Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.480-0.620 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.600. The company issued revenue guidance of $160.0 million-$170.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $164.5 million. Clearfield also updated its Q2 2026 guidance to -0.100–0.020 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on CLFD shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clearfield in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Clearfield from $50.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Clearfield from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Lake Street Capital dropped their price objective on Clearfield from $52.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Clearfield from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Clearfield has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Clearfield Price Performance

Clearfield stock opened at $30.47 on Thursday. Clearfield has a fifty-two week low of $23.78 and a fifty-two week high of $46.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.53 and a beta of 1.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.16.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The company had revenue of $34.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.77 million. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 4.65% and a positive return on equity of 1.07%. Clearfield has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.480-0.620 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.100–0.020 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Clearfield will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clearfield declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 25th that allows the company to repurchase $85.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 22% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.06 per share, with a total value of $300,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 1,279,264 shares in the company, valued at $38,454,675.84. This represents a 0.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Clearfield

Here are the key news stories impacting Clearfield this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 revenue topped estimates — Clearfield reported quarterly sales of $34.34 million versus consensus ~$31.8 million, signaling stronger demand for its fiber connectivity products and providing near-term top-line momentum. GlobeNewswire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: EPS improved year-over-year and beat some estimates — the company reported an adjusted loss that narrowed substantially from a year-ago loss (last year’s Q1 loss was larger), and some outlets noted EPS came in better than expected, which supports the thesis of improving profitability. Zacks: Q1 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and earnings call materials published — transcripts and call highlights are available (management reiterated execution priorities and growth drivers). These provide color but contain few surprises beyond the numbers. Yahoo: Q1 Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party coverage and snapshots published — multiple outlets ran earnings snapshots and transcripts; useful for investor diligence but largely restate the release. AOL: Earnings Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest report appears unreliable/unremarkable — public short-interest entries in this window show no meaningful change and do not explain price moves. (Data flagged as 0 shares.)
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance disappointed vs. Street expectations — Clearfield issued Q2 FY2026 EPS guidance of -0.100 to -0.020 and revenue guidance of $32.0M–$35.0M, which is below consensus revenue (~$35.7M) and implies a weaker quarter. That guidance is the main near-term negative catalyst. Press Release / Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance is mixed and slightly below some consensus metrics — the company set FY EPS at $0.480–$0.620 (street ~$0.60) and revenue $160M–$170M (street ~$164.5M). The EPS range skews slightly below the midpoint of analyst estimates, which may limit upside near term. Press Release / Guidance

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Clearfield by 116.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,882 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Clearfield during the 1st quarter worth approximately $131,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Clearfield by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,222 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Clearfield during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Institutional investors own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

About Clearfield

Clearfield, Inc (NASDAQ: CLFD) is a Minneapolis-based company specializing in fiber management products for broadband network deployments. The company’s core offerings include fiber distribution hubs, enclosures, splice trays, patching panels and connectivity accessories designed to simplify installation and maintenance of fiber-optic networks. Clearfield’s modular FieldSmart™ platform provides a scalable approach for service providers, utilities and enterprise organizations looking to expand or upgrade their fiber infrastructure.

Clearfield serves a diverse customer base that includes cable and internet service providers, telecommunications operators, wireless carriers, utilities and municipalities.