Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $34.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.77 million. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 4.65% and a positive return on equity of 1.07%. Clearfield updated its FY 2026 guidance to 0.480-0.620 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance to -0.100–0.020 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Clearfield’s conference call:

• Q1 net sales from continuing operations were $34.3 million, above guidance and up 16% year-over-year, with gross margin improving to 33.2%; the company finished the quarter with ~$157 million in cash/investments, no debt, and ongoing share repurchases (authoriz. increased to $85M, ~$23.1M remaining).
• Clearfield launched the NOVA Platform, a modular high-density fiber system aimed at community broadband customers and adjacent data center/edge markets, positioned as a strategic growth driver even though near-term revenue contribution is expected to be modest.
• Management expects BEAD-related revenue to remain modest in fiscal 2026 but notes active customer planning and design work, and the company is taking a structured approach to prioritize support where BEAD recipients are furthest along.
• BABA (Build America, Buy America) requirements and current supplier lead times for compliant optical fiber (reported >1 year) could restrain near-term BEAD deployments and introduce revenue timing risk.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Clearfield stock traded down $2.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.58. 115,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 136,156. The firm has a market capitalization of $381.83 million, a PE ratio of -47.47 and a beta of 1.94. Clearfield has a fifty-two week low of $23.78 and a fifty-two week high of $46.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.16.

Clearfield announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 25th that allows the company to buyback $85.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 22% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Clearfield from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clearfield in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Clearfield from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Lake Street Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Clearfield from $52.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clearfield has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth bought 10,000 shares of Clearfield stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.06 per share, for a total transaction of $300,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,279,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,454,675.84. This trade represents a 0.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearfield

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Clearfield by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 940,004 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,317,000 after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC grew its position in Clearfield by 1,705.7% during the third quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 479,741 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,493,000 after buying an additional 453,173 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Clearfield by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 345,833 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,889,000 after acquiring an additional 8,288 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 6.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 269,865 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,020,000 after acquiring an additional 15,659 shares during the period. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Clearfield by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 262,610 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,029,000 after purchasing an additional 85,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Clearfield

Here are the key news stories impacting Clearfield this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 revenue beat street estimates — Clearfield reported revenue of $34.34M versus analyst estimates near $31.8M, showing stronger-than-expected top-line demand which supports recovery in sales. GlobeNewswire — Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 loss narrower year-over-year and in line/beat some EPS estimates — reported EPS around ($0.04) (MarketBeat) and other outlets noted a smaller loss (~$0.02) versus last year’s ($0.13), which reduces near-term profitability concern vs. the prior year. Zacks — Q1 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Company hosted an earnings call and issued a shareholder letter with additional commentary — useful for color on backlog, customer demand and margin drivers but not a headline change itself. Yahoo Finance — Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Press-transcript coverage and local write-ups published (transcript/earnings snapshot) for investors wanting full remarks and Q&A. AOL — Transcript Stamford Advocate — Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance disappointed — Clearfield set Q2 FY2026 EPS guidance of -0.100 to -0.020, below the consensus (~0.03) and issued revenue guidance of $32M–$35M versus consensus ~$35.7M, signaling near-term margin pressure and a softer next quarter. GlobeNewswire — Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance slightly below consensus — full-year EPS guide of $0.48–$0.62 and revenue guide of $160M–$170M are modestly below some analyst forecasts (consensus EPS ~0.60, revenue ~164.5M), which can temper upside for the stock. GlobeNewswire — Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in public summaries appears anomalous (reported as zero change); no clear signal of an active short/covering event from the published snapshot. MarketBeat — Short Interest & Data

Clearfield Company Profile

Clearfield, Inc (NASDAQ: CLFD) is a Minneapolis-based company specializing in fiber management products for broadband network deployments. The company’s core offerings include fiber distribution hubs, enclosures, splice trays, patching panels and connectivity accessories designed to simplify installation and maintenance of fiber-optic networks. Clearfield’s modular FieldSmart™ platform provides a scalable approach for service providers, utilities and enterprise organizations looking to expand or upgrade their fiber infrastructure.

Clearfield serves a diverse customer base that includes cable and internet service providers, telecommunications operators, wireless carriers, utilities and municipalities.