Will ATS' (TSX:ATS) New CEO Hire Shift Its Automation and M&A-Driven Growth Narrative?

• ATS Corporation has announced that Doug Wright, former CEO of Indicor and senior leader at Honeywell, will become its Chief Executive Officer and join the Board on or before January 14, 2026, with interim CEO Ryan McLeod returning to his Chief Financial Officer role once the transition occurs.
• For investors, Wright’s long history of driving organic growth, margin improvement and acquisition-led expansion across industrial and technology businesses could mark a meaningful shift in how ATS pursues its automation and services ambitions.
• Next, we’ll consider how Wright’s acquisition-focused leadership background could reshape ATS’s existing investment narrative around automation growth, margins and balance-sheet risk.

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ATS Investment Narrative Recap

To own ATS today, you need to believe that demand for complex automation and higher value services can offset current earnings weakness, order softness and leverage. The CEO appointment of Doug Wright looks directionally aligned with this thesis but does not immediately change the most important near term swing factors, which remain execution on the existing backlog and managing acquisition driven integration and balance sheet risk.

The most relevant recent announcement alongside this CEO news is ATS’s Q2 2026 result, with CAD 1,465.18 million in sales and CAD 57.8 million in net income. This print, together with Q3 fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of CAD 700–740 million, keeps the focus on how quickly ATS can translate automation demand and prior acquisitions into more consistent earnings and cash generation under incoming leadership.

Yet while the leadership change may increase confidence, investors should still be aware of the elevated leverage and the risk that...

Read the full narrative on ATS (it's free!)

ATS' narrative projects CA$3.5 billion revenue and CA$580.2 million earnings by 2028. This requires 10.5% yearly revenue growth and about a CA$619 million earnings increase from CA$-39.2 million today.

Uncover how ATS' forecasts yield a CA$49.05 fair value, a 28% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Three fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community span about CA$37.07 to CA$49.05, underlining how differently individual investors are viewing ATS today. You can weigh those views against the current reliance on acquisitions at a time of elevated net debt and think carefully about what that might mean for future growth and financial flexibility.

Explore 3 other fair value estimates on ATS - why the stock might be worth just CA$37.07!

Build Your Own ATS Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your ATS research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free ATS research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate ATS' overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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