Columbus McKinnon (CMCO) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Columbus McKinnon is supported by a stronger order backdrop, with total orders rising 68% year over year to $443M in F4Q26 and a 1.01x book-to-bill, while backlog increased 61% year over year to $520M, reflecting both the Kito Crosby acquisition and resilient legacy demand. Its outlook is further underpinned by broad strength in automation, lifting, and U.S. project and short-cycle activity, plus encouraging order growth in the first 2 months of FY27, supported by a healthy pipeline and robust quotation activity. Although adjusted gross margin compressed 250 basis points to 32.7% and EMEA remains pressured by geopolitical disruption and slower project decisions, the company still shows solid demand fundamentals and operating leverage potential as integration progresses.

Columbus McKinnon is viewed negatively because its transformational Kito Crosby acquisition more than doubles the company’s size while pushing covenant net leverage to 5.1x, or 6.1x before prospective cost synergies, leaving the balance sheet highly stretched and vulnerable to a difficult integration. Although F4Q26 adjusted free cash flow was $41M and liquidity totaled $561M, the $174M GAAP free cash flow use, $190M of acquisition-related cash payments, and $2.6B of new long-term debt underscore weak near-term financial flexibility. The outlook is further pressured by short-cycle demand visibility, roughly 40% of sales from non-U.S. markets with FX risk, partially hedged variable-rate debt, and heightened competition and tariff uncertainty.