MLI

Mueller Industries delivered a standout FY2025: revenue grew 10.9% to $4.18B and net income jumped 26.5% to $765M, with diluted EPS up 29.2% to $6.86. Profitability is exceptional for a nonferrous-metals manufacturer — 22.9% operating margin, 18.3% net margin, and a 23.8% return on equity — and the five-year history shows steady, accelerating growth from $469M of net income in FY2021 to $765M in FY2025 despite the commodity-linked nature of the business.

The balance sheet is a genuine fortress. The company carries no long-term debt and no current debt, with liabilities of just $497M against $3.21B of equity (0.15x leverage) and $1.37B of cash (up 31.8%). Operating cash flow of $755M easily funds modest $68.8M of capex, and management is returning capital aggressively — $244M of buybacks (up 400% YoY, shrinking the share count 2%) plus $109M of growing dividends (+22.4%). This is a self-funding compounder with optionality to deploy its cash hoard into M&A or further repurchases.