Orin
GNRCNYSE·Industrial - Machinery

Generac Holdings Inc. GNRC

Market cap $12.1BP/E 44.9× trailingGross margin 39.5%Reports Wed 4 Nov, before the open
$205.22
+7.17 (+3.62%)live 11:25 ET
52-wk $134.80 – $296.44
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 20 Aug · take v7. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Generac trades at 47.8x trailing earnings — a 53% premium to the peer median of 31.2x — despite FY2025 EPS collapsing to $2.69 from $5.39 and operating margin compressing to 6.9% from 12.5% as of the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31. The $1.6B data center backlog and improving smart money score (0.0374 as of 2026-06-30, up from 0.0022 a year earlier) provide a credible growth catalyst, but net insider selling of $30.2M over 24 months with no cluster buying, persistent residential weakness, and a lower-margin C&I mix keep near-term profitability depressed.

The stock sits below its 50-day MA of $235.11 but above the 200-day MA of $206.29, reflecting an unresolved tug-of-war between the data center narrative and deteriorating fundamentals. Hold until margin recovery or backlog conversion is proven in reported results.

What could go wrong

  • Valuation compression. At 47.8x P/E and 24.3x EV/EBITDA — 53% and 51% above peer medians respectively — any disappointment in data center execution could trigger a sharp de-rating toward peer multiples.
  • Margin deterioration persists. Operating margin fell to 6.9% in FY2025 from 12.5% in FY2024; if lower-margin C&I revenue from data center work continues to dilute mix, profitability may not recover quickly enough to justify the premium.
  • Insider selling signal. Net insider dispositions of $30.2M over 24 months with 69 sales vs 53 acquisitions and no cluster buying suggests insiders are not confident enough to accumulate at current levels.
  • Residential demand weakness. Revenue declined 2.0% YoY in FY2025 to $4.21B; if residential standby generator demand remains soft, the data center backlog alone may not offset core business erosion.

What would change my mind

Margin recovery in reported results. Quarterly operating margin re-expands above 10% with data center revenue ramp, confirming backlog conversion at acceptable marginsbullish
Data center backlog conversion. C&I segment revenue accelerates meaningfully with the $1.6B backlog converting to recognized revenue without major capacity-driven cost overrunsbullish
Further margin compression or guidance cut. FY2026 operating margin remains below 7% or management lowers guidance, indicating the data center mix shift is structurally dilutivebearish
Insider cluster buying. Multiple insiders open-market purchase common stock at or near current prices, reversing the 24-month net selling patternbullish

Where this comes from: peer_relative (as of 2026-08-19) · fundamentals and derived_metrics, fiscal year ended 2025-12-31 · news article, Zacks, published 2026-08-03 · smart_money, as of 2026-06-30. Orin's read on GNRC; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$1.1B0.0% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$710.4M0.0% of fund
State Street$654.3M0.0% of fund
Invesco$498.9M0.0% of fund
Geode Capital Management$453.7M0.0% of fund
D. E. Shaw &$280.2M0.1% of fund

108 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 135 Form 4 filings, net −$31.9M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 19 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Industrials
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E44.9×39.0×44.5×
EV/EBITDA23.0×17.0×—
P/S2.63×1.97×—
P/B4.0×3.4×—

Its P/E sits 80th percentile of its own last 5 years (+0.86σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

18.3%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $0.3B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

40 firms · 2026-09-24
Consensus target

$304

$250 – $375 · +48% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 28 buy or overweight
  • 12 hold
  • 0 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 29.9× of 9 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
GNRCGenerac Holdings Inc.$12B44.9×23.0×39.5%5.8%10%
AITApplied Industrial Technologies, Inc.$12B29.9×22.9×30.3%8.3%22%
AOSA. O. Smith Corporation$8B16.1×11.6×38.6%13.1%27%
CRCrane Company$12B35.3×22.5×41.7%13.0%16%
DCIDonaldson Company, Inc.$10B22.1×17.9×34.6%11.7%28%
FLSFlowserve Corporation$10B26.4×15.5×35.1%8.0%17%
POOLPool Corporation$6B14.8×12.5×29.6%7.4%32%
RRXRegal Rexnord Corporation$10B31.0×12.0×37.8%5.3%5%
SPXCSPX Technologies, Inc.$9B30.6×17.0×40.2%11.3%12%
WTSWatts Water Technologies, Inc.$12B30.9×19.1×48.8%14.3%19%

The median is of the 9 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 50.0% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 18.3×FY25 50.0×

What its sector has traded at

Industrials
FY14 173.5×FY26 32.6×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$68$239.95 · −72%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$72$239.95 · −70%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $205.22
52-week range$135 – $296
Analyst targets$250 – $375
Standard DCF$68 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $239.95
Levered DCF$72 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $239.95
At own 5y-median P/E (39×)$172
At 5y P/E range (18–50×)$80 – $221
At sector P/E (45×)$196

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.