Blue Bird Corp. (BLBD)

Key figures

The last twelve months reported, with the latest price and balance sheet.

Revenue, last twelve months

$1.6B

Revenue growth

13.5%

Net income, last twelve months

$281.8M

Earnings per share

$8.22

Gross margin

20.6%

Operating margin

11.8%

Net margin

17.5%

Free cash flow

$153.1M

Return on equity

43.0%

Market value

$1.8B

Price to earnings

7.0x

Cash

$116.8M

Debt

$86.8M

Debt to equity

0.13

Shares outstanding

31.7M

Financial statements

Revenue, profit and cash flow by fiscal year, each year linked to its annual report.

By quarter

What the company said with its results

From the third quarter of fiscal 2026 results, filed 5 August 2026.

• Net sales rose 29.9%. Net sales rose 29.9% to $517.2 million; legacy Blue Bird net sales fell 1.0%, with Micro Bird included in the increase.
• Net income lifted by one-time gain. Net income was $185.3 million, including a one-time gain from remeasuring the prior 50% Micro Bird stake.
• Adjusted EPS rose to $1.28. Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.28, against $1.19 a year earlier; GAAP diluted EPS was $5.27.
• Legacy bus sales slipped slightly. Legacy bus sales fell $3.5 million, or 0.9%: a 7.2% decrease in unit bookings was partly offset by a 6.7% higher average sales price per unit.
• Units held for fourth-quarter revenue. Units built for certain customers will be recognized as revenue in the fourth quarter, when delivered for school resumption.
• Parts sales slightly lower. Parts sales decreased $0.3 million, or 1.2%, on product and channel mix that slightly exceeded price increases.
• Gross profit rose on acquisition. Gross profit rose $17.4 million to $103.4 million, primarily from the Micro Bird acquisition.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin 13.8%. Adjusted EBITDA was $71.4 million, up $12.9 million, with a 13.8% margin against 14.7% a year earlier.
• Legacy EBITDA fell on affiliates. Legacy Blue Bird adjusted EBITDA fell $3.6 million, attributed to a $1.2 million rise in equity-method losses and a $3.0 million decrease in Micro Bird items added back.
• Price increases offset tariff costs. Bus price increases and mix changes were meant to offset higher procurement costs for imported inventory after tariffs.
• 355 electric buses delivered. The company delivered 355 electric-powered buses in the quarter.
• EV backlog tied to 2026 target. Over 770 EV buses were in firm order backlog at quarter end, which management said supports its 2026 EV sales target.
• Legacy bookings lower year on year. Legacy Blue Bird booked 2,290 units in the quarter versus 2,467 a year earlier; nine-month bookings were 6,573 versus 6,892.
• Free cash flow for nine months. Free cash flow was $21.7 million for the quarter and $92.7 million for nine months; adjusted free cash flow was $100.2 million for nine months.

Revenue by segment

As the company reports it in the segment note of its annual report.

By business, FY2025

By product, FY2025

By region, FY2025

Company events

The newest 8-K filings of 166 held.

Every filing

The newest filings with the SEC of 352 held.

Insider trades

Form 4 trades by officers, directors and 10% owners, last 12 months.

Planned insider sales

Form 144 notices, filed when the sell order goes to the broker.

Large holders

Schedule 13D and 13G filings by holders of more than 5% of the voting shares.

Trades by members of the House

From each member's periodic transaction report.

Short interest

Shares sold short and not yet bought back, on each FINRA settlement date.

Funds that hold it

From each fund's latest Form 13F.

338 funds held it at 30 Jun 2026: 160 added and 101 trimmed in the quarter. The largest:

What the company does

Blue Bird designs, engineers, manufactures and sells school buses, and it also sells replacement bus parts. The company calls itself the leading independent designer and manufacturer of school buses, with more than 619,000 buses sold since its formation in 1927. It sold 9,409 buses in fiscal 2025 and had 2,012 employees at 27 September 2025. Its headquarters are in Macon, Georgia, and its buses are built in Fort Valley, Georgia. They are sold mainly through 44 dealer locations in the United States and Canada.

