CPI Card Group Inc. (PMTS) stock analysis
Close on Nov 11, 2026Market cap $292.19MP/E 18.5Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Mixed9 of 30 checks passed
CPI Card passes 9 of the 30 checks behind our score; 11 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 3/6
- Growth
- 2/6
- Past performance
- 1/6
- Financial health
- 3/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Trading below fair value
The share price of $25.34 is below our fair value estimate of $28.01.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 16.0%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Earnings growth accelerating
Net income grew 14.6% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -1.5% a year.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 38.6% of total debt.
What to watch
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 9.5% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 1.5% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew 4.5% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing under 10% a year
Diluted EPS grew -26.2% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Valuation3/6
P/E above its 5-year median
CPI Card's P/E of 18.5 is above its own 5-year median of 12.6.
P/E above the industry
CPI Card's P/E of 18.5 is above the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 17.7.
EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median
CPI Card's EV/EBITDA of 6.4 is below its 5-year median of 6.4.
P/S below the industry
CPI Card's price-to-sales of 0.48 is below the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 0.57 (book value is negative, so we use sales).
Trading below fair value
The share price of $25.34 is below our fair value estimate of $28.01.
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 9.5% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.
Growth2/6
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew 4.5% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing under 10% a year
Diluted EPS grew -26.2% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth accelerating
Net income grew 14.6% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -1.5% a year.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 17.9% over the last twelve months; the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median is 1.1%.
Guidance unchanged
The latest outlook (2026 Year-end Net Leverage Ratio, Aug 6, 2026) was maintained, so it neither adds nor takes away points.
Gross margin slipping
Gross margin was 31.5% over the last twelve months, against 31.9% a year earlier.
Past performance1/6
Return on equity
Needs positive equity and five years of results.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 16.0%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity against the industry
Needs positive equity.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 1.5% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin below its 5-year average
Net margin was 2.7% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 4.8%.
Net margin below the industry
CPI Card's net margin of 2.7% is below the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 3.6%.
Financial health3/6
Debt level
Needs debt and equity figures.
Debt trend
Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 38.6% of total debt.
Interest coverage
Interest expense is not reported separately.
Short-term assets cover short-term debts
Current assets are 2.06 times current liabilities.
Low bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is 3.15; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
CPI Card has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$28.01
The share price is 10% below this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 15.1× | 12.6× | 17.7× | $20.73 | 44% |
| EV/EBITDA | 8.0× | 6.4× | 9.6× | $36.96 | 39% |
| Earnings power | 11.2% cost of equity | – | – | $26.52 | 17% |
| Fair value | $28.01 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 12.6
- Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median 17.7
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Medium risk
- Average value traded per day
- $3.89M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $1.63M
Downside
Medium risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 20.1%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 71%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 1.09
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 1.27
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2012 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +13.1% | +4.5% | +11.7% | +3.8% | |
| Gross profit | -0.7% | -1.1% | +9.0% | +2.3% | |
| Operating income | -12.7% | -11.5% | +7.4% | -2.1% | |
| Net income | -23.4% | -25.8% | -1.5% | -7.0% | |
| EPS, diluted | -23.8% | -26.2% | -2.8% | – | |
| Free cash flow | +21.4% | +45.3% | +22.5% | +5.0% |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -5.9% | -11.0% | -56.5% | |
| Return on assets | 2.0% | 6.7% | 4.0% | |
| Current ratio | 2.62 | 2.68 | 2.44 | |
| Debt to equity | -3.17 | -2.44 | -16.54 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 5.77× | 5.05× | 3.43× | |
| Inventory turnover | 9.2× | 9.0× | 5.2× | |
| Capex to revenue | 4.6% | 2.3% | 3.3% | |
| Diluted shares | 11M | 11M | 12M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
CPI Card generated $188.42M from operations and spent $70.71M on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 87% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 2.8% | 1.44× | -14.22× | -56.5% |
| FY2024 | 4.1% | 1.49× | -7.35× | -44.6% |
| FY2023 | 5.4% | 1.51× | -4.41× | -35.8% |
| FY2022 | 7.7% | 1.68× | -2.78× | -36.0% |
| FY2021 | 4.2% | 1.40× | -2.06× | -12.3% |
| FY2020 | 5.2% | 1.30× | -1.64× | -11.0% |
| FY2019 | -1.8% | 1.32× | -1.38× | 3.4% |
| FY2018 | -14.6% | 1.16× | -1.63× | 27.7% |
| FY2017 | -9.8% | 0.90× | -2.32× | 20.5% |
| FY2016 | 1.7% | 1.13× | -3.00× | -5.9% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$14.95M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$59.50M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year6.6% → 4.3%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$59.50M vs $14.95M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell80.2% → 71.1%
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose2.69 → 2.44
- No dilutionShare count did not rise12M → 12M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year35.63% → 31.29%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose1.64 → 1.55
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