# Gentex: record earnings, a stock still parked near its 52-week low

Gentex (GNTX), In the Sweet Spot pick for September 25, 2026: Gentex pairs a 97.3 quality percentile with an 18.6% projected annual return, sitting in Manife...

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In the Sweet Spot · September 25, 2026 · Gentex (GNTX) · Discretionary

**Gentex pairs a 97.3 quality percentile with an 18.6% projected annual return, sitting in Manifest's sweet spot while shares trade just 7.6% above their 52-week low.**

Gentex (GNTX) was Manifest Investing's In the Sweet Spot daily stock pick for September 25, 2026. At the time of the pick, Gentex carried a quality percentile of 97 and a projected annual return (PAR) of 18.6% against a MIPAR of 9.9%, placing it inside the sweet spot of 14.9% to 19.9%.

## Key metrics at the time of the pick

- **Quality percentile**: 97
- **Projected annual return (PAR)**: 18.6%
- **MIPAR (median PAR of coverage)**: 9.9%
- **PROVE**: 19.8%
- **Core score (of 300)**: 258
- **Financial strength (of 100)**: 72
- **EPS stability (of 100)**: 88.3
- **Sales growth forecast**: 7.4%
- **P/E ratio**: 13.5
- **Price at pick**: $22.04
- **52-week low**: $20.48
- **52-week high**: $29.01
- **Above 52-week low**: 7.6%
- **Below 52-week high**: 24.0%
- **Dividend yield**: 2.2%
- **Projected yield**: 1.4%
- **In the sweet spot**: Yes
- **Triple play**: No

Gentex (NASDAQ: GNTX) is worth a closer look given the gap between its quality metrics and where the stock currently trades. The Zeeland, Michigan-based auto-dimming mirror and electronics supplier carries a quality percentile of 97.3 in our database (a ranking of fundamental quality against every company we track, where higher is better) and a Core Score of 258 out of a possible 300 (the sum of quality, financial strength, and EPS stability; anything above 225 is worth a look as a potential core holding). At the same time, shares sit at $22.04, just 7.6% above their 52-week low of $20.48 and 24.0% below their 52-week high of $29.01.

That combination of high quality and a depressed price is exactly what shows up in the projected annual return, or PAR, our forward-looking five-year return estimate: Gentex’s PAR of 18.6% lands inside Manifest’s sweet spot, the band running from 14.9% to 19.9% (MIPAR, the median PAR across our coverage, plus 5 to 10 percentage points). PAR moves opposite of price, so a lower entry price is a meaningful part of why the number reads as attractively as it does. Financial strength stands at 72 (out of 100), and EPS stability is 88.3 (out of 100), a signal that earnings growth here has historically been unusually smooth for a supplier tied to global vehicle production.

The fundamentals underneath that quality score have been moving in a favorable direction. Our AI review of Gentex’s recent earnings calls (covering Q4 2025 through Q2 2026, generated July 29, 2026 and therefore not reflecting today’s developments) found that the company delivered record second-quarter earnings per share even as consolidated revenue was roughly flat, driven by expanding gross margins and disciplined cost control; management also raised its full-year gross margin guidance during that stretch. Free cash flow was reported growing faster than revenue over the same period. The same review flagged a genuine offsetting concern worth naming directly: revenue from China has been in structural decline as tariff pressure and share loss to domestic suppliers squeeze that market, with management expecting the trend to continue into 2027. European base-mirror shipments were also described as unusually soft. Gentex’s response has included diversifying into premium audio, aerospace, and biometrics, and pursuing new manufacturing capacity outside the U.S. Whether that diversification fully offsets the China and Europe headwinds is the open question for anyone studying this one further.

The next earnings report is scheduled for October 23, 2026, which gives investors a fairly near-term checkpoint on whether the margin and cash flow momentum described above is continuing. Separately, the Wall Street consensus 12-month price target on Gentex is $26, per our data aggregator; that figure operates on a one-year horizon and is not directly comparable to our five-year PAR estimate, so we mention it only as an outside reference point, not a level tied to our own methodology.

That mix of high quality, a sweet-spot PAR, and a price still closer to its 52-week low than its high is why we’re taking a closer look at Gentex today. As always, this is a starting point for research, not a recommendation to act.

Gentex has also been the In the Sweet Spot pick on: [August 19, 2026](/sweet-spot/gntx-gentex-2026-08-19), [July 13, 2026](/sweet-spot/gntx-gentex-2026-07-13).

## About In the Sweet Spot

Manifest Investing's daily stock pick: one high-quality company whose projected annual return (PAR) sits in the sweet spot above the market median (MIPAR). Each pick pairs Manifest Investing's quality percentile with its projected annual return (PAR); the sweet spot runs from MIPAR + 5 to MIPAR + 10 percentage points. Browse [every pick in the archive](/sweet-spot/archive) or see [Manifest Investing's analysis of Gentex](/top-40/GNTX).

_In the Sweet Spot is educational and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Figures reflect Manifest Investing's methodology as of the pick date._