Cubic Corporation

Cubic Corporation

Walter J. Zable incorporated Cubic Corporation in 1951 in San Diego, California. The company originally focused on electronic countermeasure systems for military training and has since expanded into transportation fare collection and public safety communications. Walter Zable led the firm until his death in 2012 at age 96; his son, William J. Zable, served as chairman and the family controlled a majority of shares through a trust until the 2021 acquisition by Veritas Capital. Cubic operates through two primary business segments: Cubic Mission Solutions (defense electronics, communications, training systems) and Cubic Transportation Systems (automated fare collection, intelligent traffic management). The company has delivered over 400 automated fare collection systems to transit agencies globally. Key customers include the US Department of Defense, London's Transport for London, and multiple US state transportation departments. The firm maintains R&D relationships with the US Army and Air Force. The company had approximately 3,500 employees at the time of its 2021 acquisition. Veritas Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, bought Cubic for $2.35B in May 2021 (per Veritas Capital, May 2021). The Zable family trust and public shareholders sold their stakes in the all-cash $75.81 per share deal. The transaction took the company private; it had been publicly traded on the NYSE under ticker CUB since 1964. Cubic's structural differentiator is its defense-transportation duality — few companies have dual exposure to military training systems and civilian transit fare collection. The defense side benefits from recurring DoD training contracts; the transportation side competes with incumbent consultants on long-cycle municipal projects. Post-acquisition, Veritas Capital has merged Cubic with other portfolio companies to expand scale.