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Analyst
Andrew Krill
Period: Reporting periods mapped to calendar 2024 Q4 – 2026 Q2 (7 quarters).
- Questions
- 23on tracked calls
- Challenge rate
- 4%1 of 23 questions
- Companies
- 2questioned at least once
- Reporting periods
- 7with questions
These figures cover the whole profile: every tracked question, all reporting periods.
How to read these numbers
Challenge rate is the share of questions that pushed back, pressed for specifics or questioned management’s assumptions. It describes how questions were asked on the calls tracked here; it does not measure whether any view turned out to be right.
Rounding. Rates are rounded to whole percentages, so a small share can show as 0% even when some questions were challenging. The count beside each rate is exact; “none of N questions” means no question was challenging.
No questions recorded. “—” means there is nothing to calculate: no questions were recorded for that period on the calls tracked here. It does not mean there was no activity.
Fewer than 3 questions. A company-level rate is withheld when fewer than 3 questions were recorded for that company; the questions are still counted everywhere else.
Small samples. Profiles with fewer than 10 questions are marked Limited sample.
Reporting periods. Questions are grouped by the calendar quarter each company’s fiscal reporting period maps to, not by the date of the call. Periods without a calendar mapping are listed separately under their fiscal label.
Questions asked
Grouped by company, most questions first. Open a company to read its questions, newest reporting period first.
Showing 23 of 23 questions from 2 companies
PNRPentair13 questions · 7 reporting periods · 1 of 13 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
just margins for pool next year, Any help there just given how big of a reset the deleveraging this year
Show response
Stauch signaled low-30s return on sales rather than a firm target, framing a deliberate margin reset to fund growth investment.
Does this mean it could be double-digits, or will this be close to the mid-single digits Investor Day target?
Show response
Fishman walked through the build: roughly $1.25 billion of pool sales this year plus around $200 million of destocking reversal implies a $1.45 billion 2027 starting point.
Calendar 2026 Q1
could you give us some directional help on which segments you expect to lead the margin expansion this year?
Show response
CFO clarified Water Quality Management and Flow will drive above-average margin expansion; Pool will expand modestly.
For the remaining three quarters, should we expect the remaining ~$50 million to be linear
Show response
CFO confirmed linear quarterly cadence for remaining ~$50M of productivity savings. $70M full-year target unchanged.
Calendar 2025 Q4
you started to ask like the rule of 40 more consistently. It seems like pool clearly checks that box. Maybe the other two segments are a little further away
Show response
CEO affirmed confidence in current portfolio. Strategy is growing high-margin businesses (foodservice, pool) faster while underperforming businesses lean into operational efficiencies. M&A focused on channel adjacencies.
have you approached the guide similarly? Or do you think the certainty is a little bit better this year and you don't need as much of a cushion
Show response
CEO and incoming CFO both characterized guide as pragmatic. Contingency comes from residential view vs. expectations, plus transformation net of investments. Balanced contribution across all three segments important.
Calendar 2025 Q3
could you comment a little on just inventory in the channel? Across your different segments? And just if you're seeing anything that seems a bit out of balance
Show response
CFO confirmed channel inventory at historical levels across all industries served. No imbalances heading into 2026.
Wanted to ask on the new elevated CIO role with Heather, and I think there's a little bit of a shift on focusing more on digital.
Show response
CEO hasn't quantified digital sales but sees it as critical enabler: AI, factory digitization, dealer route optimization, customer experiences. Moving from infrastructure/foundational IT to digital front-end investment.
Calendar 2025 Q2
going back to the transformation savings, $44 million in the first half, so about $36 million for the rest of the year
Show response
CFO guided roughly even split Q3/Q4. Flow and Water Solutions have biggest opportunity from complexity reduction. CEO reminded savings are net of investments in R&D and digital.
I just wanted to ask on the topic of tariffs again. Just any observations of prebuying, like to the extent you can measure that
Show response
CEO noted prebuy happened in Q1 relative to Q2, not Q2 relative to Q3. Normalization of tariffs reduced prebuying incentive. Don't expect air pocket.
Calendar 2025 Q1
what's your level of confidence is still hitting that margin target in 2026? And, like, say we did have some form of a, you know, mini recession here
Show response
CFO reaffirmed confidence in 26% ROS by 2026 driven by transformation, even under recession scenarios.
Calendar 2024 Q4
is it about a two-point headwind in the sales bridge you're assuming or about half of the Quad 4 sales?
Show response
CEO clarified ~1 point total company headwind from Quad 4 exits, already embedded in volume guidance.
can you flush out like what sales growth are you assuming for 2026 in order to hit this new 26% margin?
Show response
CFO confirmed flat to low-single-digit growth assumption for 2026, versus original mid-single-digit target. Different path to same profitability target.
