CluenexSensata Technologies ST
Sensata Technologies scores weak on business quality (3.2 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Sensata Technologies does
Sensata Technologies makes sensors and controls for automotive and industrial markets, selling mission-critical components that OEMs integrate into larger systems. Industrials customers pay for reliability in harsh operating environments, anchoring the company in specialized applications. The business is navigating a prolonged contraction, with revenue shrinking while management works to stabilize core product lines amidst weak demand.
- What it does best
Sensata excels at generating cash conversion despite top-line pressure, posting a free cash flow margin of 69% in its sector. This cash generation stems from entrenched customer relationships and specialized manufacturing that competitors cannot easily bypass.
- The main risk
Interest coverage sits at 3.9x, leaving the company vulnerable to debt service costs if operating earnings slip further. With $2.8 billion in total debt and weak growth, servicing these liabilities restricts operational flexibility.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margins hold at 14.5% while net margins remain thin at 2.4% due to debt servicing and overhead costs. Scale does not currently translate into outsized profitability, keeping returns subdued.
Specialized sensors create customer lock-in through high switching costs once designs are locked. However, with an ROE of 3.2% and a sector rank in the bottom quartile, returns fall short of justifying a wide moat.
Revenue fell 5.8% to $3.8 billion, continuing a multi-year slide from past peaks of over $4.0 billion. The top-line decline sits in the bottom quartile of its sector, showing persistent contraction.
Total debt of $2.8 billion and interest coverage of 3.9x leave a narrow margin for error. Free cash flow reached $579 million, providing some cover, but the balance sheet remains strained.
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.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on ST
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
Sensata Technologies scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.2 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health weak.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Oct 27, 2026, after the close.
See ST today
- Today's verdict on ST, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Sensata Technologies (ST)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/st/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.