Portfolio Update

March 2026 · Published March 31, 2026 · by Rodrigo Lezama

Rodrigo Lezama

Apr 02, 2026

THE MICRO-CAPO

Monthly Portfolio Update

March 2026 · Published March 31, 2026 · by Rodrigo Lezama

Not financial advice. This is for accountability and to keep my thinking clean.

1. Current Holdings

Portfolio as of end of March 2026 (17 positions):

$BLM — BluMetric Environmental — $7.5M military contract, Florida wastewater win

$BIRDF — Bird Construction — Record $11B backlog, Alberta schools DBFM

$KLNG — KOIL Energy Solutions — Record Q4 revenue, West Africa expansion

$OPXS — Optex Systems — Laser filter orders building, IDIQ cadence $ACFN — Acorn Energy / OmniMetrix — Monitoring +22% YoY, AIO partnership loading

$IFABF — iFabric Corp — Record FY2025, Q1 2026 guidance raised to $25–27M

$KEQU — Kewaunee Scientific — Q3 soft but pre-tax earnings +26%, India strong

$PPIH— Perma-Pipe International — Northeast facility for data centers, strategic review closed

$FTEK — Fuel Tech — FUEL CHEM best year since 2018, $75–100M APC pipeline

$TGEN — Tecogen — Vertiv demo shipping Q2, insider buying, prove-it phase $NTWK — NetSol Technologies — $10M+ China Transcend go-live

$TTZ.V — Total Telcom — Site-TraX military product launch

$MOJO — Equator Beverage — First profitable year, 4 consecutive quarters >$1M

$SIF— SIFCO Industries — Backlog $139.5M, breakout quarter confirmed

$KTEL — KonaTel — Waiting for healthcare partnership ramp

$PXHI — PhoneX Holdings — Waiting for strategic transaction clarity

$FSI — Flexible Solutions — Panama facility live, waiting for margin confirmation

Watchlist — Previously Owned, Looking to Re-enter

I’ve owned all five of these in the past. I exited for various reasons but continue tracking them closely because the theses are still alive. Each one has a specific trigger that would get me back in.

$FEIM — Frequency Electronics — Record backlog, $45M satellite contracts, lunar PNT entry

$BOSC — BOS Better Online Solutions — Record year, $51M revenue, defense compounder

$VELO — Velo3D — $9.8M DoW contract, CEO debt conversion, balance sheet rebuilt

$BOF — BranchOut Food — Record revenue, Zesty Snackz partnership, ROTH

$ATGN — Altigen Technologies — Tollring partnership for Teams compliance recording

2. Month in Review

March was an absolute firehose. More than half the names I track — portfolio and watchlist combined — reported earnings or dropped material news in the same 30-day window, and the overall picture is encouraging: backlogs are at record levels across defense names, contract momentum is accelerating, and several companies are now entering execution phases that will define whether thesis upgrades translate into real earnings.

The defense cluster had an exceptional month. FEIM (watchlist) announced $45M in satellite contracts and a $7M lunar PNT award. BLM landed a $7.5M shipboard military contract. BOSC (watchlist) delivered a record year with 27% revenue growth. OPXS continued its steady IDIQ delivery order cadence. VELO (watchlist) secured a $9.8M DoW JAMA contract, adding to over $50M in defense awards in the past year. This isn’t a coincidence — it’s a structural cycle in defense procurement and reshoring that’s hitting across multiple names simultaneously.

On the other side, margin compression remains the recurring theme that separates good revenue stories from great investment outcomes. KLNG, BLM, IFABF, and BOF (watchlist) are all growing revenue meaningfully but haven’t yet proven they can translate top-line momentum into earnings. The next two quarters will be decisive for several of these positions. I’m patient but watching closely.

3. Portfolio Changes

No positions were opened or closed in March. The month was about absorbing information, not making moves.

Five names — FEIM, BOSC, VELO, BOF, and ATGN — are currently on my watchlist. I’ve owned all of them in the past and continue tracking them actively because the core theses haven’t broken. Each one has a re-entry trigger I’m waiting on, and I cover them in the Watchlist section below alongside the portfolio holdings.

4. Company Updates & News

$BLM — BluMetric Environmental

Two contract wins this month: a US$1.5M (C$2M) Florida wastewater MBR system (March 9) and a C$7.5M shipboard military SROD contract (March 24).