How the business is organised

Blue Bird reports two segments. The Bus segment covers the design, engineering, manufacture and sale of school buses and extended warranties. The Parts segment covers the sale of replacement bus parts and made up 7.0% of net sales in fiscal 2025. The President and Chief Executive Officer reviews the segments mainly on revenues and gross profit.

The company also holds a 50% share of Micro Bird Holdings, an unconsolidated Canadian joint venture with Girardin Minibus. Micro Bird makes the Blue Bird Micro Bird by Girardin Type A bus, a smaller bus sold through Blue Bird's dealers. In September 2025 Micro Bird opened a facility in Plattsburgh, New York, to produce small and mid-size commercial buses.

What it sells

Blue Bird makes Type C school buses, Type D school buses and specialty buses. Of the 9,409 buses sold in fiscal 2025, Type C was 82% of unit sales and Type D was 14%. GSA and export buses made up the remaining 4%. Each Type C and Type D bus is built on its own purpose-built chassis in Fort Valley.

Cummins supplies diesel engines. Ford supplies a 7.3L V8 engine that Roush CleanTech integrates into propane and gasoline buses. Electric buses use powertrains from Accelera, a Cummins business segment. In fiscal 2025 the company sold 5,275 propane, gasoline and electric buses, including 901 electric buses. It says it has deployed more than 40,000 alternative fuel buses since 2012. New buses carry three-point seat belts as standard, starting in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Who buys from it

About 92.6% of buses sold in fiscal 2025 went through dealers and distributors, in which Blue Bird holds no equity or control position. Its 44 dealer locations are exclusive to it for Type C and Type D buses in their territories, and the dealers have an average tenure of more than 34 years with the company. Dealers sell to school districts, private schools and contractors that serve districts. Purchases usually go through a bid process at district or state level, and dealers coordinate it.

Blue Bird also sells directly to large national fleets through its National Account Sales Team. It sells through a GSA contract to federal agencies, including the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Export dealers cover certain limited foreign markets. Bus purchases depend on local school budgets, with property taxes the main source, and on federal and state programs such as the EPA's Clean School Bus Program. At 27 September 2025 the backlog was approximately 3,070 units.

Where it makes things

Blue Bird owns about 1.5 million square feet in Fort Valley. The site has a 900,000 square foot chassis and body assembly facility, a 340,000 square foot component fabrication facility, a 60,000 square foot robotic paint facility and a 40,000 square foot Electric Vehicle Build-up Center. An inventory warehouse in Perry, Georgia supplies the plants.

Parts ship from a distribution center in Delaware, Ohio. Roughly 40 suppliers ship directly to dealers and independent service centers for parts not held there. Dealers and authorized repair centers operate over 200 locations across the United States and Canada. Micro Bird leases its facilities in Drummondville, Quebec, and Plattsburgh.

Suppliers and competitors

Engine and transmission components are bought on a single-source basis. Long-term supply contracts covered approximately 65% of the value of purchases at 27 September 2025.

The two principal competitors are Thomas Built Bus, a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America, and IC Bus, a subsidiary of International Motors, LLC. Blue Bird says it competes on product diversification, innovation, safety, quality, durability, drivability, dealer network and price. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards apply to its buses, and more than half of them apply to school buses.

Its people

Of the 2,012 employees, 2,008 were full-time. The company cites a hourly workforce of approximately 1,640 employees at its Fort Valley operations. The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied & Industrial Service Workers International Union represents a bargaining unit at the Fort Valley and Macon locations. A three-year collective bargaining agreement signed in May 2024 covers more than 1,580 employees. The company describes three foundational objectives for employees: Care, Delight, Deliver.

*From Blue Bird's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 27 September 2025. [The filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1589526/000158952625000100/blbd-20250927.htm)*

From the company's 10-K.