Crane NXT, Co.

Crane NXT, Co. supplies technologies that verify payments, protect banknotes and products from counterfeiting, and inspect and trace goods through supply chains. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, it trades as CXT on the New York Stock Exchange.

Security and Authentication Technologies makes banknote security materials and provides physical and digital authentication. Detection and Traceability Technologies combines Crane Payment Innovations, which supplies payment equipment and services, with Antares Vision's product inspection and tracking systems.

Financial record

Adjusted net income excludes acquired intangible amortization, restructuring, transaction expenses, acquisition-related adjustments and associated tax effects. Q3 adjustments included $25.6 million of acquired intangible amortization, $6.2 million of restructuring and related costs, $5.1 million of transaction expenses and $9.9 million of acquisition adjustments, offset by $11.1 million of tax adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA also removes interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Free cash flow is operating cash less capital spending. The separately reported adjusted free cash flow adds back transaction cash expenses: Q3's $90.2 million becomes $97.7 million after a $7.5 million addback. The 131.8% conversion rate uses that adjusted cash figure divided by adjusted net income.

Expectations and operating trends

The new EPS range lifts its midpoint from $4.32 to $4.37 while keeping the upper end unchanged. Management attributes the lower non-operating expense forecast to lower borrowing costs. The latest presentation expects roughly flat annual organic sales, combining about 5% growth in security and authentication with about a 5% decline in detection and traceability.

In Q3, security and authentication generated $243.5 million in sales, 7.2% organic growth and a 29.2% adjusted EBITDA margin, up from 28.6%. Detection and traceability generated $253.6 million in sales, but organic revenue fell 5.3% and its adjusted EBITDA margin declined to 28.0% from 32.3%. Antares Vision adds revenue at a lower margin, while the legacy payment business faces weaker hardware and vending demand. Its services partly offset that weakness.

The detection division's organic decline was 3.4% in Q2, when its margin also contracted year over year. Total Q3 backlog was $715.5 million, including about $125 million from Antares Vision. Management says the payment business's backlog remained stable. Future results will test payment demand, acquisition profitability and progress toward the expected year-end leverage of about 2.3 times.

Completed acquisitions

Antares Vision became wholly owned on March 31, 2026, following an initial investment in December 2025. Total purchase-accounting consideration was $416.9 million, including the value of the earlier stake. Cash paid to obtain control was $281.9 million; acquisition cash outflow net of acquired cash was $225.4 million in the first nine months. These amounts describe different parts of the transaction.

Antares Vision contributed $50 million in Q3 sales and an $18.8 million reported operating loss, which included acquisition amortization and transaction costs. De La Rue Authentication Solutions had already been acquired on May 1, 2025, for $391.1 million net of cash and working-capital adjustments.

Cash and financing

September cash and equivalents were $251.1 million, compared with $233.8 million at year-end. Debt at carrying value was $1,382.5 million versus $1,139.5 million. The September amount comprises $1,412.6 million of principal less $30.1 million of financing costs and discounts.

The $800 million revolving facility had $229.9 million drawn and matures December 15, 2030. Term Loan A has the same maturity; Term Loan B matures December 15, 2032. July's repricing and increase of Term Loan B helped repay part of Term Loan A.

The company's 2.5-times net leverage measure uses $1,161.5 million of net debt divided by $460.3 million of trailing adjusted EBITDA, including Antares Vision's results before acquisition. Operating cash for the first nine months rose to $184.5 million from $135.7 million, while ordinary free cash flow rose to $139.5 million from $102.3 million. Q3's working-capital cash contribution increased to $39.4 million from $6.2 million, an important part of the quarterly cash improvement.