RF Industries

Fiscal 2025 was the turnaround year. Revenue jumped 24 percent to 80.6 million dollars, and gross margin expanded from 29 percent to 33 percent. The fourth quarter hit a 37 percent gross margin and an 11.5 percent adjusted profit margin, both above management's long-term targets. Adjusted EBITDA grew from 838 thousand dollars to 6.1 million in a single year, more than a seven times jump that shows what happens when revenue ramps.

One of their core growth markets is small cell 5G networks, which is projected to grow from 4 billion dollars in 2023 to over 50 billion by 2030, more than a 12 times expansion. RF Industries is also winning demand in cooling systems, aerospace cabling, and industrial gear, with backlog rising from 14.4 million dollars at the end of the fourth quarter to 18.6 million by mid first quarter of 2026.

This is a tiny company, about 196 million dollars in market value with only around 340 employees, so a single project's timing can swing results meaningfully each quarter. The stock also trades at roughly 23 times trailing earnings, a rich price for a hardware business with razor thin net margins of just 0.34 percent, leaving little room for mistakes.

About half the business still leans on telecom carriers and broadband providers, which historically cut spending hard during downturns. The last cycle in 2023 and 2024 hurt RF Industries, with revenue falling and the company posting losses. If carrier spending pulls back again, the same operating leverage that drove the 24 percent revenue jump would reverse just as fast.