National Presto Profit Triples as Defense Shipments Rise
Second-quarter net sales rose 21.7% to $146.6 million.
National Presto Industries (NPK), a maker of defense products, housewares and safety equipment, more than tripled second-quarter net earnings as defense shipments increased.
Net earnings rose to $15.9 million from $5.2 million a year earlier, while diluted earnings increased to $2.21 a share from $0.72.
Sales increased $26.1 million to $146.6 million from $120.4 million, driven by the defense segment as the company shipped more orders from its backlog.
Defense sales rose 27.2%, or $27.1 million. The segment’s operating earnings increased 33.5%, or $4.9 million, as higher volume pushed profit growth ahead of the sales gain.
Housewares and Small Appliances sales fell 6.2%, or $1.2 million, as tariff-related retail order timing and higher retail prices weighed on consumer demand. The segment nevertheless swung from an operating loss a year earlier to operating earnings of $2.2 million, with most of the profit attributable to a refund of tariffs declared unauthorized by the Supreme Court.
Safety sales increased 91.7%, or $226,000, but remained nominal, and the segment posted an anticipated operating loss. For the first six months of 2026, National Presto’s sales rose 18.4% to $265.2 million and net earnings increased 76.2% to $22.5 million, leaving the defense backlog and the tariff refund as the principal forces behind the period’s profit growth.