Total revenues of $50.6 million, a 13% year-over-year improvement and exceeding the high end of prior guidance
Operating income of $5.2 million increased 78% year-over-year, outpacing revenue growth
Net income of $15.0 million ($5.34 per diluted share), including a net positive impact of $9.8 million related to the release of our deferred tax valuation allowance
Adjusted EBITDA of $9.2 million, compared to $8.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and exceeding the high end of prior guidance
$36.7 million in cash and $7.6 million in debt as of December 31, 2025
Full Year Results
Total revenues of $183.6 million, a 13% improvement over 2024
Operating income more than doubled to $10.5 million from $4.3 million in 2024
Net income of $23.7 million ($8.65 per diluted share), including a net positive impact of $11.5 million related to the release of our deferred tax valuation allowance
Adjusted EBITDA of $26.7 million, compared to $22.3 million in 2024
Cash flows from operating activities of $22.2 million and free cash flow after distributions to non-controlling interest of $18.9 million, an increase of $9.5 million and $9.0 million, respectively, compared to 2024, with free cash flow after distributions to non-controlling interest exceeding the high end of prior guidance
HOUSTON, March 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCSM) (the "Company," "NCS," "we" or "us"), a leading provider of highly engineered products and support services that facilitate the optimization of oil and natural gas well construction, well completions and field development strategies, today announced its results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2025.
Review and Outlook
NCS's Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Hummer commented, "Our performance in the fourth quarter concluded an important year for NCS, in which we grew revenue in each of our geographic markets, expanded our Adjusted EBITDA margin and improved our free cash flow generation. We also welcomed Reservoir Metrics, LLC, and its related entities ("ResMetrics") to NCS, further strengthening our global capabilities in tracer diagnostics.
Revenue for the year increased by 13%, to $183.6 million, outpacing our prior guidance. Our revenue growth rate of 10% for the year, excluding revenue from ResMetrics, was achieved in a challenging macro environment, led by our performance in the United States, including robust contributions from our fracturing systems and Repeat Precision product lines. We also grew revenue in Canada and in international markets, especially the North Sea, where we continue to expand our customer base. ResMetrics added just over $5 million of revenue over the five months following the acquisition, primarily in the United States, slightly exceeding the high end of our guidance. This performance demonstrates disciplined execution of our strategy to pursue targeted growth opportunities to deliver compelling value to customers through our portfolio of high-performance, differentiated solutions.
Adjusted EBITDA of $26.7 million in 2025 improved by 20% as compared to 2024, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 15%. This expansion of our Adjusted EBITDA margin reflects the operating leverage in our business as we scale, and effective management of our SG&A. Free cash flow after distributions to non-controlling interest reached $18.9 million in 2025, a year-over-year improvement of $9.0 million, reflecting efficient Adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow conversion of over 70%. Our continued free cash flow generation positioned us to both fund the strategic and accretive acquisition of ResMetrics with cash and further improve our balance sheet, as we ended 2025 with $36.7 million in cash, providing significant financial flexibility. Our asset-light model continues to serve as a key differentiator, providing meaningful downside protection through industry cycles, while enabling investments in new product development to support our long-term growth objectives and positioning us for strategic participation in industry consolidation.
NCS' tracer diagnostics product line had a strong finish to 2025, supported by the addition of ResMetrics, which enhances our tracer diagnostics offering, expands our service revenue mix, positions us in new markets in the Middle East, and aligns well with our capital-light philosophy. Our teams are working together to identify and implement best practices, with several early wins and clear timelines for further integration milestones in 2026.
We expect the challenging market environment to continue in 2026 given commodity price levels, trade uncertainty and customer budget discipline. Specifically, we believe customer activity is likely to be lower year-over-year in the U.S. and relatively flat in Canada. We currently expect customer activity to increase in the primary international markets we serve, though the improvements are likely to be weighted to the back half of the year, especially in the Middle East. NCS is well positioned to outperform underlying market trends through continued market share gains, particularly at Repeat Precision, new product adoption, and international expansion, though we will face some headwinds from customer consolidation that has resulted in a reduction in pro forma activity levels, primarily in Canada.
