CluenexApplied Industrial Technologies AIT
Applied Industrial Technologies scores good on business quality (6.4 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Applied Industrial Technologies does
Applied Industrial Technologies distributes industrial motion control, power transmission, and automation products. Industrial customers pay for maintenance and fluid power components to keep their factory operations running smoothly.
- What it does best
Applied excels at high-margin fluid power distribution and service, backed by a 30.3% gross margin that outperforms peer WCC at 21.4%. This edge relies on specialized technical expertise that standard distributors cannot easily replicate.
- The main risk
Valuation risk is the primary threat as the stock trades at $343.45 against an intrinsic value of $197.94. Any deceleration in industrial demand could compress the expensive 30.4 P/E multiple rapidly.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 11.1% with an FCF margin near 9.3%, supported by consistent operational efficiency. Scale yields modest profitability gains as revenue climbs past $4.9B.
A narrow customer switching cost moat locks in industrial buyers who depend on critical maintenance parts. Its gross margin sits in the 30th sector percentile, reflecting solid but not impenetrable pricing power.
Revenue grew 8.9% to $4.9B, accelerating slightly from prior years like 2024's 4.4% growth. This steady climb is driven by core industrial product demand and targeted automation expansions.
Debt-to-equity sits at a modest 0.1x with interest coverage of 31x, making debt costs a rounding error. Free cash flow reached $460M while funding $317M in buybacks, keeping the balance sheet growing stronger.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
2 sold $1.3M outside pre-planned sales.
Our sealed record on AIT
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Applied Industrial Technologies scores good on the Cluenex quality check (6.4 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth steady and financial health strong.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 2 sold $1.3M outside pre-planned sales.
Oct 27, 2026.
See AIT today
- Today's verdict on AIT, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
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- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/ait/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.