Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
BHE is Benchmark Electronics, a mid-cap contract electronics manufacturer (EMS) that builds high-complexity, high-reliability products for aerospace and defense, medical, semiconductor-capital-equipment, and advanced industrial customers. It is a cyclical, engineering-led manufacturer whose story is a shift toward higher-margin, higher-complexity work rather than a high-growth technology bet.
BHE stock price
As of 2026-07-20, Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE) last closed at $80.61, up 102.3% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $35.97 and $98.67.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Benchmark Electronics, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE) do?
Benchmark Electronics (NYSE: BHE), headquartered in Tempe, Arizona and founded in 1979, is a global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider. It offers full product-lifecycle solutions, from design and engineering through prototyping, high-complexity printed circuit board assembly, system integration, and aftermarket support. The company deliberately targets low-to-medium volume, high-mix, high-reliability work in regulated end markets, including aerospace and defense (AC&C), medical technologies, semiconductor capital equipment, complex industrials, and next-generation communications. It operates roughly 22 sites across about eight countries with around 12,000 employees.
The investment picture is one of a cyclical manufacturer trying to move up the value chain. Revenue is in the mid-$2 billion range annually, and recent results show renewed growth led by semi-cap, medical, and defense demand alongside reshoring of supply chains. Gross margins sit in the low double digits, which is structurally thin, so the story hinges on mix shift toward complex engineering-led programs, disciplined cost control, and free-cash-flow generation. As a smaller peer to giants like Jabil and Flex, BHE competes on specialization and certifications rather than scale, which supports differentiation but also concentrates risk in a handful of large customer programs.
What's driving Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE)?
1. Aerospace, defense, and reshoring demand
Elevated global defense budgets and supply-chain reshoring favor domestic, security-cleared manufacturing partners. Benchmark's aerospace, defense, and communications (AC&C) sector has been a notable growth driver, with AC&C revenue up meaningfully year over year in early 2026. This end market tends to carry longer program lifecycles and stickier customer relationships.
2. Semiconductor capital equipment and medical
Semi-cap is Benchmark's largest sector by revenue, tied to the broader capital-spending cycle for chip fabrication tools, while medical technologies is a large and growing piece with double-digit year-over-year growth reported in Q1 2026. Both markets reward the high-complexity, regulated, traceable manufacturing that Benchmark specializes in.
3. Margin expansion and free cash flow
Management has focused on shifting mix toward higher-value engineering-led work, which lifted operating profit sharply in early 2026 even as gross margins stayed in the low double digits. Consistent free cash flow supports a modest quarterly dividend (around $0.17 per share) and share repurchases, giving the company capital-return flexibility.
4. Raised full-year outlook
After a solid first quarter of 2026, Benchmark raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to roughly 9 to 10 percent, signaling momentum across its priority sectors. Continued execution against that guidance is central to the near-term picture.
What are the risks to Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE)?
EMS is a structurally low-margin, capital-intensive, and cyclical business, so gross margins near the low double digits leave limited buffer against demand slowdowns or pricing pressure. Benchmark is smaller than scale players like Jabil and Flex, which can bid aggressively on volume work, and revenue is concentrated in a relatively small number of large customer programs that can be won or lost. End markets such as semiconductor capital equipment are highly cyclical, and any pullback in AI-related or chip capital spending could pressure results. The valuation has expanded on the growth narrative, so any margin compression or guidance miss could weigh on the shares. Broader macro, tariff, and component-supply risks also affect manufacturing throughput.
How is Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE) valued? (approximate, July 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Benchmark Electronics, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$2.7B
- Q1 2026 revenue: ~$677M (up ~7% YoY)
- Market cap: ~$3.0B
- Non-GAAP EPS (Q1 2026): ~$0.58
- Dividend (annualized): ~$0.68 (~0.8% yield)
- FY2026 revenue growth outlook: ~9-10%
Benchmark trades at a valuation that has expanded alongside its improving margins and defense and medical growth, leaving its price-to-earnings multiple elevated relative to the traditionally low-multiple EMS group. As a thin-margin manufacturer, its earnings can swing with mix and utilization, so free-cash-flow generation and the raised full-year outlook matter as much as the reported multiple.
Who competes with Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE)?
Large-scale EMS providers
Jabil and Flex are far larger (each with more than $25 billion in revenue), competing on scale and cost. They can bid aggressively on high-volume programs, exerting pricing pressure on smaller specialists like Benchmark.
High-complexity specialists
Celestica, Plexus, and Sanmina target similar high-reliability, regulated end markets (aerospace, defense, medical, and enterprise) where certifications, engineering support, and traceability matter more than raw volume. These are Benchmark's most direct peers on the type of work it wins.
Smaller and niche EMS names
Kimball Electronics and other niche contract manufacturers compete for medical, industrial, and automotive electronics work, adding fragmentation at the specialized end of the market where Benchmark positions itself.
How to invest in Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE)
There are three common ways to get BHE exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so BHE sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where BHE fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
The bottom line on Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE)
BHE is a specialized, engineering-heavy EMS operator whose appeal rests on defense and medical demand plus margin expansion, tempered by thin manufacturing margins and program-level customer concentration.
More on Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (BHE)
Whether BHE is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is BHE a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the BHE stock forecast.
For income investors, whether BHE pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does BHE pay a dividend?
Build a basket around BHE with Walnut
Use Benchmark Electronics, Inc. as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What does Benchmark Electronics do?
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Benchmark Electronics is a contract electronics manufacturer (EMS). It designs and builds complex, high-reliability electronic products for other companies, handling engineering, prototyping, circuit board assembly, system integration, and aftermarket support across aerospace, defense, medical, semiconductor, and industrial markets.
What ticker and exchange is BHE?
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BHE trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as Benchmark Electronics, Inc. It is a mid-cap company headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
What markets does Benchmark serve?
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Its priority sectors are semiconductor capital equipment, medical technologies, aerospace and defense and communications (AC&C), and complex industrials. It focuses on low-to-medium volume, high-complexity work that requires deep engineering and quality certifications.
Is Benchmark Electronics profitable?
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Yes. Benchmark generates positive operating profit, net income, and free cash flow, though like most EMS firms its gross margins are structurally thin (low double digits). Recent quarters have shown operating profit growth driven by a shift toward higher-value work.
Does BHE pay a dividend?
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Yes. Benchmark pays a quarterly cash dividend, recently around $0.17 per share (roughly $0.68 annualized, a yield near 0.8 percent as of July 2026). It also repurchases shares as part of its capital-return approach.
Who are Benchmark Electronics' competitors?
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Large-scale EMS players Jabil and Flex compete on volume and cost, while high-complexity specialists Celestica, Plexus, and Sanmina compete directly for the regulated aerospace, defense, and medical work Benchmark targets. Smaller names like Kimball Electronics compete at the niche end.
What are the main risks with BHE?
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Key risks include thin manufacturing margins, cyclicality in end markets like semiconductor capital equipment, concentration in a limited number of large customer programs, competition from much larger EMS peers, and an expanded valuation that leaves little room for guidance misses or margin compression.
How did Benchmark perform recently?
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In the first quarter of 2026, Benchmark reported revenue of about $677 million (up roughly 7 percent year over year), non-GAAP diluted EPS near $0.58, and sharply higher operating profit. It raised its full-year 2026 revenue growth outlook to roughly 9 to 10 percent, led by medical, semi-cap, and defense demand.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Benchmark Electronics, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.