CluenexParsons PSN
Parsons scores weak on business quality (3.8 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Parsons does
Parsons Corp delivers defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure solutions, earning revenue primarily from government agencies via engineering and technology contracts. The firm is expanding its footprint by securing specialized defense positions like the recent Space Command role.
- What it does best
Parsons secures high-value defense and intelligence contracts, reflected in a gross margin of 22% that outperforms peers like AMTM at 10%. This edge relies on specialized cleared talent and deep government relationships that take decades to replicate.
- The main risk
Data center permitting pressures threaten project timelines and federal spending exposure, potentially disrupting the core critical infrastructure segment that drives volume growth.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 5.3% with an FCF margin near 5%, producing a thin net margin of 2.5%. This business struggles to expand profitability meaningfully as revenue scales.
Switching costs protect its government and defense contracts, placing it in the bottom quartile for sector gross margins at 16%. Rival engineering firms struggle to replicate cleared personnel networks quickly.
Revenue contracted 5.7% to $6.3B, fading from the stronger expansion seen in prior annual periods and landing in the bottom quartile of its sector.
Debt-to-equity sits at 0.5 with interest coverage at 5.7x, leaving adequate room to service $1.2B of total debt. Free cash flow reached $308M, down from $410M in the prior year, pointing toward softening cash generation.
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.
1 insider bought $959K on the open market.
Our sealed record on PSN
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
Parsons scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.8 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat weak, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 1 insider bought $959K on the open market.
Oct 28, 2026.
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Parsons (PSN)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/psn/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.