The Florida win continues the pattern of repeatable MBR sales through WaterTech USA — this is a product-like business, not project-based consulting, and the Gainesville facility expansion (potentially doubling to 50K sq ft at zero capex) signals real demand. The $7.5M military contract is more significant: it fills the revenue pipeline as Rheinmetall deliveries wind down, and the shipbuilder has customers globally for the same vessel type, creating a large follow-on opportunity.

The margin problem is becoming clearer to me. Professional Services has too many project managers relative to the revenue base, and there hasn’t been enough financial incentive at the GM level to push margins higher. Management seems to agree — they replaced the division head with Jody Johnson, implemented a bonus program that only pays above 55% gross margin, and are reviewing the PM roster. The CFO and a board member bought shares in the open market this month, which tells me insiders see the same setup I do. The path to 10% EBITDA margin is clearer than it was 90 days ago.

Thesis status: Intact. Margin execution is the gating factor, but management is finally addressing it directly.

$BIRDF — Bird Construction

Q4 and FY2025 results landed March 11 alongside financial close on a C$323M Alberta schools DBFM contract.

The headline: combined backlog hit approximately C$11 billion, up 45% YoY. That is a staggering number for a company with roughly C$3.4B in annual revenue. Contracted backlog of C$5.1B plus C$6.0B pending (including C$1.5B+ in recurring MSA contracts). Revenue was roughly flat as project timing delays pushed work into 2026, and there was a C$62.2M one-time impairment charge that created a GAAP net loss — but adjusted earnings came in at C$0.57/share, and adjusted EBITDA was C$222M. Gross margins actually improved to 11.1%.

2027 targets reaffirmed: C$4.6–5.1B revenue with approximately 8% adjusted EBITDA margin. The company expects double-digit revenue growth starting Q2 2026 as the backlog converts. At C$28, Bird still trades at a meaningful discount to Canadian construction peers on EV/EBITDA.

Thesis status: Strong. Backlog quality and margin trajectory both improving.

$KLNG — KOIL Energy Solutions

Record Q4 revenue of $7.3M (+22% YoY) and EBITDA turning positive at 10% margin. The company also won a significant West Africa subsea umbilical installation contract (March 11), its first publicly disclosed international contract outside the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil.

But the margin compression debate is real. Q4 gross margin was 35% vs. 40% a year ago. Full-year EBITDA dropped from $3.5M to $1M despite 6% revenue growth. Management says this is deliberate — they’re investing in rental equipment, Brazil operations, international sales development, and IP — but the numbers don’t lie: revenue grew and margins shrank. The question is whether this is a land-grab phase or structural pricing pressure.

May 7–8 Investor Day in Houston (at OTC) will be critical — management will present a 2030 strategic roadmap. That’s the event that will clarify whether the investment phase has a credible payoff timeline.

Thesis status: Intact but needs margin proof. Investor Day is the next catalyst.

$IFABF — iFabric Corp

Record FY2025: revenue $32.9M (+20%), driven by the Intelligent Fabrics Division (+33%). Then the bombshell: Q1 2026 guidance raised to $25–27M — a single quarter that could exceed all of FY2024 revenue and represents roughly 266% YoY growth.

The catch is margins. Full year gross margin compressed to approximately 32% from 41%, primarily from tariffs on China-sourced goods and product mix shift toward lower-margin scrubs programs. Q4 gross margin was roughly 26%. Management says this is temporary and expects improvement as the supply base diversifies and higher-volume programs achieve better unit economics. Cash burned $4.4M from operations in 2025 (vs. positive $300K in 2024) as working capital ramped for Q1 2026. Debt increased approximately $9.5M.

The Maidenform license exit is complete and all major customers have confirmed the switch to owned branding (Coconut Grove Intimates / Verzus All Apparel). If Q1 comes in at $26M and subsequent quarters hold even a fraction of that pace, FY2026 could reach $70–80M. But margin recovery has to come with it or the growth story is hollow.

Thesis status: Intact. Revenue trajectory is exceptional. Margins are the key risk.

