Ultralife Corporation (ULBI): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) is not a typical battery stock; are you defintely tracking the specialized power player that hit $186.53 million in trailing twelve-month (TTM) revenue as of September 2025? This Newark, New York-based company makes its money by delivering high-performance power solutions and communication systems, primarily to the demanding government and defense sectors, which is a critical, high-margin niche. While Q3 2025 revenue grew 21.5% year-over-year to $43.4 million, the real story is the $89 million high-confidence order backlog exiting Q2, which maps a clear path for near-term revenue stability, so understanding the mechanics behind this growth is crucial.

Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) History

If you're tracking specialized tech stocks, you need to understand that Ultralife Corporation is no longer just a battery company; it's a mission-critical power and communications systems provider, a shift that is defintely reflected in its recent financial performance. The company's strategic pivot has resulted in consolidated revenues of approximately $142.7 million for the first nine months of the 2025 fiscal year, positioning it firmly in defense and medical niches.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

Ultralife was established in 1991, initially operating as Ultralife Batteries, Inc.

Original location

The company began its operations in Newark, New York, USA.

Founding team members

Key figures involved in the founding included Arthur M. Liberman, Bruce Jagid, and Carl H. Rosner.

Initial capital/funding

The company evolved from Eastman Kodak's Ultra Technologies battery division and secured its initial capital by going public quickly, completing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ exchange in 1992.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The biggest shifts for Ultralife have centered on moving away from the volatile consumer battery space and into high-margin, specialized markets. This was a hard-won lesson in business model design.

The key transformative decisions that shaped the current company are:

• Strategic Market Pivot: The decision to focus on demanding sectors-specifically government/defense, medical, and industrial-after 2004, which drove the need for highly reliable, ruggedized power and communication solutions.
• The Communications Systems Segment: Building out the Communications Systems business through acquisitions like McDowell Research and AMTI (2009), creating a dual-segment model that offers integrated power and radio frequency (RF) solutions, which are stickier with defense customers.
• Vertical Integration in 2025: The full integration of the Electrochem acquisition, completed in the first half of 2025, is a major moment. This move allows Ultralife to incorporate Electrochem cells into its battery pack assemblies, aiming to capture more margin and control the supply chain, especially for its Battery & Energy Products segment, which saw Q1 2025 revenue of $46.3 million.
• Operational Consolidation: In 2025, the company announced the closure of its Calgary facility, consolidating production into Houston to align infrastructure and drive cost-effective service, a necessary, but tough, move for efficiency.

Honestly, the current focus on leveraging the Electrochem acquisition and streamlining operations is crucial for future margin expansion. You can learn more by Breaking Down Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors. For the first nine months of 2025, the company reduced its debt principal by $4.1 million, showing a strong focus on balance sheet health alongside its strategic growth.

Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Ownership Structure

Ultralife Corporation's ownership structure is unusual for a publicly traded company, showing a strong concentration of stock in the hands of insiders and institutional investors. This means key decisions are defintely driven by a tight group of stakeholders, not just the broader market.

The company, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker ULBI, had a market capitalization of approximately $87.21 million as of November 2025, which puts it squarely in the small-cap category. This smaller size, plus the high insider ownership, can lead to less day-to-day trading volatility but also means liquidity (how easily you can buy or sell shares) can be lower. For a deeper dive into the numbers, you should check out Breaking Down Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Ultralife Corporation's Current Status

Ultralife Corporation is a public company, listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (NasdaqGM) as ULBI. It is not a private entity, so its financial health and governance are transparent through required SEC filings, though the company did announce a delay in filing its Q3 2025 report due to systems transition following the acquisition of Electrochem Solutions, Inc.. This is a common, if frustrating, post-acquisition hurdle, but they expected to file the Form 10-Q by November 17, 2025.

The total shares outstanding for the company are approximately 16.64 million as of the 2025 fiscal year. It's a small-cap stock, and that means you need to pay close attention to the board's moves and insider transactions.

Ultralife Corporation's Ownership Breakdown

The most striking aspect of Ultralife Corporation's ownership is the high percentage held by insiders, which gives the leadership team significant control over the company's direction. Here's the quick math on the breakdown of outstanding shares as of the 2025 fiscal year:

Honestly, a 40.00% insider stake is huge. It signals that management and key directors have a lot of skin in the game, which is often a good sign for long-term alignment, but it also means minority shareholders have less power to influence strategy or push back on major corporate actions. For example, Board Chair Brad Whitmore, along with his affiliates at Grace Brothers, Ltd., collectively holds over 34% of the common stock.

Ultralife Corporation's Leadership

The company is guided by a seasoned, albeit relatively small, executive team, with some key appointments made in the 2025 fiscal year to bolster growth plans. The average tenure for the board is quite long, around 15.4 years, which shows stability but also means a slower pace of new ideas.

