Our actual results may differ materially due to a wide range of risks and uncertainties described in our earnings release and SEC filings. We delivered a strong quarter with double-digit year-over-year growth in sales and earnings exceeding our expectations. We continue to see strong demand across semiconductor, data center, e-commerce, and warehouse automation. Reported sales were up 8%, and organic sales were up 10%, with the impact of the Sensia dissolution decreasing sales by 3% and currency contributing about a point of growth.
Products continue to outperform our longer cycle solutions business as smaller modernization projects across most industries drove the majority of our growth in the quarter. The verticals seeing the strongest capital investment, including semiconductor, data center, and e-commerce and warehouse, tend to be more heavily weighted toward our product and software offerings. Our Intelligent Devices organic sales grew 10% year-over-year, with broad-based growth across all product lines. We also delivered double-digit growth in our production logistics business with strategic wins across food and beverage, semiconductor, and life sciences.
Software & Control organic sales were up 18% versus prior year, driven by another quarter of strong double-digit growth in Logix. Lifecycle Services organic sales were down 2% versus prior year, generally in line with expectations. Organic annual recurring revenue grew 6% in the quarter, below our expectations. High single-digit software growth was partially offset by the slower growth in recurring Lifecycle Services.
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Reported & organic sales growth | FY2026 | 7.5%-9.5% (8.5% midpoint; raised ~150 bps); ~150 bps FX offset by Sensia dissolution |
| Adjusted EPS | FY2026 | $13.00-$13.30 ($13.15 midpoint; up $0.35; ~25% growth) |
| Enterprise operating margin | FY2026 | 21.5% (+260 bps YoY) |
| Organic ARR | FY2026 | Mid-single-digit growth |
| Price realization | FY2026 | ~250 bps (~100 bps tariff-related, ~150 bps underlying); tariffs EPS-neutral for the year |
| Segment revenue/margin | FY2026 | Intelligent Devices low-double-digit growth / ~20% margin; Software & Control high-teens growth / low-30s margin; Lifecycle Services down ~$150M / margin flat-to-slightly-up |
| Incremental margins | FY2026 | >50% as-reported, high-40s organic |
| Capital / buybacks | FY2026 | CapEx ~3% of sales; ~$850M buybacks; ~112.2M average diluted shares; ~100% FCF conversion |
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Organic sales | +10% (reported +8%) | Broad-based product/software strength (Sensia dissolution -3%, currency +1%); ex-data-center growth still 8%. |
| GAAP diluted EPS | $3.65 | GAAP figure above the $3.49 adjusted EPS, reflecting the Sensia dissolution and other items excluded from adjusted results. |
| Adjusted EPS | $3.49 (+20%+) | Strong volume and favorable mix, partially offset by negative price/cost and a $0.20 tax headwind from BEPS Pillar Two. |
| Enterprise operating margin | 22.3% (+280 bps) | Higher volume and favorable mix, plus ~40 bps from the Sensia dissolution, partly offset by negative price/cost. |
| Intelligent Devices | +10% organic; 20% margin (+120 bps) | Broad-based growth (PointMax I/O, PowerFlex, FLEXLINE) with 30% incrementals, partly offset by inflation. |
| Software & Control | +18% organic; 34.8% margin (+320 bps) | Strong double-digit Logix growth with ~50% incremental margins. |
| Lifecycle Services | -2% organic; 15.1% margin (+180 bps) | Good project execution and a Sensia benefit offset by lower volume amid soft food & beverage/process CapEx. |
| Free cash flow | $654M (+$165M) | Higher pre-tax income from strong Q3 results and good working-capital management. |
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data-center growth engine | Emerging driver | Three participation areas — power distribution (modular Cubic design), power controls for chiller OEMs (motor control centers, medium-voltage drives), and Logix increasingly standardized in central utility plants (emergency/backup-generator control with inherent redundancy vs traditional DDCs) — drive share gains atop a strong end market as hyperscalers seek repeatable, faster-to-capacity designs. | — |
| Broadening end-market demand | Data-center-led | Ex-data-center organic growth was still 8%; automotive (low double digits) and life sciences (+10%, including GLP-1 oral-solid-dose and drug-substance MES wins) show renewed project activity, energy is up high single digits, and even food & beverage grows mid-single digits without a CapEx inflection. | — |
| Inflation and pricing management | Memory-driven inflation | Data-center-driven inflation (memory chief among many inputs) is a growing double-digit-million second-half headwind; Rockwell uses structural tools from the prior shortage era — fixed-discount pricing through distribution for faster realization, more frequent price changes, and alternate material sources — plus productivity to offset, with price/cost positive for the full year. | — |
| Large-project delays vs short-cycle strength | Greenfield paused | Growth is being driven by smaller modernization projects (products outperforming longer-cycle solutions), while large greenfield projects stay delayed on caution, high decision authority, T&Cs and (LATAM) funding — but management sees the broadening verticals and reshoring/labor-shortage tailwinds sustaining momentum into fiscal 2027. | — |
| Software & Control / Logix | Volume-led margin expansion | Logix unit volume is only now reaching pre-COVID levels with share gains on top; two years of margin expansion have been volume-led, and while memory inflation hits this segment hardest in fiscal 2027, management sees continued opportunity to build off low-30s full-year margins. | — |
| Production logistics / OTTO | Integrating mobile robots | Independent cart technology (iTRAK, MagneMotion) is having a good year and OTTO mobile robots see another year of strong double-digit growth (Clearpath expected profitable in Q4); Rockwell is early in a broad opportunity across CPG, semiconductor wafer transport and life sciences, focused on commercial coverage. | — |
| Capital investment / capacity | $2B investment plan | CapEx ~3% of sales in FY2026, rising toward ~4% (or south) in FY2027-2028 with a New Berlin, Wisconsin greenfield project; ROIC has recovered nicely and management expects strong returns on both legacy operations and new investments. | — |