$OPXS — Optex Systems

A $1.23M laser protection filter order (March 27) for Night Vision Goggle programs — a delivery order release against a five-year IDIQ contract. Combined with the $2.19M NVG order from February, that’s $3.42M in NVG-related orders in six weeks. Backlog is now above $36.8M.

This isn’t a step-change catalyst, but the IDIQ delivery order cadence is exactly what you want to see: consistent, repeat releases driven by quality performance. The stock remains range-bound near $13.30 as the market waits for margin recovery and CEO transition clarity.

Thesis status: Intact. Building blocks accumulating. Margin recovery is the unlock.

$ACFN — Acorn Energy

Q4 and FY2025 earnings (March 5): full year revenue $11.48M (+4.5%), monitoring revenue $5.6M (+22%), gross margin expanded to 76.8% (+400bps), and operating cash flow hit $2.09M (+131%). First demo unit with a large telecom client for the AIO partnership expected by end of March, with revenue contribution starting H2 2026. Average AIO sale is 5–6x current Omni sale — that’s significant scale-up potential.

The quarter was weak on headline revenue ($2.4M vs. $3.5M prior year) due to the expected hardware revenue roll-off from a large telecom contract. This is noise, not signal. Core monitoring business is executing well and AIO adds real optionality.

Thesis status: Supports. Monitoring growth and AIO pipeline are the story.

$KEQU — Kewaunee Scientific

Q3 FY2026 (quarter ended January 31): revenue $69.4M (+3.3%), but the headline EPS decline from $0.45 to $0.23 massively overstates the underlying deterioration. Pre-tax earnings actually improved 25.8% — the EPS drop was driven by a tax swing ($636K unfavorable) and larger NCI allocation. International revenue grew 21.4% with India leading. Domestic was soft due to seasonal construction slowdown plus macro uncertainty.

Backlog at $183M (down from $222M YoY) reflects post-COVID surge normalization, not demand deterioration. Balance sheet is deleveraging rapidly: long-term debt net of sale-leaseback cut nearly in half to $16.3M. Management is explicitly building infrastructure for serial M&A — the next acquisition feels imminent.

Thesis status: Intact. Q3 was seasonal noise. India and M&A are the catalysts.

$PPIH — Perma-Pipe International

Three announcements packed into one press release (March 19): a new U.S. Northeast manufacturing facility targeting AI data center cooling (operational Q2 2026), confirmation that Middle East operations remain fully functional, and the conclusion of the strategic alternatives review with the board deciding to continue as an independent company.

The strategic review closing without a transaction is a mild negative — no premium bid materialized. But the data center pivot is the forward narrative. AI compute generates extreme heat per rack, and pre-insulated piping for district cooling is PPIH’s core competency. The Northeast is a major data center corridor. If data center demand is real, the addressable market dwarfs PPIH’s current revenue.

Thesis status: Intact. Data center opportunity is the new catalyst. Execution TBD.

$FTEK — Fuel Tech

Q4 and FY2025 results (March 3): record FUEL CHEM year (best since 2018, +27.9%), Q4 revenue up 37% YoY, full year gross margin improved to 46.4%. Operating cash flow swung to positive $3.0M from negative $3.4M. Balance sheet remains fortress-like: approximately $32M in cash and investments, zero debt.

The data center thesis is building: management cited a $75–100M pipeline of SCR opportunities tied to data center power generation. APC awards of $8.8M in 2025 and backlog growing to $7.0M. A new commercially-priced FUEL CHEM demo program could add $2.5–3.0M in annual revenue if it converts.

Thesis status: Intact. Data center APC pipeline is the catalyst. Conversion is the watch item.

$TGEN — Tecogen

Q4/FY2025 (March 17): revenue $27.07M (+19.7%), but net loss widened to $8.25M as the company invested heavily in data center chiller R&D, manufacturing expansion, and the Vertiv partnership. Gross margin compressed to 36.3% from 43.6%.

The Vertiv demo project is expected to ship by end of Q2 2026 — and I think that’s the event that unlocks real demand. Right now, prospective customers want to see the technology running in a live data center before they commit. Once that demo is operating, the friction drops significantly. Vertiv has designed 25–50 MW of Tecogen chillers into projects. When I run the math — 100 units/year at $300–400K each — that’s $30–40M in potential annual data center revenue, roughly doubling the company. Three insiders bought shares post-earnings (CEO, General Counsel, CAO). Cash is $12.43M with burns ongoing.

