As the Q4 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the inspection instruments industry, including Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ: VIAV) and its peers.

Measurement and inspection instrument companies may enjoy more steady demand because products such as water meters are non-discretionary and mandated for replacement at predictable intervals. In the last decade, digitization and data collection have driven innovation in the space, leading to incremental sales. But like the broader industrials sector, measurement and inspection instrument companies are at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact civil, commercial, and residential construction projects that drive demand.

The 5 inspection instruments stocks we track reported a very strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.9% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Luckily, inspection instruments stocks have performed well with share prices up 21.4% on average since the latest earnings results.

Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ: VIAV)

Once known as JDS Uniphase before its 2015 rebranding, Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ: VIAV) provides testing, monitoring and assurance solutions for telecommunications, cloud, enterprise, military, and other critical networks and infrastructure.

Viavi Solutions reported revenues of $369.3 million, up 36.4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter for the company with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

"VIAVI's performance for the second quarter came in at the high end of our guidance, driven by strength across most of our end markets. We expect the strong momentum and demand in the data center ecosystem and aerospace and defense applications to continue driving our anticipated growth this calendar year," said Oleg Khaykin, VIAVI's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Viavi Solutions scored the fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 75.5% since reporting and currently trades at $36.90.

Is now the time to buy Viavi Solutions? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Keysight (NYSE: KEYS)

Spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 2014, Keysight (NYSE: KEYS) offers electronic measurement products for use in various sectors.

Keysight reported revenues of $1.6 billion, up 23.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.9%. The business had a stunning quarter with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Keysight delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 23% since reporting. It currently trades at $301.45.

Is now the time to buy Keysight? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: Badger Meter (NYSE: BMI)

The developer of the world’s first frost-proof water meter in 1905, Badger Meter (NYSE: BMI) provides water control and measure equipment to various industries.

Badger Meter reported revenues of $220.7 million, up 7.6% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.9%. It was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Badger Meter delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 8.4% since the results and currently trades at $150.54.

Read our full analysis of Badger Meter’s results here.

Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI)

Founded by a small group of engineers who wanted to build a more efficient way to read utility meters, Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) offers energy and water management products for the utility industry, municipalities, and industrial customers.

Itron reported revenues of $571.7 million, down 6.7% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Itron had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 5.8% since reporting and currently trades at $94.50.

Read our full, actionable report on Itron here, it’s free.

Teledyne (NYSE: TDY)

Playing a role in mapping the ocean floor as we know it today, Teledyne (NYSE: TDY) offers digital imaging and instrumentation products for various industries.

Teledyne reported revenues of $1.61 billion, up 7.3% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. It was a very strong quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is up 11.3% since reporting and currently trades at $630.

Read our full, actionable report on Teledyne here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

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