American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) | The Buildout — AI Infrastructure
The Verdict
AMSC makes power-control equipment — systems that manage voltage, harmonics and power factor on electrical grids and at large industrial sites. Its Grid segment sells power-quality gear to utilities, heavy industry and data-center campuses under construction, plus transformers, rectifiers and ship-protection systems for the U.S. and Royal Canadian navies. Its Wind segment supplies electrical control systems to wind-turbine makers. For the AI buildout, its role is indirect: data-center construction creates power-quality problems at the campus and new load on nearby substations, and AMSC sells equipment for both.
| Market Cap | — |
| Revenue (TTM) | $321M |
| Revenue Growth | +25.8% |
| EBITDA Margin (TTM) | 9.1% |
| Net Cash | $140M |
| Earnings Beats | 7 of 7 |
| P/E (TTM) | — |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | — |
What We Like
- Revenue grew 34% to $299.2M in FY2025, and gross margin rose 270 basis points to 30.5%.
- Remaining performance obligations due within 12 months rose to $301.8M at June 30, 2026, from $282.4M at March 31.
- Management reports seven consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability and eleven of non-GAAP profitability.
- The Comtrafo acquisition added large power transformers up to 250 MVA and a Brazil platform; management says it lifted the total available market 50%.
- FY2025 ended with $147.6M of cash, and the June 2026 quarter generated about $16M of operating cash flow.
What We’re Watching
- Comtrafo purchase-accounting charges of roughly $1.5M a quarter taper from Q2 FY2026; whether gross margin recovers is the test.
- The record order quarter was utility-sector mining work; management said it was only 'hoping' the earlier ~$100M level is a new baseline.
- Inox Wind was 19% of the June 2026 quarter and 15% of FY2025, concentrating profit in one customer and one country.
- Data-center revenue is not disclosed; the ~10%-of-orders figure is a different measure from the earlier ~5%-of-revenue statement.
The thesis is strengthening on the operating numbers. Revenue, orders and backlog all set records, gross margin is structurally higher than two years ago, and guidance has been delivered above twice running. The unproven part is the AI link: data-center demand is measured only as an order share, no revenue line is disclosed, and the record order quarter came from mining. The open question is whether data-center work becomes a disclosed revenue stream before the mining-led order step-up proves one-off.
Earnings Beat
AMSC reported record revenue of $94.1M for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, up 30% year over year, with gross margin of 26.3%. Total orders set a record above $130M, attributed to utility-sector mining developments. Operating cash flow was about $16M, described by management as nearly quadrupled.
| Metric | Q1 FY2026 | Q4 FY2025 | Q1 FY2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $94M | $86M | $72M | +30.0% |
| Gross margin | 26.3% | 25.9% | 33.8% | -750bps |
| EBITDA | $12M | $7M | $7M | +76.1% |
| EPS | $0.20 | $0.10 | $0.17 | +19.5% |
| Total orders | >$130M | ~$100M | n/a | — |
| RPO within 12 months | $301.8M | $282.4M | n/a | — |
Yes. The total backlog, I think, is about $375 million.— Daniel McGahn, CEO, 2026-05-28
Management tone: On the last call with a transcript — Q4 FY2025, held May 28, 2026 — the tone was confident and unscripted. Management called the business 'in its strongest position ever' and re-raised data centers without being asked. It was direct on capacity and candid on whether the order step-up is structural, but reframed questions about a Comtrafo headwind and further acquisitions. No transcript exists for the June 2026 quarter.
Management Guidance
For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, management guided revenue above $85M, GAAP net income above $3M and non-GAAP net income above $8M, including about $1.5M of Comtrafo purchase-accounting amortization in cost of goods sold. The company delivered revenue above $90M. Management said the Comtrafo charges taper from Q2 FY2026, that gross margin should improve incrementally, that SG&A should grow more slowly than revenue, and that tax expense becomes more regular. No full-year guidance was issued.
Trajectory
Revenue has risen for three straight quarters, from $65.9M in the September 2025 quarter to $74.5M in December, $86.4M in March 2026 and $94.1M in June. The computed signals flag revenue as accelerating and EBITDA as expanding — $12.5M in the June quarter, a 13.3% margin, up from $7.1M and 8.2% in March. Gross margin moved the other way, from 30.7% in December 2025 to 25.9% in March and 26.3% in June; management cites about $1.5M a quarter of Comtrafo purchase-accounting charges in cost of goods sold, which it says taper from Q2 FY2026. Full-year FY2025 gross margin was 30.5%, up 270 basis points.
The Model
The model projects FY+1 revenue of $390M with EBITDA of $28M, a 7.1% margin, and FY+2 revenue of $480M with EBITDA of $48M, a 10.0% margin. The near term anchors on the contract already booked and the company's 9-to-12-month lead times; $118.8M of remaining performance obligations sit beyond the next 12 months. The FY+2 step-up in EBITDA margin assumes the profit comes from operating-expense leverage and the tapering of Comtrafo purchase-accounting charges, both of which management has described but not yet demonstrated over a full year.
| Metric | FY2025 | Next FY (E) | Following FY (E) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $299M | $390M | $480M |
| YoY Growth | — | +30.3% | +23.1% |
| EBITDA | $24M | $28M | $48M |
| EBITDA Margin | 7.9% | 7.1% | 10.0% |
Projections are the median of 5 independent model runs. The model’s revenue sits 32.6% above analyst consensus.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, management guided revenue above $85M, GAAP net income above $3M and non-GAAP net income above $8M, including about $1.5M of Comtrafo purchase-accounting amortization in cost of goods sold. The company delivered revenue above $90M. Management said the Comtrafo charges taper from Q2 FY2026, that gross margin should improve incrementally, that SG&A should grow more slowly than revenue, and that tax expense becomes more regular. No full-year guidance was issued.