In closing, I want to thank our employees for their dedication and commitment, our customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their continued support. We enter 2026 in a position of strength, with a clear strategic direction, a differentiated portfolio of products and services, a resilient and proven business model, and a clear focus on long-term value creation."
Financial Review
Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results
Total revenues were $50.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, an increase of 13% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Both product and service revenues increased, with growth in the U.S. and international markets partially offset by a decline in Canada. U.S. revenues increased 69%, driven by both product and service growth. Product revenues increased from higher sales of sliding sleeves and frac plugs. Service revenues grew, led by tracer diagnostics which included a $2.8 million contribution from ResMetrics, which was acquired on July 31, 2025. International revenues increased 5%, reflecting growth in product revenues from higher fracturing systems sales in the North Sea and well construction product sales in the Middle East. Service revenues declined compared to the prior year, when several large tracer diagnostics projects were completed in the Middle East that did not recur at the same level in 2025. Canadian revenues declined 7%, reflecting modestly lower service activity and softer market conditions, while product revenues remained relatively stable.
Sequentially, total revenues increased by 9%, with Canadian revenues higher by 17% and U.S. revenues higher by 6%, primarily due to increased industry activity levels in Canada and increased Repeat Precision frac plug sales in the United States. International revenues decreased by 17% due to the timing of specific projects and tracer injection jobs.
Gross profit was $20.4 million, or a gross margin of 40%, for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to $18.7 million, or 42%, for the fourth quarter of 2024. Gross margin for 2025 declined slightly, reflecting the mix of products sold and services provided during the respective periods. Service margins declined despite a favorable contribution from ResMetrics, primarily due to the mix of fracturing systems service activity and international tracer diagnostics jobs. Adjusted gross profit, which we define as total revenues less total cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization ("DD&A"), was $21.2 million, or an adjusted gross margin of 42%, for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to $19.4 million, or 43%, for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses totaled $14.2 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $15.0 million one year ago. This decrease in expense primarily reflects the timing of annual incentive bonus accruals for which a larger amount was recorded in the fourth quarter of the prior year, as well as lower professional fees and share-based compensation expense attributable to cash settled awards remeasured at the balance sheet date based on the price of our common stock, partially offset by a $0.6 million contribution to SG&A expense from ResMetrics during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Provision for litigation, net of recoveries, was a credit of $0.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. In October 2025, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada overturned the prior judgment against NCS in its patent dispute, setting aside the findings of infringement and reducing the cost award from approximately $1.8 million to $0.9 million. In November 2025, $0.9 million was returned to NCS. The case was remitted to the trial court to reconsider whether the patent is invalid and whether additional costs should be returned to the Company.
Other income was $1.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to $2.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. The decrease in other income was primarily attributable to the timing of when royalty income from licensees was recognized in 2024, as the Company began to accrue for such royalties in December 2024, resulting in incremental royalties of $1.2 million in that period.
Income tax benefit was $8.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to $0.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. As of December 31, 2025, we reversed substantially all of the valuation allowance previously recorded against the deferred tax assets of the Company's Canadian and U.S. operating subsidiaries due to sustained improvements in operating results, including a return to profitability and forecasts of future taxable income that are sufficient to realize the remaining deferred tax assets. The reversal of the valuation allowance resulted in a deferred income tax benefit of $9.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Net income was $15.0 million, or $5.34 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, compared to net income of $3.5 million, or $1.32 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA was $9.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $1.0 million compared to the same period a year ago, driven in part by higher revenue in 2025. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 18% for each of the quarters ended December 31, 2025, and 2024.
Full Year 2025 Financial Results
For the year ended December 31, 2025, total revenues were $183.6 million, an increase of $21.0 million, or 13% compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. Revenue growth was driven by an increase in product sales across all regions, as well as an increase in services revenue in the United States and Canada, partially offset by a decline in services revenue in international markets. ResMetrics (acquired July 31, 2025) contributed $5.2 million to services revenue in 2025.
