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Side-by-side financial comparison of Essex Property Trust (ESS) and FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP (FSS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($597.1M vs $479.6M, roughly 1.2× Essex Property Trust). Essex Property Trust runs the higher net margin — 17.9% vs 10.2%, a 7.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (26.5% vs 5.5%). Over the past eight quarters, FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP's revenue compounded faster (18.5% CAGR vs 6.0%).

Essex Property Trust is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in apartments in California and in the Seattle metropolitan area.

The Federal Signal Company was an American manufacturer of railway signaling equipment in the early 20th century. It was located in Albany, New York.

ESS vs FSS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FSS
FSS
1.2× larger
FSS
$597.1M
$479.6M
ESS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FSS
FSS
+21.0% gap
FSS
26.5%
5.5%
ESS
Higher net margin
ESS
ESS
7.7% more per $
ESS
17.9%
10.2%
FSS
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FSS
FSS
Annualised
FSS
18.5%
6.0%
ESS

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Revenue
$479.6M
$597.1M
Net Profit
$85.7M
$60.8M
Gross Margin
70.0%
28.4%
Operating Margin
31.7%
14.0%
Net Margin
17.9%
10.2%
Revenue YoY
5.5%
26.5%
Net Profit YoY
-71.6%
21.6%
EPS (diluted)
$1.24
$0.99

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$479.6M
$597.1M
Q3 25
$473.3M
$555.0M
Q2 25
$469.8M
$564.6M
Q1 25
$464.6M
$463.8M
Q4 24
$454.5M
$472.0M
Q3 24
$450.7M
$474.2M
Q2 24
$442.4M
$490.4M
Q1 24
$426.9M
$424.9M
Net Profit
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$85.7M
$60.8M
Q3 25
$172.7M
$68.1M
Q2 25
$231.5M
$71.4M
Q1 25
$212.8M
$46.3M
Q4 24
$301.7M
$50.0M
Q3 24
$125.5M
$53.9M
Q2 24
$99.0M
$60.8M
Q1 24
$285.1M
$51.6M
Gross Margin
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
70.0%
28.4%
Q3 25
69.2%
29.1%
Q2 25
70.7%
30.0%
Q1 25
69.6%
28.2%
Q4 24
70.0%
28.1%
Q3 24
69.5%
29.6%
Q2 24
70.8%
29.4%
Q1 24
69.7%
27.3%
Operating Margin
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
31.7%
14.0%
Q3 25
44.5%
16.9%
Q2 25
59.5%
17.3%
Q1 25
55.3%
14.2%
Q4 24
67.0%
14.9%
Q3 24
28.6%
16.0%
Q2 24
31.1%
16.5%
Q1 24
31.0%
12.8%
Net Margin
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
17.9%
10.2%
Q3 25
36.5%
12.3%
Q2 25
49.3%
12.6%
Q1 25
45.8%
10.0%
Q4 24
66.4%
10.6%
Q3 24
27.8%
11.4%
Q2 24
22.4%
12.4%
Q1 24
66.8%
12.1%
EPS (diluted)
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$1.24
$0.99
Q3 25
$2.56
$1.11
Q2 25
$3.44
$1.16
Q1 25
$3.16
$0.75
Q4 24
$4.00
$0.80
Q3 24
$1.84
$0.87
Q2 24
$1.45
$0.99
Q1 24
$4.25
$0.84

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$76.2M
$63.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$564.6M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$5.5B
$1.4B
Total Assets
$13.2B
$2.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.41×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$76.2M
$63.7M
Q3 25
$66.0M
$54.4M
Q2 25
$58.7M
$64.7M
Q1 25
$98.7M
$57.5M
Q4 24
$66.8M
$91.1M
Q3 24
$71.3M
$73.7M
Q2 24
$55.2M
$48.6M
Q1 24
$499.0M
$48.9M
Total Debt
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$564.6M
Q3 25
$6.4B
$201.2M
Q2 25
$6.4B
$258.3M
Q1 25
$6.8B
$266.9M
Q4 24
$204.4M
Q3 24
$6.4B
$223.3M
Q2 24
$6.2B
$248.8M
Q1 24
$6.6B
$266.8M
Stockholders' Equity
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$5.5B
$1.4B
Q3 25
$5.6B
$1.3B
Q2 25
$5.6B
$1.3B
Q1 25
$5.6B
$1.2B
Q4 24
$5.5B
$1.2B
Q3 24
$5.4B
$1.1B
Q2 24
$5.5B
$1.1B
Q1 24
$5.5B
$1.0B
Total Assets
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$13.2B
$2.4B
Q3 25
$13.2B
$1.9B
Q2 25
$13.2B
$1.9B
Q1 25
$13.2B
$1.9B
Q4 24
$12.9B
$1.8B
Q3 24
$12.6B
$1.7B
Q2 24
$12.5B
$1.7B
Q1 24
$12.9B
$1.7B
Debt / Equity
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
0.41×
Q3 25
1.15×
0.15×
Q2 25
1.14×
0.20×
Q1 25
1.22×
0.22×
Q4 24
0.17×
Q3 24
1.18×
0.19×
Q2 24
1.13×
0.23×
Q1 24
1.19×
0.26×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$1.1B
$97.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$89.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
15.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
12.53×
1.60×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$227.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$1.1B
$97.2M
Q3 25
$342.6M
$61.1M
Q2 25
$216.1M
$59.7M
Q1 25
$281.5M
$36.7M
Q4 24
$1.1B
$90.6M
Q3 24
$316.2M
$68.8M
Q2 24
$218.9M
$40.6M
Q1 24
$314.9M
$31.3M
Free Cash Flow
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
$89.5M
Q3 25
$54.1M
Q2 25
$52.4M
Q1 25
$31.1M
Q4 24
$82.1M
Q3 24
$60.9M
Q2 24
$24.8M
Q1 24
$22.9M
FCF Margin
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
15.0%
Q3 25
9.7%
Q2 25
9.3%
Q1 25
6.7%
Q4 24
17.4%
Q3 24
12.8%
Q2 24
5.1%
Q1 24
5.4%
Capex Intensity
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
1.3%
Q3 25
1.3%
Q2 25
1.3%
Q1 25
1.2%
Q4 24
1.8%
Q3 24
1.7%
Q2 24
3.2%
Q1 24
2.0%
Cash Conversion
ESS
ESS
FSS
FSS
Q4 25
12.53×
1.60×
Q3 25
1.98×
0.90×
Q2 25
0.93×
0.84×
Q1 25
1.32×
0.79×
Q4 24
3.54×
1.81×
Q3 24
2.52×
1.28×
Q2 24
2.21×
0.67×
Q1 24
1.10×
0.61×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ESS
ESS

Segment breakdown not available.

FSS
FSS

Vehiclesandequipment$403.4M68%
Parts$66.8M11%
Publicsafetyandsecurityequipment$62.2M10%
Rentalincome$19.0M3%
Industrialsignalingequipment$18.2M3%
Other$14.9M2%
Warningsystems$12.6M2%

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