Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) executives highlighted a strong finish to fiscal 2025 and outlined plans to invest in international currency capacity while advancing its pending Antares Vision transaction, according to management’s prepared remarks and analyst Q&A on the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings call.
Fourth-quarter and full-year results
President and CEO Aaron Saak said the company delivered “a strong end to the year,” with sales growth of approximately 20% in the fourth quarter and 11% for the full year. Saak reported adjusted EBITDA margin of about 25% in Q4 and 24% for the full year, and adjusted free cash flow conversion of roughly 135% in Q4 and 94% for the year. Adjusted EPS was $1.27 in the quarter and $4.06 for the full year.
For the full year, Cristiano said sales were approximately $1.7 billion, up around 11%, with core sales growth of about 1%. Adjusted segment operating margin decreased approximately 260 basis points year-over-year, reflecting the impact of acquisitions and additional international currency costs to meet demand.
Segment performance: CPI and SAT
In CPI, fourth-quarter core sales were flat versus the prior year. Cristiano said double-digit growth in gaming was offset by softness in other end markets, including vending. CPI adjusted operating margin improved roughly 340 basis points to about 32%, driven by cost management and productivity initiatives. For the full year, CPI core sales declined about 4% year-over-year, which management tied to the indirect impact of tariffs on vending demand and delayed orders following pricing actions, as well as the final phase of a gaming destocking dynamic in the first half of 2025. Despite those pressures, CPI maintained an adjusted operating margin of around 29% for the year.
In SAT, fourth-quarter core sales rose approximately 11%, driven by Crane Currency, with 11 new micro-optics denomination wins in Q4 and 20 wins for the full year. Total segment sales growth of more than 40% included the De La Rue Authentication acquisition, which closed in May. Adjusted SAT operating margin declined about 420 basis points year-over-year. Cristiano cited several factors, including unfavorable shipment mix in international currency, incremental costs to meet demand (staffing, freight, third-party substrates, and selected outsourcing of banknote printing), and FX headwinds from operating costs in Swedish krona and euro due to manufacturing and printing in Sweden and Malta. Cristiano also noted additional investments tied to next-generation micro-optic product development, while adding that De La Rue’s contribution and synergy execution in Crane Authentication were in line with expectations.
For the full year, Cristiano said SAT delivered core sales growth of about 7% on currency strength that exceeded expectations. SAT adjusted operating margin declined roughly 380 basis points, reflecting acquisitions, higher international currency costs, and FX impacts. Cristiano said SAT backlog was up more than 50% year-over-year, and Saak said the organic backlog was up more than 30%, supporting management’s confidence in 2026 growth.
Currency wins, U.S. redesign preparations, and international capacity actions
Saak emphasized momentum in currency, stating the company finished 2025 with 20 new denomination wins specifying micro-optics, exceeding the company’s 10 to 15 win target. He highlighted five new wins in Fiji, where a new currency series launched in December featuring micro-optics integrated into polymer substrates. Saak said the company completed final equipment upgrades to support the launch of the new U.S. currency series and is preparing for the release of the new $10 bill later in 2026.
During Q&A, Saak said the company’s international currency overperformance was driven by three factors:
- Increased counterfeiting, particularly in emerging markets, prompting redesigns with higher security features
- Growth in emerging economies and inflation, supporting demand where the business is concentrated
- Accelerating redesign timelines, including “neighboring countries” responding when one country redesigns, plus an anticipated effect from U.S. redesigns
Saak said he still expects the company to be in the 10 to 15 annual denomination win range, while noting 2025 benefited from momentum that pushed wins above that target.
To meet international demand, Saak outlined steps to expand capacity: continued productivity work under the company’s “CBS” discipline, additional design resources, higher staffing in micro-optics and banknote printing to move to 24/7 operations, more purchases from third-party substrate suppliers, and partnerships with select government print works for banknote printing. He said these activities were increased in Q4 and are expected to continue into 2026.
Management expects approximately $4 million of additional SAT costs in 2026 tied to these actions, “reducing substantially” in 2027 as internal productivity programs progress. Saak also said currency capital expenditures are expected to increase to about 7% of currency revenue in 2026, while total company CapEx is expected to remain in the range of 3% to 5% of sales. He added that the company expects roughly $4 million of added operating expense in 2026 to support micro-optic product development, design, and capacity expansion programs.
2026 guidance, capital allocation, and Antares Vision timeline
Crane NXT guided to 2026 sales growth of 4% to 6%. Cristiano said SAT is expected to post high single-digit growth driven by high single-digit U.S. currency growth from favorable demand mix and low single-digit growth in international currency, even against a strong 2025 comparison. Crane Authentication is expected to generate mid-single-digit core growth with a full-year contribution from De La Rue Authentication, while CPI sales are expected to be flat year-over-year, with mid-single-digit service growth offset by a low single-digit decline in vending and roughly flat hardware revenue.
The company also said it is changing its profitability metric to adjusted EBITDA from adjusted operating profit. Cristiano guided to adjusted segment EBITDA margin of approximately 28% for 2026, about flat year-over-year, and corporate expenses of around $58 million. Non-operating expenses are expected to be roughly $60 million, including non-controlling interest tied to a Crane Authentication joint venture and interest expense related to the company’s initial stake in Antares Vision. The company expects a tax rate of about 21.5% and adjusted EPS of $4.10 to $4.40, with adjusted free cash flow conversion of roughly 90% to 110%.
Christiano said revenue is expected to be weighted to the second half, while Q1 is expected to show mid-teens revenue growth, including 45% to 50% growth in SAT year-over-year, partially offset by a mid-single-digit CPI decline due to shipment timing. She said EPS should “accelerate through the first half and then level off a little bit” in the back half to reach the full-year range.
On the balance sheet, the company ended 2025 with net leverage of approximately 2.3x. Cristiano said Crane NXT secured a term loan of roughly $500 million and drew about $130 million to fund its initial equity investment in Antares Vision. The company expects to draw the remaining balance in the first half of 2026 to fund the rest of the transaction and anticipates using free cash flow to pay down debt, ending 2026 at around 2.3x net leverage. Cristiano also noted the company announced a 6% increase to its annual dividend.
Saak provided an update on Antares Vision, saying Crane NXT completed step one in Q4 by acquiring approximately 32% of the company. He said Italian regulatory approval has been received to proceed with step two, a mandatory public tender offer expected to launch in February. The company expects to complete that process by the end of Q1, at which point Crane NXT expects to own more than 50% and consolidate Antares Vision results, with updated 2026 guidance planned for the Q1 earnings update in May. Step three, taking Antares Vision private, is expected to begin in Q2 and be completed in mid-2026.
About Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT)
Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers’ important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions. The Crane Currency segment provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products.
