PITTSBURGH — Wesco International announced its results for the first quarter of 2026.
“We delivered an exceptional start to 2026, building on last year’s market outperformance and accelerating business momentum. Sales, backlog, operating margin, adjusted earnings per share, and free cash flow all increased versus the prior year and exceeded our expectations. Record sales of $6.1 billion were up 14% marking our third quarter in a row of double-digit sales growth. Data center sales of $1.4 billion were up approximately 70% and now represent 24% of our total Wesco sales. Backlog was up 22%, to a new record level, reflecting the benefits of secular growth trends and continued effectiveness of our cross-selling program. Profit growth and margin improvement were also excellent, driven by gross margin expansion and strong operating cost leverage. As a result, we delivered adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 60 basis points, adjusted EBITDA growth of 25%, and adjusted EPS growth of over 50% versus the prior year. Free cash flow generation, at 128% of adjusted net income, was also very strong. The power of our customer value proposition, global capabilities, and leading portfolio of products, services and solutions is clear as we continue to outperform the market,” said John Engel, Chairman, President, and CEO.
Engel concluded, “We are very pleased with our first quarter results and continued positive business momentum to start the year. While uncertainty in the macro-economic environment may present challenges, we’re focused on continued strong execution and outperformance under all market conditions. We are raising our full-year 2026 outlook reflecting our exceptional start to the year. As the market leader, and with positive momentum building, I’m confident that Wesco will continue to outperform our markets and deliver superior value to our customers and shareholders in 2026 and beyond.”
Net Sales
- On an organic basis, which removes differences in foreign exchange rates, sales for the first quarter of 2026 grew by 12.3%. The increase in organic sales reflects volume growth in all three segments (CSS, EES and UBS), as well as a favorable impact from changes in price. We had record backlog at the end of the first quarter of 2026, up by 22% compared to the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
- The increase in gross margin for the first quarter of 2026 reflects improved gross margin in the EES segment partially offset by a decline in the UBS segment.
Selling, General, and Administrative (“SG&A”) Expenses
- The increase in SG&A expenses for the first quarter of 2026 is primarily driven by higher salaries and an increase in commissions and incentives due to higher sales and profit. SG&A expenses for the first quarter of 2026 include $17.5 million of digital transformation costs, compared to $7.3 million of digital transformation and restructuring costs for the first quarter of 2025. Adjusted for these costs, SG&A expenses were 15.3% and 15.5% of net sales for the first quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively, reflecting positive operating cost leverage on the sales growth.
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin
- The increase in adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2026 primarily reflects higher sales, lower cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales, and lower SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales, as described above.
Effective Tax Rate
- The lower effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2026 is largely driven by higher discrete income tax benefits relating to the exercise and vesting of stock-based awards.
Adjusted Earnings Per Diluted Share
- The increase in adjusted earnings per diluted share in the first quarter of 2026 primarily reflects higher sales, lower cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales, and lower SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales, as described above. Additionally, the prior year period included $14.4 million of preferred stock dividends. The preferred stock was retired in the second quarter of 2025.
Operating Cash Flow
- Net cash provided by operating activities for the first quarter of 2026 totaled $221.4 million compared to $28.0 million in the first quarter of 2025. The $193.4 million increase is driven by a $105.7 million impact from changes in accounts payable, due to the increase in inventory purchases, as well as the timing of inventory purchases and payments to suppliers as compared to the prior year. Additionally an increase in net income as adjusted for certain non-cash items also contributed to the increase in operating cash flows.