Executive Summary

Q4 2024 net sales were $38.4M and diluted EPS was $0.37; both declined year over year (vs $43.2M sales and $0.54 EPS in Q4 2023) as lower Security Products sales to a government security customer more than offset strength in Marine Components to towboat and government markets .
Sequentially, revenue and EPS improved from Q3 2024 ($33.6M, $0.28) as Marine Components strengthened, but profitability remained below prior-year levels given mix and lower gross margin at Security Products .
Management declared a $0.30 regular quarterly dividend (payable Mar 25, 2025), maintaining the payout following a similar $0.30 dividend in November and a $2.00 special dividend in August 2024, underscoring ongoing cash returns amid softer demand in parts of the portfolio .
Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) for Q4 2024 revenue and EPS was unavailable at time of analysis; we cannot assess beats/misses vs estimates and will update when data becomes available (S&P Global consensus unavailable).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Marine Components strengthened in Q4, with higher sales to the towboat and government markets helping offset weakness elsewhere; management cited higher Marine Components gross margin percentage in the quarter .
- Sequential recovery from Q3: revenue rose from $33.6M to $38.4M and EPS from $0.28 to $0.37, supported by Marine Components improvement .
- Capital returns remained robust: regular dividend of $0.30 declared in March 2025 maintained prior payout, following a $2.00 special dividend and regular dividend in August 2024, signaling balance-sheet strength and cash generation capacity .
What Went Wrong
- Security Products revenue contracted year over year due to the non-recurrence of a 2023 government security pilot project; lower sales and lower gross margin percentage at Security Products drove most of the operating income decline YoY in Q4 .
- Year-over-year profitability pressure: operating income fell to $4.9M (vs $7.4M), net income to $4.5M (vs $6.7M), and EPS to $0.37 (vs $0.54) as mix and lower Security Products margin weighed on results .
- Full-year 2024 softness: net sales declined to $145.9M (vs $161.3M in 2023) and operating income to $17.0M (vs $25.4M), reflecting weaker Marine Components (towboat market) and reduced Security Products volumes in 2H related to the pilot ending .

Financial Results

Metric	Q4 2023	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Net Sales ($M)	43.2	35.9	33.6	38.4
Gross Margin ($M)	13.6	11.1	9.5	11.0
Gross Margin (%)	31.5% (13.6/43.2)	30.9% (11.1/35.9)	28.3% (9.5/33.6)	28.6% (11.0/38.4)
Operating Income ($M)	7.4	5.1	3.3	4.9
Operating Margin (%)	17.1% (7.4/43.2)	14.2% (5.1/35.9)	9.8% (3.3/33.6)	12.8% (4.9/38.4)
Net Income ($M)	6.7	4.9	3.5	4.5
Net Margin (%)	15.5% (6.7/43.2)	13.6% (4.9/35.9)	10.4% (3.5/33.6)	11.7% (4.5/38.4)
Diluted EPS ($)	0.54	0.39	0.28	0.37

Estimate comparison (S&P Global): Consensus EPS and revenue for Q4 2024 were unavailable at time of analysis; will update when accessible (S&P Global consensus unavailable).

Segment/qualitative drivers (Q4 2024):

Security Products: Year-over-year decline due to the non-recurrence of a 2023 government security pilot; lower gross margin percentage pressured operating income .
Marine Components: Higher sales to towboat and government markets; higher gross margin percentage partially offset Security Products weakness .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance/Action	Current Guidance/Action	Change
Regular Dividend ($/share)	Q1 2025 payable Mar 25, 2025	$0.30 declared Nov 6, 2024, payable Dec 10, 2024	$0.30 declared Mar 5, 2025, payable Mar 25, 2025	Maintained
Special Dividend	August 2024	N/A	$2.00 per share special dividend (paid Aug 28, 2024)	New (Aug 2024)

Note: Company did not provide quantitative revenue/margin/OpEx guidance in the Q4 materials reviewed .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

No earnings call transcript was available for Q4 2024 in our document set; company does not appear to have posted an earnings call transcript for the period (no results returned) [ListDocuments: earnings-call-transcript=0].

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q2 2024, Q3 2024)	Current Period (Q4 2024)	Trend
Government security customer (Security Products)	Q2: Higher Security Products sales primarily to government security market . Q3: YoY decline due to non-recurrence of 2023 pilot; key headwind .	Q4: YoY decline persists due to pilot project not continuing in 2024; major driver of sales/margin pressure .	Deteriorated YoY; headwind sustained into Q4 .
Marine Components (Towboat/Gov’t)	Q2: Lower Marine sales (towboat) weighed on results .	Q3: Lower Marine sales primarily to towboat; margin down .	Q4: Marine Components up to towboat and government; margin percentage improved and offset some weakness .
Margins/Mix	Q2: Security Products GM up; Marine down .	Q3: Lower sales and GM at both segments .	Q4: Lower GM% at Security Products; higher GM% at Marine .
Macro/tariffs/supply chain (risk factors)	Tariffs, input costs, global conditions flagged .	Similar risks reiterated .	Risks reiterated (raw materials, tariffs, global conditions, cyber) .

Management Commentary

“Fourth quarter 2024 net sales decreased over the comparable 2023 period predominantly due to lower Security Products sales to a government security customer, partially offset by higher Marine Components sales to the towboat and government markets.”
“Operating income decreased in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 due to lower sales and a lower gross margin percentage at Security Products, partially offset by higher Marine Components sales and gross margin percentage.”
Full-year color: “Net sales decreased… primarily due to lower Marine Components sales to the towboat market and lower Security Products sales in the third and fourth quarters to a government security customer related to the pilot project noted above.”

Q&A Highlights

No earnings call transcript or Q&A was available for Q4 2024 in the company document set; we therefore cannot provide Q&A themes for this period (no transcript found) [ListDocuments: earnings-call-transcript=0].

Estimates Context

We attempted to retrieve S&P Global consensus for Q4 2024 (EPS and revenue), but the data was unavailable at the time of analysis; as such, we cannot quantify beats/misses versus Street. We will update when access to S&P Global consensus is available (S&P Global consensus unavailable).

Key Takeaways for Investors

Q4 2024 showed sequential recovery vs Q3 in both revenue and EPS, aided by Marine Components, but year-over-year performance remained pressured by the non-recurrence of a 2023 government security pilot at Security Products .
Segment divergence matters: Marine Components recovery (towboat/government) is a positive offset to continued softness in Security Products tied to the government security customer .
Margins mixed: Security Products experienced lower gross margin percentage YoY, while Marine Components margin improved; overall operating margin rebounded sequentially (9.8% in Q3 to 12.8% in Q4) but trailed prior-year levels .
Capital return commitment intact: Regular $0.30 dividend maintained and a $2.00 special dividend paid in Aug 2024 highlight balance sheet and cash generation resilience through the cycle .
With no explicit guidance and no transcript, near-term narrative hinges on order trends from government security customers and ongoing Marine Components demand in towboat/government end-markets .
Watch for confirmation of Marine Components momentum into 2025 and any signs of replacement demand or new program wins in Security Products to backfill the pilot project non-recurrence .
Absence of consensus data limits immediate beat/miss assessment; monitor for estimate updates and potential stock moves tied to dividend policy and any incremental end-market disclosures (S&P Global consensus unavailable).

References:

Q4 2024 results and summary table, dividend declaration:
Press release duplicative detail for Q4 2024:
Q3 2024 results and commentary:
Q2 2024 results and special dividend:

COMPX INTERNATIONAL INC (CIX)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary