Any references made on this call to historical results will be on an adjusted basis, excluding after-tax acquisition-related intangible amortization and excluding acquisition-related cost. AMETEK delivered fantastic results in Q2 with double-digit organic sales growth, excellent orders growth, strong core margin expansion, outstanding cash flow generation, and record earnings ahead of our expectations. We also raised our full-year sales and earnings guidance to reflect our outstanding first half results and our positive outlook for the balance of the year. Q2 sales were a record $2.04 billion, up 15% from the same period in 2025.
Organic sales were up 10%, acquisitions added five points, with foreign currency flat. Orders were again exceptional in the quarter, with continued broad-based growth across all AMETEK divisions. Overall orders were a record $2.3 billion, up 28% versus the prior year, with organic orders up sharply at 25%, leading to a record backlog of $4.11 billion. This outstanding Q2 orders growth follows Q1's 22% organic growth, reflecting the strength across our attractive end markets.
Operating income for the quarter was a record $544 million, an 18% increase over Q2 of 2025. Operating margins were excellent in the quarter at 26.6%, up 60 basis points from the prior year. Core margins were 27.1%, up a very strong 110 basis points versus last year's Q2. EBITDA was a record $644 million, up 14% versus Q2 of 2025, with EBITDA margins an impressive 31.5%.
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Total sales growth | FY2026 | ~10% (organic mid-to-high single digits) |
| Diluted EPS | FY2026 | $8.20-$8.30 (+10%-12% YoY) |
| Sales growth | Q3 2026 | High single digits |
| Adjusted EPS | Q3 2026 | $2.08-$2.10 (+10%-11% YoY) |
| Free cash flow conversion | FY2026 | 110%-115% of net income |
| Effective tax rate | FY2026 | 18.5%-19% |
| Capital expenditures | FY2026 | ~$160M (~2% of sales) |
| Enterprise productivity savings | FY2026 | $160M |
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total sales | +15% to $2.04B (record) | Organic up 10%, acquisitions added 5 points, FX flat; broad-based demand across all divisions. |
| Orders | +28% to $2.3B (organic +25%) | Broad-based across all divisions on infrastructure-build-out demand; record June and strong July. |
| Electronic Instruments Group (EIG) | +14% to $1.32B | Organic up 7% plus 7 points from acquisitions; process instrumentation, aerospace, and power strength; orders up 23%. |
| Electromechanical Group (EMG) | +17% to $723M (record) | Organic up 15% across aerospace, defense, med tech (Paragon), and automation; organic orders up 35%. |
| Operating income | +18% to $544M (record) | Operating margin 26.6% (up 60 bps), core margin 27.1% (up 110 bps) on ~40% incrementals, productivity, and positive price. |
| EMG core operating margin | +290 bps to 26.2% | Paragon Medical new-product phase-in on a leaned-out cost structure, driving the bulk of company margin expansion. |
| Diluted EPS | +17% to $2.09 (record) | Above the $1.96-$2.00 guide on strong operating performance and a lower 17.5% tax rate. |
| Free cash flow | +37% to $452M (111% conversion) | Strong earnings plus a 220-bp working-capital improvement led by inventory discipline. |
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-year infrastructure build-out | Diversified niche industrial exposure | CEO David Zapico framed AI-driven semiconductor demand, power-grid build-out, defense modernization, energy security, and the commercial aerospace super cycle as durable, broad-based secular drivers -- roughly half of AMETEK's business -- with data center itself small but its related ecosystem (semis, power) broad. | — |
| AI infrastructure exposure | — | Zygo supports advanced-chip metrology/optics, RTDS won a hyperscaler order to de-risk data-center power build-outs and helps hyperscalers stand up local power grids, and process/power instrumentation serve the AI physical layer. | — |
| Paragon Medical / AMETEK growth model | Post-acquisition pandemic inventory destock | Paragon rebounded with outstanding orders (orthopedics, drug delivery, engineered components) and outsized margin expansion; management cited it as the growth model in action -- absorbing integration friction during the downturn, then leveraging the volume recovery and new-product wins. | — |
| Indicor Instrumentation acquisition | Announced ~$5B deal | Expected to close in H2; management is increasingly confident in 10%-12% cost synergies (global sourcing, facility rationalization, shared-service infrastructure) plus a 50% recurring-revenue mix, keeping ~$2.5 billion of capacity for further M&A afterward. | — |
| AI-enabled company | Wave one of 50 internal AI projects | Now in 'wave two'; AI is compressing acquisition diligence, custom-engineering design (a one-year design cut to a month), document processing, customer service, and predictive-maintenance product features -- automating the AMETEK growth model in a decentralized deployment model. | — |
| Pricing power and low CapEx model | IP-driven niche portfolio | High new-product vitality (25%), mission-critical products in high-switching-cost, regulated markets let AMETEK offset inflation and tariffs with price; ~100% return on tangible capital and ~2% CapEx-to-sales allow flexible ramp-up/down (roughly two-thirds of CapEx is growth-oriented). | — |