Thesis status: Prove-it story. Vertiv demo and first data center order are the binary catalysts.

$NTWK — NetSol Technologies

A tier-one U.S. auto captive finance company went live on NetSol’s Transcend Finance platform in China under a contract valued at over $10M (March 11). This represents roughly 14% of annual revenue in a single deal and validates Transcend as production-grade enterprise software for major OEM captives. Next phases of rollout are being planned with the same client.

Thesis status: Intact. SaaS transition and China execution progressing.

$TTZ.V — Total Telcom

Site-TraX military/security platform launch (March 31). The existing Water-TraX hardware has been upgraded with magnetic field detection, RFID integration, 30% improved battery capacity, and enhanced weather protection — extending the product into border security, perimeter monitoring, and work-alone safety under new “Site-TraX” branding. Distribution through existing and new partners in North and South America.

This is a low-cost market extension (same core hardware, software/sensor reconfiguration) into a higher-value vertical. The 2023 U.S. Armed Forces order validated the platform for military use; Site-TraX formalizes the product positioning.

Thesis status: Intact. Site-TraX adds defense optionality at minimal cost.

$MOJO — Equator Beverage

First profitable year: FY2025 revenue $4.19M (+29%), gross margin 45%, net income $49K (vs. net loss of $801K prior year), positive operating cash flow of $212K. Four consecutive quarters above $1M in revenue — a first for the company.

Minor yellow flag: net income was restated from $137K (preliminary) to $49K (audited) with no explanation provided. This is a governance transparency issue worth monitoring at a company this small. The thesis remains a slow-compounding per-share value story — get to break-even, maintain it, then land a major distribution deal that re-rates the stock.

Thesis status: Improving. Profitability milestone hit. Distribution deal is the next catalyst.

Watchlist Updates

Previously owned. Tracking actively for re-entry.

$FEIM — Frequency Electronics

The biggest month in FEIM’s recent history. Three events in rapid succession: Q3 FY2026 earnings (March 11), $45M in satellite contract awards (same day), and a $7M lunar PNT atomic clock contract (March 25).

Earnings were mixed on the surface — revenue at $16.9M missed estimates, and EPS of $0.16 vs. $1.60 prior year looks ugly. But the prior year was inflated by one-time items and the underlying trajectory is strong. Funded backlog hit $83M, an all-time record, and that was before the $45M in new awards entered the backlog. Management reiterated they’re on track to surpass $100M in funded backlog.

The $45M contracts span both traditional satellite and proliferated satellite programs — the latter being FEIM’s first significant LEO constellation win. This validates that FEIM isn’t being disrupted by the new satellite paradigm but is participating in it. The $7M lunar PNT contract is small in dollar terms but strategically huge: it puts FEIM in the supply chain for lunar infrastructure before the market scales. Total contract velocity in FY2026: roughly $73M in new awards in 10 months against a $83M backlog. The stock sold off 14% on earnings day (market focused on the miss) then bounced 12% on the lunar announcement. Classic microcap inefficiency.

Thesis status: Strengthening. Backlog inflection confirmed. Revenue conversion is the next watch.

$BOSC — BOS Better Online Solutions

Record everything in 2025: revenue $51M (+27%), net income $3.6M (+57%), EPS compounding at roughly 60% annually over four years, and cash hitting $11.8M. Supply Chain division grew 40%, Intelligent Robotics turned profitable, and even RFID showed life in Q4 with revenue up 27% YoY.

The stock fell 6.6% on the results because 2026 guidance came in flat at approximately $51M revenue and $3.6M net income. But I’ve seen this movie before — 2025 started with $44M guidance and finished above $50M after three raises. When I dug into the earnings call, the CFO walked through a specific FX headwinds bridge: roughly $600K shekel strength drag, $800K of non-recurring FX income that won’t repeat, and $1.2M from the goodwill impairment that doesn’t recur. To me, that means “flat” guidance actually requires underlying operational growth just to hold serve. The headline number understates the real business trajectory.

India expansion is progressing — a $2.2M order from an existing Indian customer plus a new India representative appointed in March — but this is a 2–3 year build, not a near-term catalyst. At 5.6x EV/EBITDA with a net cash position of approximately $10M and a CEO who has a clear pattern of guiding conservatively then raising, the setup remains attractive.