The key leaders steering the organization as of November 2025 include:

• Michael E. Manna: President & CEO (Appointed November 2022). He's an expert in battery cell design, having been with the company for nearly three decades.
• Philip A. Fain: Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Treasurer (Appointed November 2009). He brings a vast background in global corporate finance and M&A, which is critical for their recent acquisition activity.
• Brad Whitmore: Board Chair (Since 2010). He is the founder of Grace Brothers, Ltd., and a major shareholder, making him a powerful voice in strategic decisions.
• Jeffrey Luke: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) (Appointed January 6, 2025). This new role is a clear signal that the company is prioritizing go-to-market strategies for its next generation of products.
• James Pope: Senior Vice President - Sales & Business Development, Battery & Energy Products (Appointed January 6, 2025). Pope's 37 years of experience in the battery industry should help them expand their reach into new markets.

The recent additions of a CMO and a new SVP of Sales in early 2025 show a clear focus on commercializing their new products and expanding their market footprint, a necessary move after their Q2 2025 revenue came in below expectations.

Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Mission and Values

Ultralife Corporation's core purpose is to be a global leader in providing mission-critical power and communications solutions, focusing its cultural DNA on engineering excellence and a collaborative, customer-centric approach to problem-solving.

Given Company's Core Purpose

What Ultralife stands for goes beyond its recent Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) revenue of approximately $186.53 million as of September 30, 2025; it's about being the trusted partner when failure is not an option, especially for defense and medical customers.

Official mission statement

The company's mission centers on serving global government, defense, and commercial customers by delivering essential products and services, ranging from portable and standby power solutions to sophisticated communications and electronics systems. This is defintely a high-stakes business.

• Serve markets with power solutions and communications systems.
• Employ an engineering and collaborative approach to problem solving.
• Support government, defense, and commercial customers across the globe.

Vision statement

Ultralife's vision is to solidify its position not just as a supplier, but as the premier provider of high-reliability power and radio frequency (RF) solutions for the most demanding applications. This focus guides their New Product Development (NPD) and R&D efforts, which have been active since launching the world's longest-lasting lithium 9V battery in 1992.

• Be the Global Leader in Mission Critical Battery and RF Power Solutions.
• Maintain the highest performance, quality, and reliability standards.
• Function as a trusted partner to the world's leading organizations.

For a deeper dive into the market's reception of this vision, you should check out Exploring Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Given Company slogan/tagline

While an official, short-form slogan is not always published, the company's public-facing identity consistently maps to a clear value proposition that emphasizes reliability and critical function. They are in the business of absolute dependability.

• Global Leader in Mission Critical Battery and RF Power Solutions.
• Providing the best application engineering service and support.

The emphasis is always on 'mission critical' applications, which is why a recent award valued at approximately $5.2 million from the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for military batteries is a strong validation of their core identity.

Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) How It Works

Ultralife Corporation designs, develops, and manufactures highly specialized battery and power solutions, plus sophisticated communications systems, primarily for the global defense and demanding commercial sectors.

The company essentially operates as a two-part business: a high-performance battery house and a communications systems provider, delivering mission-critical products where reliability is non-negotiable.

Ultralife Corporation's Product/Service Portfolio

Ultralife Corporation's value proposition in 2025 rests on two core segments, with the Battery & Energy Products segment driving the vast majority of revenue, totaling $39.9 million in Q3 2025 alone. The Communications Systems segment contributed $3.4 million in the same period.

Ultralife Corporation's Operational Framework

You can see Ultralife's operational framework is focused on integrating recent acquisitions and streamlining its manufacturing footprint to boost margins, which is defintely a smart move given the supply chain issues we've seen this year.

• Vertical Integration: The 2024 acquisition of Electrochem Solutions is key, allowing Ultralife to incorporate Electrochem cells directly into its existing battery pack assemblies. This vertical integration helps control the supply chain and lowers material costs over time.
• Manufacturing Consolidation: The company is actively consolidating facilities, including the planned closure of its Calgary location. This move is expected to generate approximately $0.8 million in annual savings starting in 2026.
• ERP System Transition: Major integration of the Electrochem back office, including the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, was completed in the first half of 2025, which is crucial for operational efficiency.
• Defense-Driven Production: Production is heavily geared toward defense contracts, which showed strong demand in 2025. Government Defense sales for the Battery & Energy Products segment increased 19% in Q3 2025.

Ultralife Corporation's Strategic Advantages

The company's market success comes down to a few clear, defensible advantages, especially in the high-stakes defense and medical markets where product failure is not an option.

• North American Manufacturing Base: Operating key manufacturing locations in North America offers a long-term strategic advantage, particularly when securing contracts with the U.S. government and defense primes. This onshore capability is a major differentiator for security-sensitive customers.
• High-Confidence Backlog: Ultralife ended Q3 2025 with a total backlog of $90.1 million, up from $84.5 million in the prior quarter. This significant backlog provides strong revenue visibility and stability, even as they navigate short-term gross margin pressures.
• Specialized Technology Niche: Their focus on non-rechargeable lithium chemistries (like Li-SOCl₂) and thin-cell designs serves highly specialized, high-margin applications in medical wearables and industrial tracking, segments less prone to mass-market price wars.
• Debt Reduction: They are managing the balance sheet well, having reduced debt principal by $4.1 million in the first nine months of 2025, exceeding the full-year amortization requirement. That frees up capital for strategic growth.

