Dj Abelardo's Mexican Fresh Chooses Par Technology's Full Suite To Power Its Next Era Of Innovation

Looking back on specialized technology stocks’ Q3 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including PAR Technology and its peers.

Companies in this sector, especially if they invest wisely, could see demand tailwinds as the world moves towards more IoT (Internet of Things), automation, and analytics. Enterprises across most industries will balk at taking these journeys solo and will enlist companies with expertise and scale in these areas. However, headwinds could include rising competition from larger technology firms, as digitization lowers barriers to entry in the space. Additionally, companies in the space will likely face evolving regulatory scrutiny over data privacy, particularly for surveillance and security technologies. This could make companies have to continually pivot and invest.

The 8 specialized technology stocks we track reported a very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.2% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 8.5% since the latest earnings results.

PAR Technology

Originally founded in 1968 as a defense contractor for the U.S. government, PAR Technology provides cloud-based software, payment processing, and hardware solutions that help restaurants manage everything from point-of-sale to customer loyalty programs.

PAR Technology reported revenues of $119.2 million, up 23.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 5.8%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

PAR Technology CEO, Savneet Singh, commented on the quarter, “PAR continues to scale our business as ARR approaches $300M and revenues in the quarter increased by 23% from Q3 last year. We continue to feel confident in our ability to grow our revenue base well above our market, while making progress on large tier 1 deals, all while maintaining strong financial discipline. In Q3 we launched PAR AI, a new intelligence layer embedded directly into the PAR product Suite. PAR AI delivers real-time intelligence across the restaurant tech stack without the need for extra apps or training. We expect our ability to utilize AI along with our “Better Together" multi-product strategy will drive better outcomes for enterprise customers and allow us to win new market share and increase ARPU with existing customers.

PAR Technology scored the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 1.8% since reporting and currently trades at $33.77.

Read why we think that PAR Technology is one of the best specialized technology stocks, our full report is free.

Best Q3: Napco

Protecting everything from schools to government facilities since 1969, Napco Security Technologies manufactures electronic security devices, access control systems, and communication services for intrusion and fire alarm systems.

Napco reported revenues of $49.17 million, up 11.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.8%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 9.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $39.91.

Is now the time to buy Napco? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: Cognex

Founded in 1981 when computer vision was in its infancy, Cognex develops machine vision systems and software that help manufacturers and logistics companies automate quality inspection and tracking of products.

Cognex reported revenues of $276.9 million, up 18% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 5.2%. It was a satisfactory quarter as it also posted a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 18.8% since the results and currently trades at $38.50.

Read our full analysis of Cognex’s results here.

Crane NXT

Born from a corporate transformation completed in 2023, Crane NXT provides specialized technology solutions for payment processing, banknote security, and authentication systems for financial institutions and businesses.

Crane NXT reported revenues of $445.1 million, up 10.3% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 3.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is down 12.8% since reporting and currently trades at $56.01.

Read our full, actionable report on Crane NXT here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Mirion

With its technology protecting workers in over 130 countries and equipment used in 80% of cancer centers worldwide, Mirion Technologies provides radiation detection, measurement, and monitoring solutions for medical, nuclear energy, defense, and scientific research applications.

Mirion reported revenues of $223.1 million, up 7.9% year on year. This number was in line with analysts’ expectations. It was an exceptional quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

The stock is down 1.5% since reporting and currently trades at $24.82.

Read our full, actionable report on Mirion here, it’s free for active Edge members.

What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after comments from a key Federal Reserve official hinted at a potential interest rate cut in December. John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, signaled he was open to lowering the fed funds rate—the key interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans—to support the job market. Speaking at an event, Williams stated that he sees “room for a further adjustment” for interest rates, which immediately shifted market expectations. Following his remarks, the perceived likelihood of an interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve's December meeting flipped from unlikely to more likely than not. The prospect of lower borrowing costs sent a wave of optimism through the markets, leading to a rally in major indices like the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Professional Staffing & HR Solutions company Korn Ferry jumped 3.7%. Is now the time to buy Korn Ferry? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Specialized Technology company PAR Technology jumped 3.4%. Is now the time to buy PAR Technology? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting company TaskUs jumped 3.8%. Is now the time to buy TaskUs? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On TaskUs (TASK)

TaskUs’s shares are quite volatile and have had 19 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 14 days ago when the stock gained 2.4% on the news that the company reported third-quarter 2025 financial results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations for both revenue and earnings. 

The digital outsourcing provider posted revenue of $298.7 million, up 17% year on year, while its adjusted earnings per share of $0.42 also beat forecasts. In addition, the company's revenue guidance for the full year exceeded analysts' estimates. However, the results were somewhat mixed, as its revenue forecast for the upcoming fourth quarter fell slightly below expectations. Despite the soft near-term outlook, investors appeared to focus on the strong quarterly performance and improved full-year guidance, sending the shares higher.

TaskUs is down 34% since the beginning of the year, and at $11.16 per share, it is trading 39.6% below its 52-week high of $18.46 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of TaskUs’s shares at the IPO in June 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $358.80.