One-glance verdict
Overvalued
$21.94 our estimate vs market $84.61
286% above our estimate, beyond the bull case
Fundamentals snapshot
VAT Group AG
VACNY · PNK · Industrials · Specialty Industrial Machinery
Current price
$84.61
52-week range
$38.62 - $88.91
Market cap
$25.36B
Balance sheet
Watch
74.04x Strong cushion
Net debt $338.38M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
3 Risks
3 rewards · 3 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 13.9% last year.
- Reward Returns 30.1% on equity, ahead of 83% of its peers.
- Risk Net debt grew 191.7% over 3 years.
- Risk Stock trades 76.9% above its 5-year average P/E.
What this company does
VAT Group AG
VAT Group builds highly specialized valves that are a critical component for manufacturing complex electronics like computer chips and flat-screen displays. These valves create a vacuum (a space with no air), which is a necessary environment for this kind of precise production. The company makes most of its money selling these essential parts to technology manufacturers and also earns revenue by providing repairs and spare parts for the valves already in use.
How the company got here
Founded in Switzerland in 1965, VAT Group initially created vacuum valves for scientific research. A key turning point came in the late 1980s when the booming semiconductor industry needed ultra-clean manufacturing environments, a perfect fit for VAT's high-quality valves. This move into semiconductor technology established the company's path to becoming a market leader. After being owned by private investment firms, the company went public on the Swiss stock exchange in 2016, which helped fund its growth and expansion, particularly in Asia to be closer to its customers.
What it actually does
VAT Group makes highly specialized, mission-critical valves that control vacuums. Imagine a perfectly clean room where computer chips are made; the tiniest dust particle can ruin the whole process. VAT's valves create and control these ultra-clean, empty spaces (vacuums) inside the machines that manufacture semiconductors, digital displays, and solar panels. While a small part of the total cost of the equipment, these valves are essential for the machinery to work correctly and efficiently.
Valves
This is the company's core business and makes up the vast majority of its sales, about 82% of the total. This segment develops and sells a wide variety of high-performance vacuum valves. Its main customers are the companies that build the complex machinery used to manufacture things like computer chips, flat-screen displays, and solar panels. Essentially, the makers of manufacturing equipment pay VAT for these crucial components that enable their machines to function in a vacuum.
Global Service
This segment is a smaller but important part of the company, accounting for about 18% of its revenue. Instead of selling new valves, this division provides support for the valves already in use around the world. This includes selling spare parts, making repairs, and providing upgrades to existing equipment. This creates a steady stream of business because the many thousands of VAT valves installed in factories worldwide need maintenance over their lifetime.
What management is betting on now
Management's strategy focuses on growing faster than the overall market by leveraging its technology leadership, especially in the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing. They are also focused on increasing their "share of wallet" (the total amount of money a customer spends) by selling more products and services that are related to their core valve business. The company is investing heavily in research and development (R&D, the process of creating new products and improving existing ones) to stay ahead of the competition and meet the demands of future technology, like artificial intelligence. A key part of their plan is also expanding their manufacturing capabilities, especially in Asia, to be closer to their key customers and improve efficiency.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $21.94 vs current price $84.61
Our most-likely fair value is $21.94 a share — about 74.1% below today's price of $84.61, so the stock currently looks expensive (overvalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Watch
Net debt $338.4M. Interest coverage 74.0x.
Net debt
$338.38M
Interest coverage
74.04x
VAT Group AG's profit covers its interest bill about 74.0 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here and 1 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Watch
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
VACNY
BASELINE
VAT Group AG
Total debt $479.07M Interest coverage 74.04x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $3.56B Interest coverage 4.62x -94% vs VACNY Carries about 16.0x less debt cushion than VACNY.
Total debt $4.19B Interest coverage 2.48x -97% vs VACNY Carries about 29.9x less debt cushion than VACNY.
Total debt $1.38B Interest coverage 13.27x -82% vs VACNY Carries about 5.6x less debt cushion than VACNY.
Total debt $775.90M Interest coverage 1.14x -98% vs VACNY Carries about 64.9x less debt cushion than VACNY.
Total debt $154.14M Interest coverage -5.93x -100% vs VACNY This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with VACNY.
What you should know
The case for and against VACNY
3 Rewards
3 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 13.9% last year.
-
Returns 30.1% on equity, ahead of 83% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 4/10 years.
Risks
-
Net debt grew 191.7% over 3 years.
-
Stock trades 76.9% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Operating margin compressed from 32.0% to 21.4% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
101.94x
Forward P/E
—
P/B
25.89x
P/S
24.68x
EV/EBITDA
94.83x
PEG ratio
1.28x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
61.4%
Operating margin
21.4%
Net margin
20.2%
ROE
30.1%
ROA
10.3%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.58x
Current ratio
2.38x
Quick ratio
1.21x
Total debt
$479.07M
Total cash
$140.68M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$1.24B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
-2.1%
EPS TTM
0.83
EPS 5Y CAGR
-0.8%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$361.11M
Free CF TTM
$278.66M
FCF margin
22.5%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.1%
Payout ratio
102.6%
Last ex-div date
2026-05-04