Earnings

Wesco Raises 2026 Outlook After Record Sales and Backlog

The Tip Desk · October 30, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter net sales reached a record $7.2 billion, up 17% year over year, as the company lifted its full-year 2026 outlook.

Wesco International (WCC), a business-to-business distributor of electrical, communications and utility products, reported record third-quarter net sales of $7.2 billion, up 17% from a year earlier and 8% sequentially, and raised its full-year 2026 outlook on sales, profitability and backlog.

Organic sales growth accelerated to 16.6% from 13% in the second quarter, after 12% in the first quarter. The company said the increase reflected volume growth in all three reportable segments and a favorable impact from price.

Data center sales were $1.8 billion, up about 55% year over year, after $1.5 billion up about 45% in the second quarter and $1.4 billion up about 70% in the first quarter. Non-data center sales rose 7% year over year. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer John Engel said customer demand was strong across the rest of the portfolio and that customers continued to invest in major capital and infrastructure projects.

Total company backlog rose about 80% year over year to a record, after about 60% in the second quarter and 22% in the first quarter. Engel said backlog growth was fueled by multi-year customer commitments and that the record level was achieved in each of the three business units.

Operating margin expanded to 6.2%, up 60 basis points year over year, after 5.7% in the second quarter and 4.8% in the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 7.8%, up 100 basis points year over year, after 7.3% in the second quarter and 6.4% in the first quarter; sequentially the adjusted EBITDA margin increased 50 basis points. Gross margin was 21.7%, up 40 basis points year over year, which the company said reflected improved gross margin in Electrical and Electronic Solutions and Communications and Security Solutions.

Record diluted earnings were $5.43 a share, up 43% year over year. Record adjusted diluted earnings were $5.77 a share, up 47% year over year. Operating profit was $450.8 million.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $1.06 billion, including $24.8 million of digital transformation costs versus $8.8 million of digital transformation and restructuring costs a year earlier. Adjusted SG&A was 14.4% of net sales versus 14.7%. The company said the increase was primarily driven by higher commissions and incentives and higher salaries and benefits.

Organic sales growth by segment was 17.8% in Electrical and Electronic Solutions, 21.4% in Communications and Security Solutions and 6.6% in Utility and Broadband Solutions. Sequential organic sales growth was 8.5%, with EES up 10.7%, CSS up 9.4% and UBS up 3.3%.

Operating cash flow was $194 million and free cash flow $184 million, versus operating cash flow of $54 million and free cash flow of $32 million in the second quarter. Financial leverage declined to 2.8x from 3.4x at 2025 year-end. Cash and cash equivalents were $842.5 million at September 30, 2026.

Engel said the company carried positive business momentum into the fourth quarter and that five consecutive quarters of double-digit sales growth demonstrated a higher growth profile that extends beyond data center positioning. Wesco said it is again significantly raising its full-year 2026 outlook reflecting confidence in continued strong execution.

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