Eaton NYSE: ETN reported record third-quarter 2026 revenue, earnings and segment margins, as strong demand across its electrical businesses and data-center markets supported accelerated organic growth. The company raised its full-year organic growth and adjusted earnings guidance for the third time this year.
Chief Executive Officer Paulo Ruiz said Eaton’s third-quarter results reflected “the power of demand meeting execution,” with capacity investments beginning to translate into higher output and profitability. Revenue rose 28% year over year to a record $8.9 billion, including an 8-percentage-point contribution from acquisitions. Organic revenue increased 19%.
Adjusted earnings per share reached a record $3.68, up 20% from the prior year and $0.12 above the high end of Eaton’s guidance, according to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dave Foster. Segment margins reached an all-time high of 25.3%.
Electrical businesses drive growth
Electrical Americas posted 22% organic sales growth, led by data-center sales growth of 54% as well as strength in machine original equipment manufacturers and commercial and institutional markets. Segment margin reached 29.8%, improving 230 basis points from the second quarter and more than 400 basis points from the first quarter.
Foster said price-cost was positive on a dollar basis during the quarter after pricing actions taken in the second quarter and early third quarter. The segment recorded more than $5 billion in orders, while its negotiations pipeline rose 55% year to date. Rolling 12-month orders rose 39%, and the book-to-bill ratio was 1.3.
Ruiz said demand in Electrical Americas extends beyond data centers, citing utility investment, grid modernization, industrial reshoring and broader electrification. The segment’s backlog rose 33% to another record, while orders increased 39% on a rolling 12-month basis.
Electrical Global delivered 58% total growth, including 27% organic growth and a 31-percentage-point contribution from the Boyd acquisition. Growth was supported by data centers, utilities and machine OEMs, with APAC organic revenue rising nearly 50%. Segment operating margin increased 200 basis points from the prior year to 21.1%.
Rolling 12-month orders in Electrical Global increased 51%. Ruiz said the company believes the segment has entered a sustained growth phase, citing growth across regions and end markets, early restructuring in Europe, increased capacity in Asia and gains with global data-center customers.
Combined electrical segment organic growth was 24%, while total growth was 34%. Electrical segment margins were 26.4%, up 190 basis points sequentially. Total electrical backlog surpassed $20 billion, up 46% year over year.
Boyd outlook rises again
Eaton again increased its revenue outlook for Boyd Thermal, which provides thermal management products used in data-center infrastructure. The company now expects Boyd to generate $1.9 billion in full-year revenue, including $1.6 billion that will be recorded in Eaton’s results during 2026.
Boyd delivered nearly triple-digit year-over-year growth, while its backlog nearly tripled from a year earlier, management said. Ruiz attributed the growth to customer investments in artificial intelligence and next-generation data-center infrastructure, as well as adoption of liquid-cooling architectures.
Boyd’s sales increased 24% from the second quarter, Foster said. Ruiz added that Eaton expects Boyd to become part of organic growth beginning March 27 and sees the business reaching at least $2.7 billion in revenue in 2027, which would represent roughly 50% growth from the company’s prior $1.8 billion outlook.
Management also discussed Eaton’s data-center product portfolio, including modular power systems, thermal management, power distribution and potential future direct-current architectures. Ruiz said Eaton had 10 solid-state transformer pilots underway and expected multiple 15-kilovolt projects to ship during the year. He said the company’s 15-kilovolt, 2-megawatt medium-voltage solid-state transformer had passed UL testing in the U.S.
Other segments and capacity investments
Aerospace organic sales increased 6%, producing record quarterly sales and segment profit. Commercial OEM demand was particularly strong, while the Ultra PCS acquisition contributed 5 percentage points of growth and remained margin-accretive, Foster said. Aerospace margin was 24.9%, up more than 200 basis points sequentially, although down 100 basis points from the prior year due to mix.
Aerospace orders and backlog also reached records, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.2 and backlog of $5.6 billion, up 33% from a year earlier. Ruiz said the company continues to address isolated supplier issues through supplier support, second-source development and, in some instances, insourcing machining work.
Mobility sales grew 10%, including 9% organic growth, while margin improved 370 basis points to 17.2%, its highest level since 2018.
Ruiz said 18 of Eaton’s 25 expansion projects have been completed. The company is preparing to bring a larger three-phase transformer facility online in the first half of 2027. He said Eaton hired and trained workers in advance at existing Wisconsin facilities and expects the expansion to be less disruptive than prior capacity ramps.
Raised 2026 outlook and 2027 market expectations
Eaton raised its 2026 organic growth outlook to 13% to 15%, from a prior range of 11% to 13%. The company now expects Electrical Americas organic growth of about 19% at the midpoint and Electrical Global organic growth of about 16% at the midpoint. Eaton maintained total segment margin guidance of 24.1% to 24.5%.
The company lifted full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $13.70 to $13.80, with a midpoint of $13.75, representing 14% growth from 2025. Eaton reaffirmed its cash-flow expectations.
Looking toward 2027, management said none of Eaton’s end markets are expected to decline. The company expects approximately 90% of its portfolio to serve growing markets, while residential and light vehicles are expected to remain flat. Data centers, distributed IT and commercial aerospace are expected to grow at strong double-digit rates, according to Ruiz.
Ruiz said Eaton estimates its end markets will grow about 11% in aggregate in 2027 and expects company growth to be higher than that level. He also said the company expects no large acquisition comparable to Boyd over the next 12 months, though Eaton’s acquisition pipeline remains active for smaller electrical bolt-on transactions, particularly in Europe and potentially Asia.
About Eaton (NYSE:ETN)
Eaton Corporation plc is a global intelligent power management company that helps businesses, utilities, data centers, manufacturers and other organizations manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more safely, efficiently and reliably. Its solutions support applications ranging from power distribution and backup systems to industrial automation, building infrastructure and transportation.
The company’s Electrical segment provides products and systems such as circuit breakers, switchgear, power distribution equipment, surge protection, energy management software and data center power solutions.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Eaton, you’ll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks the
Source: www.marketbeat.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.
