics (approx., secondary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue (USD B) | 4.03 | 9.6 | 8.0 | 3.5 |
Revenue growth, most recent year (%) | 1.8 | positive, high | low-single-digit to flat | negative to flat |
Gross margin (%) | 10.1 | — | — | — |
GAAP operating margin (%) | 5.0 | approximately 8.0 (cited) | — | — |
Non-GAAP operating margin (%) | 5.9 | — | 5.0–6.0 (cited range) | — |
R&D intensity (% of revenue) | not applicable — no R&D line | not applicable | not applicable | not applicable |
Net cash / (net debt) position | net cash of $168.7M at FY2025 year-end | leveraged relative to Sanmina (cited) | net cash or very low leverage, net debt/EBITDA well below 1.0x (cited) | — |
Top-10 customer concentration (%) | 49.1 | — | approximately 79 (fiscal 2025, cited) | — |



