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FY2026 Q2
Raised
Rockwell Automation, Inc. earnings call
Buzzberg read
Raised fiscal 2026 EPS guidance by $1 to $12.80
Rockwell delivered a strong Q2 FY2026 with massive beats, driven by double-digit sales growth (esp. in data centers, semiconductor, e-commerce) and exceptional operating leverage (50%+ incrementals). Management raised full-year guidance for revenue growth, EPS, and operating margins, while highlighting both a broad-based demand improvement and new input cost headwinds (memory). Q2 FY26 organic sales grew 9% (12% reported), far exceeding expectations, with strength across discrete (auto, semis, e-comm) and process (energy), plus data center sales more than doubling.
Buzzberg read Raised fiscal 2026 EPS guidance by $1 to $12.80 Rockwell delivered a strong Q2 FY2026 with massive beats, driven by double-digit sales growth (esp. in data centers, semiconductor, e-commerce) and exceptional operating leverage (50%+ incrementals). Management raised full-year guidance for revenue growth, EPS, and operating margins, while highlighting both a broad-based demand improvement and new input cost headwinds (memory). Q2 FY26 organic sales grew 9% (12% reported), far exceeding expectations, with strength across discrete (auto, semis, e-comm) and process (energy), plus data center sales more than doubling. Read full analysisCollapse analysis
Rockwell delivered a strong Q2 FY2026 with massive beats, driven by double-digit sales growth (esp. in data centers, semiconductor, e-commerce) and exceptional operating leverage (50%+ incrementals). Management raised full-year guidance for revenue growth, EPS, and operating margins, while highlighting both a broad-based demand improvement and new input cost headwinds (memory). Q2 FY26 organic sales grew 9% (12% reported), far exceeding expectations, with strength across discrete (auto, semis, e-comm) and process (energy), plus data center sales more than doubling.
- Enterprise operating margin hit 22.5% (up 350bps YoY) due to strong volume, price, and productivity, driving 50% incremental margins and a raised full-year guide.
- FY26 guidance raised: organic revenue growth 5-9%, adjusted EPS $12.50-$13.10, enterprise operating margin 21.5%. This is a $1.00 raise to EPS guidance.
- Management explicitly cited memory cost inflation (due to AI demand) as a key back-half headwind, expected to be a 'double-digit million-dollar' cost, which is being offset by pricing.
Revenue$2.239B+6% QoQ
EPS$3.30+20% QoQ
Gross margin50.25%Reported
Operating margin20.86%Reported
6 grounded callouts
What matters now
The highest-signal changes from the call.
Demand
Data center sales more than doubled year-over-year
Demand
E-commerce and warehouse automation sales up over 30%
Show 3 more callouts
Margins
Incremental margins expected above 50% for fiscal 2026
Products
Logix PLCs winning in data center conversions
AI
BHP partnership to advance autonomous operations
Reported period
Actuals
| Metric | Reported | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.239B | +6% QoQ |
| EPS | $3.30 | +20% QoQ |
| Gross margin | 50.25% | Reported |
| Operating margin | 20.86% | Reported |
| Free cash flow | $0.275B | Reported |
| Capex | $0.045B | Reported |
Forward-looking
Forward guidance
| Metric | Period | Range | Midpoint | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | FY2026 | $12.50–$13.10 | $12.80 | Raised |
| Operating margin | FY2026 | 21.5% | 21.5% | Raised |
| Revenue | FY2026 | 5%–9% | 7% | Raised |
AI, capex & demand read
Management read
Confident
Management expressed confidence in strong performance and raised guidance, while highlighting prudent management of uncertainties and cost pressures.
Management AI read
Management highlighted the accelerating release of new technology with AI capabilities, incorporating AI within months of initial release due to investments in cloud-native software. They also formed a strategic partnership with BHP to advance next-generation autonomous operations, combining Rockwell's leadership in automation and AI.
Investment and capacity
Management noted broader capital investment in industries like e-commerce, warehouse automation, data center, semiconductor, and energy, while automotive and consumer packaged goods continue to delay large capital investments. They raised their full-year sales guidance due to broadening end-market strength, but remain prudent given uncertainty.
all 5 named companies below
Companiesreturns since call
Customers
Customers
Blake Moretz
Rockwell won a large integrated automation services contract with Petrobras for its Buzios offshore field, indicating sustained upstream spending by Petrobras in Brazil.
Evidence
“A great example of our continued momentum in oil and gas was a win with Petrobras, where Rockwell will provide integrated automation services across multiple FPSOs in the Buzios offshore field.”
Customers
Blake Moretz
Subaru is adopting Rockwell's AMRs at its Indiana plant, indicating investment in production efficiency and a shift towards autonomy, a positive signal for Rockwell's production logistics business.
Evidence
“A great example of a strategic auto win in the quarter was with Subaru of Indiana Automotive, where our autonomous mobile robots are helping scale their production by improving efficiency, flexibility, and safety.”
Customers
Blake Moretz
Rockwell powers NASA's ground control systems for Artemis II, underscoring the reliability and trust in its technology for mission-critical applications, which could support its brand and premium positioning.
Evidence
“Last month, Rockwell supported NASA's Artemis II mission, enabling ground control systems for the first crewed mission to the moon in more than five decades.”
Partners
Partners
Blake Moretz
BHP is partnering with Rockwell on next-generation autonomous operations, signaling continued investment in mining automation and a strategic relationship that could drive long-term revenue.
Evidence
“In mining, we formed a strategic partnership with BHP to support them in advancing the next generation of autonomous operations, combining Rockwell's leadership in automation and AI with BHP's deep operational expertise.”
Supply chain
Supply chain
Christian Roethe
Management highlighted memory costs as a significant and increasing headwind, now expected to be a double-digit million-dollar headwind in the back half of FY2026. — Rising memory prices, likely due to AI-driven demand, are directly increasing input costs for automation equipment makers and are a key factor in their margin outlook.
Evidence
“For instance, memory costs continue to increase in Q2 and are now expected to represent a double-digit million-dollar headwind in the back half.”
External signals
Supply-chain alpha · 4returns since call
Rockwell is winning data center business by converting commercial-grade controls to its industrial Logix PLCs, leading to sales more than doubling year-over-year in this segment.
Evidence
“A great example of this momentum in Q2 was our win with ATS Automation, who is leading the conversion from commercial controls to our robust Logix PLCs at a new AI data center in Texas.”
Management highlighted memory costs as a significant and increasing headwind, now expected to be a double-digit million-dollar headwind in the back half of FY2026.
The dissolution of the Sensia JV is complete, removing a lower-margin, oil & gas-focused process automation business (about $200M annual revenue) from Rockwell, which will boost reported margins.
Evidence
“On April 1, after the close of our second quarter, we dissolved our Sensia JV. As we previously mentioned, the dissolution lowers reported revenue, increases lifecycle and Rockwell margin percentage, and is EPS neutral.”
Rockwell notes that 150bps of its 250bps total FY26 price expectation is from underlying price, indicating strong pricing power across the portfolio, not just tariff pass-through.
Methodology & coverage
Management-only analysis. All 5 validated company mentions are shown. Reported actuals and forward guidance are kept separate. Public evidence is limited to eight short attributed quotes. AI-generated analysis can be incomplete or wrong; verify important claims against the original source.