VLTOVeralto10 questions · 5 reporting periods · 0 of 10 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
Could you give us an update on what you're seeing on electronics inflation, including memory
Show response
CFO located exposure in instruments (memory, boards), called it a small fraction of COGS and not material at the Veralto level, with no sourcing issues and R&D redesign mitigating.
the Alfaa UV deal, I think we didn't get a ton of airtime. Maybe can you just give us some more on like the growth rates.
Show response
CEO compared Alfaa to the AQUAFIDES deal and confirmed sustainable double-digit growth off a small base in India, but did not address the margin part of the question.
Calendar 2026 Q1
is it still fair we should be thinking about the company realizing about 2% price or so?
Show response
CFO confirmed pricing at high end of 100-200bps range with PQI exceeding slightly. Mix of carryover from 2025 actions plus new 2026 cycle increases.
Can you give us an update how you're viewing the tariff headwinds and cost inflation headwinds this year and if that's changed at all versus last quarter?
Show response
CFO outlined three tariff layers: 2025 actions fully lapping in H2, new Section 232 steel/aluminum impact much smaller and baked in, and Middle East commodity impact baked into guidance. Combination of pricing and productivity offsetting headwinds.
Calendar 2025 Q3
for 4Q, I just was hoping you could give some segment level color on margin expectations, maybe sequentially is the best way to do that?
Show response
CFO guided Q4 margins to ~30bps expansion with both segments contributing year-over-year. Water Quality driven by continued execution, PQI benefiting from reduced tariff costs. Core growth low single digits but mid-single digits pro forma for 3 fewer shipping days.
Could you expand a little on like what went well? And as we look forward, I think in the past, you said 1Q and 3Q often go below 100% conversion
Show response
CFO recommended annual view given structural interest payment timing in Q1 and Q3. Underlying business cash generation is very consistent with high-quality earnings and strong working capital management.
Calendar 2025 Q2
Just any sign of that is like helping with customer confidence as we go into the back half of the year?
Show response
CEO noted trade deals reducing confusion but not changing demand patterns. Products remain essential to daily operations. Steady-as-she-goes outlook with less agitation in the system.
are you taking share? And maybe like how long could this type of growth persist?
Show response
CEO cited stronger European focus on water reuse plus structural commercial execution improvements from VES as sustainable drivers. CFO noted AQUAFIDES acquisition and U.K. water utility investment as growth reinforcement.
Calendar 2024 Q4
the guidance 90% to 100% is a little below your medium-term target of 100% and extra working capital was cited
Show response
CFO cited two factors: CapEx stepping up from ~1% to 1-1.5% of revenue for growth investments, and higher working capital to manage supply chain in dynamic tariff environment.
have you dialed what your sourcing is maybe for COGS from China, Mexico and Canada?
Show response
CEO detailed Trojan Canada exposure as less than 5% of total sales with consumables already localized to US. China exposure described as largely in-region-for-region with diversified supply chain.
Challenge rate by company
Every company this analyst questioned, most questions first. A company-level rate is shown from 3 questions; below that it is withheld.
| Company | Questions | Challenge rate |
|---|---|---|
| PNR Pentair | 13 | 8%1 of 13 questions |
| VLTO Veralto | 10 | 0%none of 10 questions |
Activity by reporting period
Questions recorded for each calendar quarter that companies’ reporting periods map to (not the call date), with the challenge rate for that period. Periods inside the range with no questions are shown as “No questions recorded”.
| Calendar period | Questions | Challenge rate | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q4 | 4 | 0%none of 4 questions | 2 |
| 2025 Q1 | 1 | 100%1 of 1 question | 1 |
| 2025 Q2 | 4 | 0%none of 4 questions | 2 |
| 2025 Q3 | 4 | 0%none of 4 questions | 2 |
| 2025 Q4 | 2 | 0%none of 2 questions | 1 |
| 2026 Q1 | 4 | 0%none of 4 questions | 2 |
| 2026 Q2 | 4 | 0%none of 4 questions | 2 |
- 2024 Q44 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 4 questions) · 2 companies
- 2025 Q11 question · challenge rate 100% (1 of 1 question) · 1 company
- 2025 Q24 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 4 questions) · 2 companies
- 2025 Q34 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 4 questions) · 2 companies
- 2025 Q42 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 2 questions) · 1 company
- 2026 Q14 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 4 questions) · 2 companies
- 2026 Q24 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 4 questions) · 2 companies
Topics
Topics tagged on this analyst’s questions.
- Margin8
- Guidance Reliability6
- Cost Pressure4
- Trade Tariffs4
- Competitive Dynamics4
- Revenue Growth3
- Supply Chain2
- Demand2
- Capital Allocation2
- Inventory1
Show all 15 topics
- M&A1
- Geographic Expansion1
- Pricing1
- Innovation & R&D1
- Macroeconomic1