vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP (FSS) and OLYMPIC STEEL INC (ZEUS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($597.1M vs $490.7M, roughly 1.2× OLYMPIC STEEL INC). FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP runs the higher net margin — 10.2% vs 0.4%, a 9.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (26.5% vs 4.4%). FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP produced more free cash flow last quarter ($89.5M vs $-12.9M). Over the past eight quarters, FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP's revenue compounded faster (18.5% CAGR vs 0.1%).

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

Olympic Steel, Inc. is a metals service center based in Cleveland, Ohio. The company processes and distributes carbon, coated and stainless flat-rolled sheet, coil and plate steel, aluminium alloy, tin plate, and metal-intensive branded products primarily in the United States. Metals processing and value added services include tempering, stretch leveling, cutting-to-length, slitting, edging, shearing, blanking, burning, forming, shot blasting, laser punching, plate rolling, fabricating, machi...

FSS vs ZEUS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
FSS
FSS
1.2× larger
FSS
$597.1M
$490.7M
ZEUS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
FSS
FSS
+22.1% gap
FSS
26.5%
4.4%
ZEUS
Higher net margin
FSS
FSS
9.7% more per $
FSS
10.2%
0.4%
ZEUS
More free cash flow
FSS
FSS
$102.4M more FCF
FSS
$89.5M
$-12.9M
ZEUS
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
FSS
FSS
Annualised
FSS
18.5%
0.1%
ZEUS

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2025

Metric
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Revenue
$597.1M
$490.7M
Net Profit
$60.8M
$2.2M
Gross Margin
28.4%
Operating Margin
14.0%
1.5%
Net Margin
10.2%
0.4%
Revenue YoY
26.5%
4.4%
Net Profit YoY
21.6%
-21.2%
EPS (diluted)
$0.99
$0.18

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
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$597.1M
Q3 25
$555.0M
$490.7M
Q2 25
$564.6M
$496.5M
Q1 25
$463.8M
$492.9M
Q4 24
$472.0M
$418.8M
Q3 24
$474.2M
$470.0M
Q2 24
$490.4M
$526.3M
Q1 24
$424.9M
$526.6M
Net Profit
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$60.8M
Q3 25
$68.1M
$2.2M
Q2 25
$71.4M
$5.2M
Q1 25
$46.3M
$2.5M
Q4 24
$50.0M
$3.9M
Q3 24
$53.9M
$2.7M
Q2 24
$60.8M
$7.7M
Q1 24
$51.6M
$8.7M
Gross Margin
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
28.4%
Q3 25
29.1%
Q2 25
30.0%
Q1 25
28.2%
Q4 24
28.1%
Q3 24
29.6%
Q2 24
29.4%
Q1 24
27.3%
Operating Margin
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
14.0%
Q3 25
16.9%
1.5%
Q2 25
17.3%
2.3%
Q1 25
14.2%
1.6%
Q4 24
14.9%
2.1%
Q3 24
16.0%
1.7%
Q2 24
16.5%
2.9%
Q1 24
12.8%
3.0%
Net Margin
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
10.2%
Q3 25
12.3%
0.4%
Q2 25
12.6%
1.1%
Q1 25
10.0%
0.5%
Q4 24
10.6%
0.9%
Q3 24
11.4%
0.6%
Q2 24
12.4%
1.5%
Q1 24
12.1%
1.7%
EPS (diluted)
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$0.99
Q3 25
$1.11
$0.18
Q2 25
$1.16
$0.45
Q1 25
$0.75
$0.21
Q4 24
$0.80
$0.33
Q3 24
$0.87
$0.23
Q2 24
$0.99
$0.66
Q1 24
$0.84
$0.75

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$63.7M
$7.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$564.6M
$240.9M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.4B
$579.1M
Total Assets
$2.4B
$1.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.41×
0.42×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$63.7M
Q3 25
$54.4M
$7.5M
Q2 25
$64.7M
$14.8M
Q1 25
$57.5M
$13.3M
Q4 24
$91.1M
$11.9M
Q3 24
$73.7M
$11.1M
Q2 24
$48.6M
$9.4M
Q1 24
$48.9M
$10.3M
Total Debt
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$564.6M
Q3 25
$201.2M
$240.9M
Q2 25
$258.3M
$233.2M
Q1 25
$266.9M
$235.4M
Q4 24
$204.4M
$272.5M
Q3 24
$223.3M
$197.3M
Q2 24
$248.8M
$209.2M
Q1 24
$266.8M
$196.8M
Stockholders' Equity
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$1.4B
Q3 25
$1.3B
$579.1M
Q2 25
$1.3B
$578.2M
Q1 25
$1.2B
$574.2M
Q4 24
$1.2B
$573.9M
Q3 24
$1.1B
$570.6M
Q2 24
$1.1B
$569.5M
Q1 24
$1.0B
$563.0M
Total Assets
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$2.4B
Q3 25
$1.9B
$1.1B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$1.1B
Q1 25
$1.9B
$1.1B
Q4 24
$1.8B
$1.0B
Q3 24
$1.7B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$1.7B
$1.0B
Q1 24
$1.7B
$1.0B
Debt / Equity
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
0.41×
Q3 25
0.15×
0.42×
Q2 25
0.20×
0.40×
Q1 25
0.22×
0.41×
Q4 24
0.17×
0.47×
Q3 24
0.19×
0.35×
Q2 24
0.23×
0.37×
Q1 24
0.26×
0.35×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$97.2M
$-5.4M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$89.5M
$-12.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
15.0%
-2.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.3%
1.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.60×
-2.50×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$227.1M
$41.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$97.2M
Q3 25
$61.1M
$-5.4M
Q2 25
$59.7M
$15.5M
Q1 25
$36.7M
$49.4M
Q4 24
$90.6M
$14.6M
Q3 24
$68.8M
$24.6M
Q2 24
$40.6M
$-2.9M
Q1 24
$31.3M
$-2.6M
Free Cash Flow
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
$89.5M
Q3 25
$54.1M
$-12.9M
Q2 25
$52.4M
$6.8M
Q1 25
$31.1M
$40.6M
Q4 24
$82.1M
$7.4M
Q3 24
$60.9M
$15.6M
Q2 24
$24.8M
$-11.3M
Q1 24
$22.9M
$-7.4M
FCF Margin
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
15.0%
Q3 25
9.7%
-2.6%
Q2 25
9.3%
1.4%
Q1 25
6.7%
8.2%
Q4 24
17.4%
1.8%
Q3 24
12.8%
3.3%
Q2 24
5.1%
-2.2%
Q1 24
5.4%
-1.4%
Capex Intensity
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
1.3%
Q3 25
1.3%
1.5%
Q2 25
1.3%
1.7%
Q1 25
1.2%
1.8%
Q4 24
1.8%
1.7%
Q3 24
1.7%
1.9%
Q2 24
3.2%
1.6%
Q1 24
2.0%
0.9%
Cash Conversion
FSS
FSS
ZEUS
ZEUS
Q4 25
1.60×
Q3 25
0.90×
-2.50×
Q2 25
0.84×
2.96×
Q1 25
0.79×
19.70×
Q4 24
1.81×
3.75×
Q3 24
1.28×
9.01×
Q2 24
0.67×
-0.38×
Q1 24
0.61×
-0.30×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

FSS
FSS

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

ZEUS
ZEUS

Carbon Flat Products$268.2M55%
Specialty Metals Flat Products$140.9M29%
Tubular And Pipe Products$81.6M17%

Related Comparisons