LOAR
Growth is doing the heavy lifting
Loar Holdings showed up to the quarter like it had something to prove: record Q2 results, sales up 39.4%, and adjusted EBITDA jumping 47.4%. That’s not “nice quarter” territory — that’s the kind of growth that makes investors perk up and check whether they’re looking at a defense contractor, an aerospace supplier, or some other compounding machine.
The catch? Debt still gets a vote
The business is clearly firing on the top line, and the organic growth remains strong. But there’s a little finance goblin sitting on the shoulder here: GAAP net income is getting squeezed by higher interest expense and amortization tied to debt-funded acquisitions. In other words, the company bought growth, and now the bill has arrived.
Why investors should care
The good news is free cash flow is strong and leverage sits at a manageable 3.1x EBITDA. The less-good news is that leaves less room for a stumble, especially if management gets tempted by another chunky acquisition before the balance sheet has had a chance to breathe.
And yet, the bigger signal is still positive: Loar raised 2026 guidance, which usually tells you management sees the runway ahead pretty clearly. If the company can keep compounding without letting debt turn into a straightjacket, the premium valuation starts to look a lot less like hype and a lot more like a bet on execution.
Big picture: this is a classic “expensive for a reason” stock — investors are paying up because the growth is real, but they’re also watching leverage like hawks with spreadsheets.