Badger Meter

Badger Meter makes water meters, communication systems and software for water utilities, and flow measurement instruments for industry. Its BlueEdge suite includes smart meters, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), data and analytics software, and devices that monitor water networks and sewers beyond the meter. In 2025, it bought SmartCover, which monitors sewer lines, and on May 1, 2026, it bought UDlive Limited.

Most sales are to municipal water utilities, which replace old meters with smart meters over many years. Sales were $235.9 million in Q3 2026.

The market prices Badger Meter for falling sales while utility meter projects start later than planned. Sales fell 7% from a year earlier in Q2 2026 and were about flat in Q3 2026. Without the UDlive purchase, utility water sales fell 9% in Q2 and 3% in Q3 from a year earlier, because AMI projects ramped unevenly. EPS for the first nine months of 2026 fell to $3.19 from $3.65.

The company expects Base sales, without UDlive, to grow in Q4 2026 from Q3 and from a year earlier, and it expects this growth to continue into 2027. For the gap to close, three things must be true. The awarded utility projects must keep their ramp in Q4 2026 and in 2027, as the company expects. Gross margin must stay in the normal range of 39% to 42%.

Software and beyond the meter products, such as SmartCover and UDlive, must grow, so that the business moves toward the long-term target of high single-digit growth that the company repeated in May 2026. The Q3 2026 report on October 22, 2026 showed sales up 6% from Q2 and a gross margin of 41.9%. The Q4 2026 report in early 2027 shows whether growth from a year earlier returns. If these checks pass, the gap can close over the next three to five quarters.

The main reason it may not close is more delays in utility projects, which depend on public budgets.

1. Oct 22, 2026Passed

   Q3 2026 earnings: project rampSales up from Q2 as awarded projects ramp and a gross margin within 39% to 42% pass; another fall in utility water sales fails.Outcome: Sales rose 6% from Q2 to $235.9 million and the gross margin was 41.9%, but utility water sales without UDlive were still 3% lower than a year earlier.
2. Jan 22, 2027 · est.Pending

   Q4 2026 earnings: return to growthSales growth from a year earlier in Q4 2026 and a 2027 outlook near the high single-digit target pass; flat or lower sales fail.

Every passed and failed checkpoint across all picks

• October 22, 2026Badger Meter reported Q3 2026 results. Sales were $235.9 million, about flat with a year earlier and up 6% from Q2. Without the UDlive purchase, utility water sales fell 3% from a year earlier, because AMI projects ramped unevenly. The gross margin was 41.9%, the operating margin was 20.2% and EPS was $1.24, up 4%. The company bought back about $55 million of shares in the quarter. It expects Base sales to grow in Q4 2026 from Q3 and from a year earlier, and it expects this growth to continue into 2027.
• October 1, 2026Badger Meter said it will release its Q3 2026 results before the market opens on October 22, 2026.
• September 28, 2026Badger Meter introduced OneNetwork, a software platform for water and wastewater utilities, at WEFTEC 2026.

Last earnings

October 22, 2026 (8-K on sec.gov)

Next earnings

Expected about January 22, 2027. The company has not confirmed the date.

• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Sep 30, 2026Filed October 23, 2026 · bmi-20260930
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled October 22, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Jun 30, 2026Filed July 23, 2026 · bmi-20260630
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled July 22, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KNew material agreement and End of a material agreementFiled June 11, 2026 · bmi-20260605
• 8-KInvestor disclosureFiled May 21, 2026 · bmi-20260521
• 8-KChange to shareholder rights or bylaws and Shareholder vote resultsFiled April 28, 2026 · bmi-20260424
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Mar 31, 2026Filed April 20, 2026 · bmi-20260331
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled April 17, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 10-KAnnual report for the period ended Dec 31, 2025Filed February 17, 2026 · bmi-20251231

Every filing on SEC EDGAR (CIK 9092)

• Sales depend on the timing of large utility AMI projects. Delays in project starts lowered sales by 7% in Q2 2026. Utility water sales without UDlive were still 3% lower than a year earlier in Q3 2026. More delays can keep sales low.
• Most customers are municipal water utilities. Lower public budgets or higher interest rates can delay meter replacement programs.
• Tariffs and higher costs for materials and electronic components can lower margins. The company named cost pressure from the electronics supply chain in October 2026. Badger Meter raised some prices to offset tariffs that it could not avoid.
• Growth beyond the meter depends on acquisitions such as SmartCover and UDlive. If integration fails, the expected growth may not come.

Badger Meter has no debt. Cash was $67.9 million at September 30, 2026, down from $226.0 million at December 31, 2025. Read more

Yield at the current rate

1.1% (current annual rate, at today’s price)

Dividend yield

1.0% (last 12 months, at today’s price of $158.71)

Paid per share

$1.64 in the last 12 months (4 payments)

Current annual rate

$1.76 ($0.44 × 4 a year)

Payout ratio

31% of the last fiscal year’s earnings (the year that ended December 31, 2025)

Latest ex-dividend date

August 28, 2026, $0.44 per share

Dividends per share by year

From 2020 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 16.2% a year. From 2015 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 14.3% a year.

Source: company filings and market data, read on November 13, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the first day a buyer no longer gets the next payment.