What Could Go Right — and Wrong
- Data-center work converts from an order share into disclosed revenue, with named customers and repeat orders.
- The near-term backlog keeps climbing by roughly $20M a quarter, carrying revenue through the forward four quarters.
- Gross margin returns toward the 30% level as the Comtrafo purchase-accounting charges taper from Q2 FY2026.
- Comtrafo's North America utility qualification lands, validating the transformer platform and the claimed larger total available market.
- SG&A grows slower than revenue, delivering the operating leverage management names as the profit driver.
- The record >$130M order quarter was utility-sector mining work; if it does not repeat, the backlog stops building.
- Inox Wind, at 19% of the June 2026 quarter, slows or shifts sourcing, hitting the most profitable segment.
- Comtrafo integration stalls — it reported $3.2M of net loss on $21.9M of revenue in the FY2025 stub period.
- Data-center revenue never becomes a disclosed line, leaving the AI story unverifiable.
- The unnamed single or limited-source supplier dependency bites, hitting revenue conversion and margin at once.
Looking Ahead
Over the next year the record points to three tests: whether order intake stays above the prior roughly $70M quarterly average, whether the Comtrafo charge taper restores gross margin, and whether the Royal Canadian Navy takes its first ship-protection delivery in the fiscal year ending March 2027. A fifth U.S. Navy system and a new-class design contract are both outstanding with no dates, and data-center follow-on orders depend on a pipeline management describes but has not sized.
- Q2 FY2026Comtrafo charge taper — Purchase-accounting drag ends; tests whether gross margin recovers.
- FY2026 (ends March 2027)Royal Canadian Navy delivery — First ship-protection system delivery under the RCN order.
- No date givenFifth U.S. Navy system — Four of five ship-protection systems delivered; fifth outstanding.
- No date givenData-center follow-on orders — Tests whether the ~10% order share repeats or was one-off.
- No date givenComtrafo North America qualification — Management says it will take time and highlight a future call.
- 2-5 years outBrazil capacity expansion — No facility, size or commissioning date disclosed.
Financials
Annual Summary
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $223M | $299M | $321M | +34.2% |
| Gross Margin | 28.0% | 30.3% | 28.2% | +232bps |
| EBITDA | $6M | $24M | $29M | +330.9% |
| EBITDA Margin | 2.5% | 7.9% | 9.1% | +545bps |
| Net Income | $6M | $134M | $137M | +2093.4% |
| Free Cash Flow | $26M | $18M | $21M | — |
| Net Cash | — | — | — | — |
Key Ratios (Trailing)
- P/E TTM—
- EV/EBITDA TTM—
- EV/Revenue TTM—
- Price/FCF TTM—
- Gross Margin (TTM)28.2%
- EBITDA Margin (TTM)9.1%
- Net Margin (TTM)42.6%
- ROIC3.6%
- FCF Conversion70.8%
- SBC / Revenue5.2%
The Company
AMSC designs and builds power-control systems. Its equipment manages voltage, harmonics and power factor on transmission and distribution grids, at heavy industrial sites, and at data-center campuses under construction. The Grid segment — 84% of FY2025 revenue — sells D-VAR systems, transformers and DC rectifiers, power-factor-correction equipment and ship-protection systems for the U.S. and Royal Canadian navies. The Wind segment — 16% — supplies electrical control systems and turbine designs, mainly to Inox Wind in India.
AMSC manufactures across 11 named sites: eight manufacturing plants — six in the U.S. Northeast, plus Brazil and Poland — and three R&D sites, with wind engineering in Austria. It describes its products as system-level, built on proprietary 'smart materials' and 'smart software and controls,' and markets integrated power systems — rectifiers, filters, STATCOMs, capacitor banks and transformers designed to work together. It bought the Brazilian transformer maker Comtrafo in December 2025, adding large power transformers up to 250 MVA. Capacity expansion is mostly labor — more days and more shifts — rather than new plants.
Business Segments
Competitive Landscape
AMSC competes in several product markets with different structures. In new energy systems it lists ABB, Hitachi, Ingeteam, Mitsubishi and Siemens. In local power quality it names a fragmented set of regional players — Southern States, Controllix, Powerside, Elgin Power, Scott Manufacturing and QVARx. In power transformers and power supplies it lists Friem, Dynapower, Nidec, Espey Manufacturing, Hammond, WEG S.A. and Kraft Powercon. In ship-protection systems, its own filing says Ultra Maritime, L3 Harris and Raytheon 'have the bulk of the business today,' which implies AMSC is the smaller player there. Management's stated differentiator is integration: bundling rectifiers, filters, STATCOMs, capacitor banks and transformers into systems designed to work together.
- ABBNamed in the 10-K's new energy systems competitor list; not otherwise discussed.
- SiemensNamed in the 10-K's new energy systems and wind competitor lists.
- HitachiNamed in the 10-K's new energy systems competitor list.
- Ultra MaritimeThe 10-K says Ultra Maritime, L3 Harris and Raytheon 'have the bulk of the business today' in ship protection systems.
- RaytheonGrouped with Ultra Maritime and L3 Harris as holding 'the bulk of the business today' in ship protection systems.
Supply Chain
AMSC buys materials and components — some from a single or limited number of suppliers — and sells finished power-control systems to utilities, industrial customers, wind-turbine makers and navies. No named neighbor mentions AMSC by name.