Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (ZWS): ANSOFF MATRIX [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at the growth blueprint for Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation, and honestly, it's a solid map from a seasoned perspective. As someone who's spent two decades mapping out corporate moves, I see four clear lanes here, ranging from the safe bet of driving higher filter attachment rates to support that 8% core sales growth target, to the more aggressive play of entering new markets like European industrial wastewater reuse. What's key for your review is that these strategies are built on a strong foundation, leveraging a projected Adjusted EBITDA between $437 million and $440 million for 2025, all while expanding a sustainable portfolio that already accounts for over 86% of revenue. We need to see how they balance pushing existing products with developing that next-gen connected water management system. Let's dive into the specific actions for each quadrant below.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (ZWS) - Ansoff Matrix: Market Penetration

You're looking at how Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation drives growth within its current markets, which is the essence of market penetration.

Drive higher filter attachment rates for Elkay ezH2O stations in the existing US installed base.

• The launch of Elkay Pro Filtration marks a major refresh in the bottle filler category, extending competitive advantage.

Increase selective pricing actions to maintain price-cost positive momentum and support the 8% core sales growth target.

The company has demonstrated success in executing pricing actions, as seen in recent quarters:

The full year 2025 guidance anticipates core sales growth to be at least 5% year over year, with an Adjusted EBITDA target between $420 million and $430 million.

Implement cross-selling programs to place Zurn flow systems alongside Elkay drinking water products in commercial projects.

• Net sales for Q3 2025 reached $455.4 million.
• Income from operations for Q3 2025 was $77.5 million.

Focus sales efforts on institutional markets, which remain stable, to capture greater share of specification-driven projects.

• In Q2 2025, non-residential end markets, including institutional, remained positive and stable.
• The residential market was noted as modestly weaker in Q2 2025.

Leverage the Zurn Elkay Business System (ZEBS) to reduce costs and offer more competitive pricing on core products.

The Zurn Elkay Business System (ZEBS) is the operating philosophy grounded in continuous improvement, targeting world-class operating performance. This focus contributed to the Q3 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of $122.2 million. The company ended Q3 2025 with a net debt leverage ratio of 0.6x.

• The annual dividend was increased 22% to $0.44 per share as of Q3 2025.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (ZWS) - Ansoff Matrix: Market Development

Aggressively pursue expansion into new international geographies beyond the current US and Canada focus.

Target new vertical markets like data centers or specialized manufacturing with existing water safety and control products.

Establish new distributor partnerships in Latin America to introduce filtered drinking water solutions to new commercial customers.

Reposition core Zurn products for the residential market to offset current softness in that segment. The residential market experienced softness in the second quarter of 2025.

Use the strong balance sheet, with 0.7x net debt leverage as of June 30, 2025, to fund market entry via small distributor acquisitions. The net debt leverage was 0.9x as of March 31, 2025.

The capacity for such investment is supported by the financial performance, including a raised full-year 2025 outlook for Adjusted EBITDA between $437 million and $440 million, and free cash flow greater than $300 million.

The company deployed $33 million to repurchase common stock in the second quarter of 2025, and year-to-date repurchases through the third quarter reached $135 million, with the Board refreshing the share buyback program to $500 million.

Key financial metrics supporting the financial flexibility for Market Development:

The expected tariff cost impact for the full year 2025 is approximately $50 million.

The company is committed to reducing direct material supply chain exposure from China to less than 2% to 3% of cost of goods sold by the end of 2026.

The company's commitment to sustainable solutions resulted in 86% of revenue derived from products with sustainable attributes in 2025.

• Net debt leverage as of June 30, 2025: 0.7x
• Q2 2025 Adjusted EBITDA: $118 million
• Full Year 2025 Free Cash Flow expectation: Greater than $300 million
• Share buyback program refresh amount: $500 million
• Expected tariff cost impact for 2025: $50 million

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (ZWS) - Ansoff Matrix: Product Development

You're looking at how Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation is pushing out new things for the markets they already serve. This is all about innovation in their existing space.

The company is definitely pushing connected water management. For instance, they expanded the Elkay Liv product line in the third quarter of 2025 with the introduction of the Elkay Liv built-in filtered bottle fillers for residential use. This is part of their strategy to accelerate new solution launches in the non-residential and residential segments.

When it comes to addressing emerging contaminants, like with a Total PFAS filter, the investment in the pipeline is clear. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions planned to invest a total of $90 million by 2025 in engineering and R&D specifically to enhance the sustainable aspects of their products, having already invested $74 million by the end of 2024. This R&D focus supports the development of advanced filtration media and next-generation hardware like backflow preventers and thermostatic mixing valves with enhanced digital monitoring capabilities.

The focus on sustainable products is a major driver. The revenue derived from products with sustainable attributes reached 86% as of 2024, surpassing the initial goal of 75% by 2024. This high percentage shows the current portfolio is already heavily weighted toward these offerings.

Refreshing the Zurn flow systems portfolio with lighter, easier-to-install materials for contractors is also on the agenda, feeding into the overall core sales growth seen so far in 2025. The company reported core sales growth of 11% in the third quarter of 2025, and they are projecting full year 2025 core sales growth of about 8%.

Here's a look at the financial context supporting these product development efforts through the third quarter of 2025:

The company is also using capital to support its strategy, deploying $94 million in free cash flow during the third quarter of 2025 to repurchase about 600,000 shares.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (ZWS) - Ansoff Matrix: Diversification

You're looking at the most aggressive growth quadrant here, moving into markets or products that are completely new to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (ZWS). This is where capital deployment, like using that strong projected cash flow, becomes critical for external growth.

Consider the residential space for a moment. Developing a defintely new, smart home water leak detection and shut-off system means entering a consumer-facing technology market, distinct from much of the current specification-driven commercial work. This is a pure new product play into a new market segment, requiring different sales channels than those that delivered the 11% organic growth seen in Q3 2025 sales of $455 million.

For true diversification, look at adjacent markets via acquisition. Acquiring a company specializing in municipal water treatment chemicals or services represents entering a new adjacent market entirely. This contrasts with the existing strength in flow systems and commercial drainage, like the product lines acquired from WADE Drains or the ATS ENVIRONMENTAL remote tank monitoring business, which already fit within the water treatment or connected products ecosystem.

Also, think geographically and sectorally. Entering the industrial wastewater reuse market in Europe with a new product line leveraging existing filtration expertise is a market development/product development hybrid that leans heavily into diversification. This move would diversify away from the current North American focus, where the company is managing tariff cost impacts estimated between $35 million and $45 million for 2025.

The financial foundation for such aggressive moves is solid. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (ZWS) is leveraging its strong operational performance to fund these leaps. Here's a quick look at the financial standing supporting this strategy, based on the latest guidance:

You need to use that projected financial strength for a non-core, high-growth acquisition in a new sector. Leveraging the projected $437 million to $440 million Adjusted EBITDA provides significant firepower for a deal outside the traditional water management or washroom accessory spaces, like the acquisitions of Hadrian or World Dryer, which built out the washroom portfolio.

Finally, you can diversify the revenue mix by creating a new service-based revenue stream around remote monitoring and maintenance of installed water systems. This is a service/product diversification. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (ZWS) already has a foundation here, with the design, production, and marketing of alerts, applications, and services for remote tank monitoring, and IoT-enabled Zurn Connected Flush Valves that send real-time data on water use.

The next step here is to quantify the addressable market for a new residential leak detection system, Finance: draft the capital allocation plan for a non-core acquisition by next Wednesday.