Flex hires a CFO for its post-AI future while insiders sell $119 million of the present
Amy Schwetz starts 5 October to run finance for the manufacturing businesses Flex keeps when Axiom, its AI data-center and power company, is spun off next year. The stock still trades at 42.5x trailing earnings, and insiders sold $119.4 million of it in 12 months without buying a share.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
Four days to Schwetz's first day
On 5 October 2026, Amy Schwetz joins Flex as finance chief of the two segments that stay behind, Regulated Manufacturing Services and Integrated Technology Services, with the group CFO job expected once the Cloud and Power Infrastructure business is spun off 1. She last ran finance at Flowserve 1. Kevin Krumm, the incumbent, is booked for the CFO seat at the spin 2.
Eight weeks that took Flex apart
On 29 July 2026, Flex named leaders for both companies and raised fiscal 2027 sales guidance to $33.7-35.2 billion 23. On 3 September 2026 it agreed to pay $4.4 billion for EPC Power, funded with debt and equity on committed financing from Citi and Bank of America 4.
On 15 September 2026 the spin got its name, Axiom Solutions International, ticker AXM, and a preliminary Form 10 5. On 24 September 2026, George Oliver, former Johnson Controls chief, and Mark Eubanks, Brink's chief, joined the board, each granted 1,802 restricted share units, the annual director award 167.
The electricians are booked on the flight out
The board split shows which company management thinks is which. Oliver stays with Flex after the spin, while Eubanks, who ran a roughly $6 billion Eaton electrical products business, moves to the Axiom board beside a former U.S. head of electrification at ABB and a 29-year Eaton veteran 1.
The market still prices all of Flex like the part leaving: 42.5x trailing earnings against a 13.2x five-year median, on a stock that started 2026 at $60.42, peaked at $166.86 in the past year and closed 30 September 2026 at $109.99 810. Insiders sold $119.4 million of stock over those 12 months without buying a share 8.
Capex has nearly caught operating cash flow as the AI build runs
- Operating cash flow
- Capex
Data
| Operating cash flow | Capex | |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 '24 | $0.32B | $0.1B |
| Q4 '24 | $0.41B | $0.11B |
| Q1 '25 | $0.43B | $0.11B |
| Q2 '25 | $0.4B | $0.13B |
| Q3 '25 | $0.45B | $0.15B |
| Q4 '25 | $0.42B | $0.15B |
| Q1 '26 | $0.41B | $0.2B |
| Q2 '26 | $0.28B | $0.24B |
The build is eating the cash that pays for it
In the June 2026 quarter, Flex grew sales 21% to $7.93 billion and delivered record adjusted earnings of $1.00 a share, but capex rose 79% year on year while operating cash flow fell 31%, and long-term debt climbed from $3.75 billion to $5.22 billion 39. Free cash flow was $41 million, against $268 million a year earlier, after $24 million of separation costs 3. EPC Power and its financing arrive before the spin does 4.
Free cash flow has shrunk for four straight quarters, to $41 million
Data
| Free cash flow | |
|---|---|
| Q3 '24 | $0.22B |
| Q4 '24 | $0.31B |
| Q1 '25 | $0.33B |
| Q2 '25 | $0.27B |
| Q3 '25 | $0.31B |
| Q4 '25 | $0.28B |
| Q1 '26 | $0.21B |
| Q2 '26 | $0.04B |
Who keeps the 42.5x
The bull case is on the record: guidance raised, a place in the S&P 500, adjusted EPS guided up 39% at the midpoint, and management's projection that cash flow normalizes as the capex spike and spin costs fade 311. The most optimistic scripts carry roughly $58.6 billion of 2029 revenue 12.
The bear arithmetic is a $52.53 fair-value estimate against the $109.99 price 8. The stake is fixed either way: Flex shareholders fund the $4.4 billion EPC purchase with debt and equity and carry the separation's costs while insiders sell; Axiom holders collect the payoff if the AI multiple travels 458.
November 10 is the first honest number
Axiom's own revenue and margin lines, in Form 10 amendments and at Innovation Day in Austin on 10 November 2026, will show how much growth actually leaves 35. EPC Power is due to close in the fourth quarter, the separation in the first quarter of 2027 45. Flex is hiring one company's CFO while shareholders hold another company's multiple.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