Gross profit was $72.4 million, or a gross margin of 39%, for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $64.8 million, or 40%, in 2024. Adjusted gross profit was $75.4 million, or an adjusted gross margin of 41%, for the full year 2025, compared to $67.5 million, or 41%, in 2024.
SG&A expenses totaled $58.8 million, compared to $57.8 million one year ago. Of the increase, $1.1 million of additional expense was contributed by ResMetrics for the period from the date of acquisition through December 2025, as well as an increase in share-based compensation expense associated with cash settled awards, for which expense is recognized as the price of our common stock changes. Partially offsetting these increases in expense were lower professional fees and decreases in research and development expense and travel and entertainment costs.
Other income was $4.8 million in 2025 compared to $7.3 million one year ago. Most of the decrease in other income relates to the timing of when royalty income was recognized, as the Company began to accrue for such royalties in December 2024, contributing an incremental $1.2 million of royalties in 2024, and the prior year's other income also benefitted from a technical services and assistance agreement with our local partner in Oman which did not recur in 2025.
Income tax benefit was $9.2 million, compared to an expense of $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. As described in the fourth quarter section above, substantially all of the valuation allowance previously recorded against the deferred tax assets of our Canadian and U.S. operating subsidiaries was reversed.
Net income was $23.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $6.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA was $26.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $4.4 million compared to last year, largely attributable to the increase in revenue in 2025. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 15% for the year ended December 31, 2025, up from 14% in 2024.
Cash flows from operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $22.2 million, a $9.5 million improvement compared to $12.7 million for 2024. Free cash flow after distributions to non-controlling interest for 2025 was $18.9 million compared to $9.9 million for 2024. The overall increase in free cash flow was largely attributed to an increase in net income in 2025, which includes the results of ResMetrics since the date of acquisition, and our overall change in working capital, partially offset by an increase in distributions to non-controlling interest.
Liquidity and Capital Expenditures
As of December 31, 2025, NCS had $36.7 million in cash and $7.6 million in total indebtedness related to finance lease obligations, and availability under our asset-based revolving credit facility ("ABL Facility") of $24.4 million.
Working capital, defined as current assets less current liabilities, was $93.4 million and $80.2 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Net working capital, calculated as working capital, less cash and excluding the current maturities of long-term debt, was $59.1 million and $56.4 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
NCS incurred capital expenditures, net of proceeds from the sale of property and equipment, of $0.5 million and $0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA Less Share-Based Compensation, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per Diluted Share, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Margin, Free Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow Less Distributions to Non-Controlling Interest and Net Working Capital are non-GAAP financial measures. For an explanation of these measures and a reconciliation, refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2025 results and latest earnings guidance on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 7:30 a.m. Central Time (8:30 a.m. Eastern Time). The conference call will be available via a live audio webcast. Participants who wish to ask questions may register for the call here to receive the dial-in numbers and unique PIN. If you wish to join the conference call but do not plan to ask questions, you may join the listen-only webcast here. The live webcast can also be accessed by visiting the Investors section of the Company's website at ir.ncsmultistage.com. It is recommended that participants join at least 10 minutes prior to the event start.
The replay will be available in the Investors section of the Company's website shortly after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for approximately seven days.
About NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc.
NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc. is a leading provider of highly engineered products and support services that facilitate the optimization of oil and natural gas well construction, well completion and field development strategies. NCS provides products and services primarily to exploration and production companies for use in onshore and offshore wells, predominantly those that have been drilled with horizontal laterals in both unconventional and conventional oil and natural gas formations. NCS's products and services are utilized in oil and natural gas basins throughout North America and in selected international markets, including the North Sea, the Middle East and Argentina. NCS's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "NCSM." Additional information is available on the website, www.ncsmultistage.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "believes," "estimates," "expects" and similar references to future periods, or by the inclusion of forecasts or projections. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make regarding the outlook for our future business and financial performance. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, by their nature, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. As a result, our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include regional, national or global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory conditions and the following: declines in the level of oil and natural gas exploration and production activity in Canada, the United States and internationally; oil and natural gas price fluctuations; significant competition for our products and services that results in pricing pressures, reduced sales, or reduced market share; inability to successfully implement our strategy of increasing sales of products and services into the U.S. and international markets; loss of significant customers; losses and liabilities from uninsured or underinsured business activities and litigation; additional income tax liabilities; change in trade policy, including the impact of tariffs; our failure to identify and consummate potential acquisitions; the financial health of our customers including their ability to pay for products or services provided; our inability to integrate or realize the expected benefits from acquisitions; our inability to achieve suitable price increases to offset the impacts of cost inflation; loss of any of our key suppliers or significant disruptions negatively impacting our supply chain; risks in attracting and retaining qualified employees and key personnel; risks resulting from the operations of our joint venture arrangement; currency exchange rate fluctuations; impact of severe weather conditions; our inability to accurately predict customer demand, which may result in excess or obsolete inventory; failure to comply with or changes to federal, state and local and non-U.S. laws and other regulations, including tax policies, anti-corruption and environmental regulations, guidelines and regulations for the use of explosives; impairment in the carrying value of long-lived assets including goodwill; system interruptions or failures, including complications with our enterprise resource planning system, cybersecurity breaches, identity theft or other disruptions that could compromise our information; our inability to successfully develop and implement new technologies, products and services that align with the needs of our customers, including addressing the shift to more non-traditional energy markets as part of the energy transition and the adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning; our inability to protect and maintain critical intellectual property assets, the inability to protect our current royalty income, or the losses and liabilities from adverse decisions in intellectual property disputes; loss of, or interruption to, our information and computer systems; our failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting; restrictions on the availability of our customers to obtain water essential to the drilling and hydraulic fracturing processes; changes in legislation or regulation governing the oil and natural gas industry, including restrictions on emissions of greenhouse gases; our inability to meet regulatory requirements for use of certain chemicals by our tracer diagnostics business; the reduction in our ABL Facility borrowing base or our inability to comply with the covenants in our debt agreements; and our inability to obtain sufficient liquidity on reasonable terms, or at all and other factors discussed or referenced in our filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release speaks only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Contact
Mike MorrisonChief Financial Officer and Treasurer(281) 453-2222[email protected]
NCS MULTISTAGE HOLDINGS, INC.CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS(In thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
Year Ended
December 31,
December 31,
2025
2024
2025
2024
(Unaudited)
(Unaudited)
(Unaudited)
Revenues
Product sales
$
33,804
$
30,591
$
127,866
$
113,046
Services
16,826
14,412
55,761
49,511
Total revenues
50,630
45,003
183,627
162,557
Cost of sales
Cost of product sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense shown below
20,632
19,137
78,459
70,446
Cost of services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense shown below
8,838
6,479
29,742
24,650
Total cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense shown below
29,470
25,616
108,201
95,096
Selling, general and administrative expenses
14,209
15,031
58,845
57,820
Depreciation
1,275
1,205
4,991
4,600
Amortization
302
214
894
716
Change in fair value of contingent consideration
156
—
156
—
Income from operations
5,218
2,937
10,540
4,325
Other income (expense)
Interest expense, net
(42
)
(91
)
(251
)
(414
)
Provision for litigation, net of recoveries
881
—
881
—
Other income, net
1,137
2,443
4,759
7,306
Foreign currency exchange gain (loss)
140
(2,175
)
891
(2,963
)
Total other income
2,116
177
6,280
3,929
Income before income tax
7,334
3,114
16,820
8,254
Income tax (benefit) expense
(8,309
)
(606
)
(9,217
)
116
Net income
15,643
3,720
26,037
8,138
Net income attributable to non-controlling interest
683
249
2,289
1,545
Net income attributable to NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc.
$
14,960
$
3,471
$
23,748
$
6,593
Earnings per common share
Basic earnings per common share attributable to NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc.
$
5.76
$
1.36
$
9.17
$
2.60
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc.
$
5.34
$
1.32
$
8.65
$
2.55
Weighted average common shares outstanding
Basic
2,597
2,551
2,589