For a deeper look into who is investing in this operational shift, you should check out Exploring Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) How It Makes Money

Ultralife Corporation makes its money by designing, manufacturing, and selling highly specialized portable power solutions-primarily non-rechargeable and rechargeable batteries-and sophisticated communications and electronics systems to the global defense and commercial markets. The company's financial engine is heavily reliant on long-term government and defense contracts for its high-margin battery products.

Ultralife Corporation's Revenue Breakdown

Looking at the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), it's clear where the revenue concentration lies. The Battery & Energy Products segment is the primary driver, reflecting the strong demand from government/defense clients and the contribution from the Electrochem acquisition in late 2024.

Here's the quick math: total revenue for Q3 2025 was $43.37 million. The Battery segment brought in $39.95 million, while Communications Systems added $3.42 million. The Battery segment is defintely the core business right now.

Business Economics

Ultralife operates on a value-based pricing strategy, especially for its specialized battery technologies sold to the military and defense sectors. This isn't a commodity business; they charge a premium because their products offer superior reliability and technological specifications, often priced 12% to 18% higher than standard commercial alternatives.

• Defense Contract Pricing: Military contracts, which are a huge revenue source, often involve complex negotiations, including volume-based discounts up to 15% for large-scale orders and multi-year fixed-rate structures.
• Margin Pressure: Despite the premium pricing, consolidated gross margin fell to 22.2% in Q3 2025, down from 24.3% in the prior year. This drop is a key risk, driven by a less favorable product mix, ongoing supply chain inefficiencies, and the impact of tariffs.
• Acquisition Impact: The acquisition of Electrochem Solutions in late 2024 has been a major factor in the Battery segment's revenue growth, though it also introduced integration and margin challenges.

The company's ability to manage production costs and supply chain volatility is now a bigger factor than its pricing power. You can see more about the institutional interest in Exploring Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Ultralife Corporation's Financial Performance

The 2025 fiscal year has been a mixed bag, showing revenue growth but significant pressure on profitability. The market reacted negatively to the Q3 2025 results, which missed analyst expectations by a wide margin.

• Full-Year Revenue Outlook: Analysts are estimating full-year 2025 sales to be around $215.93 million. This is a solid top-line number, but it hides the profitability issues.
• Q3 2025 Profitability Miss: The company reported a net loss of $1.2 million, or -$0.07 per diluted share, in Q3 2025. This was a stark contrast to the estimated profit of $0.22 per share.
• Operating Health: Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for Q3 2025 was only $2.0 million, or 4.7% of revenues. That's a low operating margin for a specialized defense supplier.
• Segment Divergence: While government/defense sales within the Battery segment increased by 19.0% in Q3 2025, commercial sales dropped by 5.7%, with notable declines in medical and oil & gas markets. This reliance on the defense cycle makes the business more lumpy.

Management is focused on operational optimization and improving supply chain resiliency to address the margin compression. The total backlog of high-confidence orders was $89 million exiting Q2 2025, which gives some near-term revenue visibility, but the execution risk remains high.

Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Market Position & Future Outlook

Ultralife Corporation maintains a strong but niche position in the specialized power and communications market, driven by its deep entrenchment in the Government/Defense sector. While the company is seeing revenue growth-with trailing twelve-month (TTM) revenue hitting $186.53 million as of Q3 2025-it must quickly resolve profitability issues, as evidenced by the $1.25 million net loss reported in the third quarter.

Competitive Landscape

Ultralife operates in a highly fragmented market for specialized power solutions, where its competitive position is defined by its ability to meet stringent military and medical specifications. Its primary competition comes from companies that either focus on high-volume, lower-cost batteries or those that dominate a specific, adjacent vertical, but few match Ultralife's dual focus on mission-critical batteries and communications systems for defense customers.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategic initiatives post-Q3 2025 are clearly focused on operational efficiency and defense contract expansion. The $90.1 million backlog provides a solid near-term revenue floor, but margin recovery is defintely the immediate priority. You can find a detailed breakdown of the financials here: Breaking Down Ultralife Corporation (ULBI) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Industry Position

Ultralife Corporation's strength lies in its 'one source, many solutions' approach for mission-critical applications, a capability few small-cap competitors can match. They are a specialist, not a mass-market player.

• Core Niche: Leader in high-energy density, non-rechargeable military batteries, a segment with high barriers to entry due to rigorous qualification and long contract cycles.
• Operational Streamlining: The planned closure of the Calgary facility and relocation of production to Houston aims to rationalize manufacturing and improve operating leverage, a smart move to address the Q3 margin issues.
• Brand Unification: The ongoing company-wide rebranding initiative is designed to unify sub-brands like Electrochem and Accutronics under the master Ultralife brand, which should create a more cohesive global market identity.
• Financial Health: The company's debt principal reduction of $4.1 million in the first nine months of 2025 shows a solid focus on balance sheet health, even with the near-term operating loss.