Napco Security Technologies (NASDAQ:NSSC) held its fiscal fourth quarter 2026 earnings call on August 24, and the numbers it reported were close to a best-case scenario in the company's own history. Net revenue hit a quarterly record of $55.8 million, full-year revenue crossed the $200 million mark for the first time, and the company raised its dividend while sitting on $138 million in cash and zero debt. Buried in the same call, though, is a $16 million litigation charge still working its way through the income statement.
The engine under all of this is Napco's StarLink radio business, which reports monitoring fees the way a cable company reports subscriptions. Recurring service revenue reached $25.3 million in the quarter, up 12.9%, and carried a gross margin of 90.1%. Based on July 2026 activity, the company said its annualized recurring revenue run rate is now around $103 million. Starlink radio sales grew 40% year over year and 30% sequentially in the quarter, which CEO Kevin S. Buchel called one of the highest growth rates in company history, adding, "Radio sold today becomes recurring revenue tomorrow." That growth has a long runway attached, since Buchel said the shift away from copper phone lines will keep running until the end of the decade across more than 2 million buildings still needing to switch to cellular communicators.
The rest of the business held up its end too. Intrusion and access control sales rose 20.9% in the quarter, powered by a 35.8% jump in intrusion products including StarLink radios, and door locking revenue climbed 11.1% for the full year on a 19.7% increase in Alarm Lock sales. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter grew 44.3% to $20.6 million, and full-year non-GAAP diluted EPS rose 34.5% to $1.60. Free cash flow reached $59.2 million for the year, funding a dividend increase to $0.17 per share, a 13.3% raise payable Oct. 2, 2026, while the balance sheet carried $138 million in cash and marketable securities as of June 30, 2026, and no debt at all.
The headline profit numbers hide a rougher full-year picture in one spot. A $16 million litigation settlement recorded in the fiscal third quarter pulled full-year operating income down 1.3% to $45.6 million, even though quarterly operating income jumped 52.5%. Some of the quarter's gross margin expansion to 61.3% also came from a source that will not repeat indefinitely, since about 600 basis points of it was tariff refunds tied to the American Infrastructure and Industrial Power Act. CFO Andrew J. Vuono also flagged that data center expansion is pushing up the cost of electronic parts, even as the company says it can still ship on time.
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The engine under all of this is Napco's StarLink radio business, which reports monitoring fees the way a cable company reports subscriptions. Recurring service revenue reached $25.3 million in the quarter, up 12.9%, and carried a gross margin of 90.1%. Based on July 2026 activity, the company said its annualized recurring revenue run rate is now around $103 million. Starlink radio sales grew 40% year over year and 30% sequentially in the quarter, which CEO Kevin S. Buchel called one of the highest growth rates in company history, adding, "Radio sold today becomes recurring revenue tomorrow." That growth has a long runway attached, since Buchel said the shift away from copper phone lines will keep running until the end of the decade across more than 2 million buildings still needing to switch to cellular communicators.
The rest of the business held up its end too. Intrusion and access control sales rose 20.9% in the quarter, powered by a 35.8% jump in intrusion products including StarLink radios, and door locking revenue climbed 11.1% for the full year on a 19.7% increase in Alarm Lock sales. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter grew 44.3% to $20.6 million, and full-year non-GAAP diluted EPS rose 34.5% to $1.60. Free cash flow reached $59.2 million for the year, funding a dividend increase to $0.17 per share, a 13.3% raise payable Oct. 2, 2026, while the balance sheet carried $138 million in cash and marketable securities as of June 30, 2026, and no debt at all.
The headline profit numbers hide a rougher full-year picture in one spot. A $16 million litigation settlement recorded in the fiscal third quarter pulled full-year operating income down 1.3% to $45.6 million, even though quarterly operating income jumped 52.5%. Some of the quarter's gross margin expansion to 61.3% also came from a source that will not repeat indefinitely, since about 600 basis points of it was tariff refunds tied to the American Infrastructure and Industrial Power Act. CFO Andrew J. Vuono also flagged that data center expansion is pushing up the cost of electronic parts, even as the company says it can still ship on time.
#year
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