Curtiss Wright (CW) Expands Buybacks After Earnings, Is The Stock Still Cheap?
Why Curtiss-Wright’s expanded buyback is drawing fresh attention
Curtiss-Wright (CW) has put its share repurchase activity back in focus after earnings, authorizing an additional US$100 million in buybacks for 2026 and moving to execute a larger 10b5-1 tranche.
See our latest analysis for Curtiss-Wright.
Curtiss-Wright’s latest buyback expansion comes after a strong run, with the share price up 23.34% year to date and a 1-year total shareholder return of 40.95%. This is despite the 30-day share price return declining 6.47% and shorter term momentum softening.
If the Curtiss-Wright buyback story has you thinking about other infrastructure related plays, it could be a good moment to scan 36 power grid technology and infrastructure stocks
Bulls cite Curtiss-Wright’s increased share repurchases, rising earnings and long operating history as support for a higher valuation multiple. Bears, however, point to the strong share price performance and the recent pullback. Which side does the current valuation favor?
Most Popular Narrative: 13.4% Undervalued
The most followed Curtiss-Wright narrative puts fair value at $814.83, which sits above the last close of $705.96 and frames the recent buyback activity in a richer context.
Record backlog growth (+12% YTD to $3.8B), strong book-to-bill ratios (1.2x in A&D), and a healthy order pipeline in both defense and nuclear align with management's confidence in posting 9–10% sales growth, 16–19% EPS growth, and over 100 bps of margin expansion in 2025. This signals potential undervaluation if current pricing underappreciates this forward visibility and operational leverage.
Read the complete narrative. Read the complete narrative.
Curious what sits behind that fair value for Curtiss-Wright. The narrative leans heavily on compounding revenue, expanding margins, and a higher earnings base than today. It also assumes the current share count trends lower, which magnifies per share outcomes. The real story is how these ingredients are combined and discounted back to today using a single required return.
Result: Fair Value of $814.83 (UNDERVALUED)
Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts.
However, Curtiss-Wright’s story could change quickly if major defense or nuclear contracts are delayed or if customers shift more budget toward software-based solutions.
Find out about the key risks to this Curtiss-Wright narrative.
Another view on Curtiss-Wright’s valuation
While the leading Curtiss-Wright narrative leans on fair value of $814.83, the Simply Wall St DCF model points a different way. On that measure, Curtiss-Wright at $705.96 sits above an estimated future cash flow value of $489.72, which implies an overvalued result. Which story about value feels more reasonable to you?
Look into how the SWS DCF model arrives at its fair value.
Simply Wall St performs a discounted cash flow (DCF) on every stock in the world every day (check out Curtiss-Wright for example). We show the entire calculation in full. You can track the result in your watchlist or portfolio and be alerted when this changes, or use our stock screener to discover 49 high quality undervalued stocks. If you save a screener we even alert you when new companies match - so you never miss a potential opportunity.
Next Steps
With Curtiss-Wright’s valuation signals pointing in different directions, it makes sense to move quickly and test the numbers yourself. To see what is driving optimism around its potential rewards, review the 2 key rewards.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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