Thesis status: Strong. Defense compounder at value multiples. Guidance likely conservative.

$VELO — Velo3D

The most news-dense month in VELO’s history: GE Aerospace/Intergalactic RPS case study (March 9), CEO debt-to-equity conversion at $16.38/share (March 11), Q4/FY2025 earnings and new CFO appointment (March 24), and a $9.8M DoW DLA/JAMA IDIQ contract (March 30).

FY2025 revenue was $46M (+12%), but gross margin was negative 16.1% due to a $7M Q4 inventory write-down, and net loss was $71.4M. The balance sheet was completely rebuilt: cash from $1.2M to $39M, debt reduced approximately 60% via the CEO’s conversion. 2026 guidance: $60–70M revenue, EBITDA positive H2 2026 (pushed back from H1), $40–50M in capex.

The defense pipeline is now substantial: Project FORGE ($32.6M) + defense prime RPS ($11.5M) + JAMA IDIQ ($9.8M) = roughly $54M in defense awards against $46M in total 2025 revenue. Record Q4 bookings and $31M backlog entering 2026. The CEO converting debt at a $6+ premium to market is a strong conviction signal.

The bear case is real: shares nearly doubled (13M to 24.6M), gross margins have never been positive, EBITDA profitability has been pushed back, and additional capital raises are expected. This is still a show-me story, but the direction of travel is clearly improving.

Thesis status: Improving. Balance sheet is no longer the risk. Execution on gross margin is.

$BOF — BranchOut Food

Zesty Snackz partnership announced March 11 — a YouTube creator-backed snack brand using BranchOut’s GentleDry technology for fruit chips. First container ships April 2026. The company presented at the 38th Annual Roth Conference (March 23–24) with 1-on-1 institutional meetings. Q4/FY2025 earnings call scheduled for March 31 at 4:30 PM ET.

Pre-announced FY2025 revenue of approximately $14M (+113%) and a record Q4 of $4.2M. The 4th REV production line came online by March 1. The earnings call today is the most important event for BOF this quarter — gross margin data from Q4 will tell us whether Peru is delivering on the margin improvement thesis. The Zesty Snackz deal is small but strategically meaningful as it validates GentleDry as a platform technology for third-party brands.

Thesis status: Show-me. Gross margin on tonight’s call is the single most important data point.

$ATGN — Altigen Technologies

Announced a strategic partnership with Tollring (March 31) to distribute compliance call recording and AI-driven analytics for Microsoft Teams in North America. Altigen becomes a distributor for Tollring’s Analytics 365 product, targeting Operator Connect and Direct Routing providers. The solution adds AI sentiment analysis and business intelligence dashboards to Teams voice interactions. Relevant for financial services, healthcare, and public sector customers.

Thesis status: Watching. Partnership adds product depth but turnaround still needs traction.

No Material News This Month

$SIF — SIFCO Industries. Backlog at $139.5M per most recent filing. Holding and watching for next quarter’s margin data.

$KTEL — KonaTel. Waiting for healthcare Lifeline partnership ramp. No news.

$PXHI — PhoneX Holdings. Waiting for strategic transaction or warehouse platform clarity. No news.

$FSI — Flexible Solutions International. Panama facility confirmed live in January 2026. Waiting for margin and cash flow data from the next earnings cycle.

5. KPIs to Watch Next Month

Portfolio:

$BLM — Q2 FY2026 results: full DS Consultants contribution, Professional Services margin progress
$KLNG — May 7–8 Investor Day: 2030 roadmap credibility and margin targets
$IFABF — Q1 2026 revenue delivery ($25–27M guided) and gross margin recovery trajectory
$TGEN — Vertiv demo project shipment by end of Q2
$FTEK — APC pipeline conversion: first data center SCR contract announcement
$ACFN — AIO demo unit deployment and initial customer feedback

Watchlist:

$FEIM — Backlog crossing $100M as $45M + $7M contracts enter funded status
$BOSC — Q1 2026 order intake and first guidance raise timing
$VELO — Q1 2026 gross margin trajectory and cash burn rate
$BOF — Q4/FY2025 gross margin (tonight’s call) and Q1 2026 Peru facility margin data