Oct 29, 2026 earnings call — Record quarter, data center fiber win, RUCKUS update
Belden reported record revenue of $966 million and signed a $100 million 2027 fiber agreement, lifting 2027 data center business to approximately $275 million.
Revenue $1.0B (est $1.0B) · EPS $2.26 (est $2.26) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $1.0B–$1.0B
Key quotes
"We are now expanding that program substantially with a signed contract to supply $100 million of fiber solutions in 2027 in partnership with Wesco, one of our leading channel partners."
"For some RUCKUS products, component supply did not keep up with the strength of demand, which delayed shipments and held revenue back this quarter."
"Next, I want to highlight multiple healthcare wins in the Americas with different customers in different countries, which shows our solutions approach winning repeatedly and not just once."
Analyst Q&A 6
Data center work and Q4 sales mix
Q (Chris Dankert · D.A. Davidson): He asked how data center demand splits between fiber, networking, and switching and what the funnel looks like. He also asked what parts of Automation, wireless, and legacy Smart Buildings are included in the fourth quarter top-line guide.
A: Management said data center work is a mix of gray space and white space and that recently the white space portion has grown. They said the $275 million run rate now has a larger white-space mix, roughly two-thirds versus one-third gray space today. For the fourth quarter guide, most businesses should be roughly flat sequentially, with Automation and Smart Buildings showing healthy growth, Broadband low to mid-single digit growth, and RUCKUS roughly flat sequentially.
"So, as you bridge sequentially, I think you should assume that most of the businesses will be roughly flat on a sequential basis." — Jeremy Parks (CFO)
Industrial automation and RUCKUS plans
Q (Rob Jamieson · Needham): He wanted trends in the industrial businesses (discrete and energy), and future opportunities like physical AI and U.S. industrial automation. He also asked about RUCKUS integration, making switches in India, and early cross-sell pilots.
A: Management said core industrial is seeing double-digit order and revenue growth and customers are moving from automation to autonomy, especially in manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics. They said energy and transportation are more conservative, while robotics presents strong opportunities. On RUCKUS, they said Wi-Fi 7 adoption is faster, they are investing in multi-gigabit switch manufacturing in Pune, leveraging Belden switch expertise, and running pilots in warehouse automation and campus and gray-space data-center sales.
"This is also the market where we've had a lot of integration in terms of supply chain efforts because Belden traditionally has had a lot of expertise on switches, as you know, on the industrial Ethernet side." — Ashish Chand (CEO)
Data center pipeline and RUCKUS supply
Q (Piyush Avasthy · Citi): He asked about the pipeline for multi-million dollar data center projects and whether RUCKUS is opening more customer dialogues. He also asked about the shipment delays (referred to as memory dynamics) and whether revenue will be captured later or lost, and about underlying incrementals and RUCKUS impact.
A: Ashish said the acquisition immediately generated customer interest and the joint Belden/RUCKUS funnel is now in multiple tens of millions of dollars, with solution sales gaining traction in hospitals, hospitality, stadiums, and other Smart Buildings. Jeremy clarified the issue is not memory but chipsets for Wi-Fi 7 switches, called the problem transitory, and said demand is healthy and they expect to resolve supply constraints. He added margins were strong in Q3: excluding copper pass-throughs, incrementals were over 25% year-over-year and the fourth quarter guidance assumes a similar level; RUCKUS EBITDA margins were around 20% and could push incrementals toward 30% as it scales.
"The problem is more geared towards chipsets that we're using in the switches as part of the Wi-Fi 7 solution." — Jeremy Parks (CFO)
Data center contract size and supply peace
Q (Mark Delaney · Goldman Sachs): He asked whether more awards the size of the recently announced $100 million contract are likely in the next one to two quarters. He also asked how far along Belden is in securing supply to meet the $275 million 2027 outlook and whether that affects margins.
A: Management said they are in talks across many customers but are being choosy because demand currently exceeds supply; the $100 million contract followed a $20 million order and the customer expanded the relationship. Ashish said the $275 million 2027 plan is well supported: they have secured raw materials, contracts to source all glass, internal and supplemental capacity in Tucson, Pune, and Mexico, and they believe $275 million is well locked in with capacity to do more.
"We've secured all the raw materials to support that $275 million business for 2027." — Ashish Chand (CEO)
RUCKUS supply shortfall and Wi-Fi 7 timing
Q (Steven Fox · Fox Advisors): He estimated $10 million to $15 million of high-margin revenue was left on the table and asked to confirm. He also asked why management thinks the supply problem is transitory and for more detail on Wi-Fi 7 timing and adoption.
A: Jeremy agreed the impact in the quarter was roughly in that ballpark and said the issue came from under-forecasted orders for second-half demand as Wi-Fi 7 demand grew; they have placed new orders, added buffer stock, and integrated purchasing to remedy it. Ashish added that RUCKUS had been risk-averse in procurement under prior management and now is more forward-leaning, so they expect the issue to be short-term. On Wi-Fi 7 timing, Ashish said the transition is faster than expected and is happening in 2027, with the transition mostly done by the end of first half 2028.
"The source of the problem is that orders that were placed in the first half of the year for second half demand were not enough to accommodate the growth in demand in Wi-Fi 7." — Jeremy Parks (CFO)
Wi-Fi 8 plan and Broadband results
Q (William Stein · Truist): He asked about plans and timing to move to Wi-Fi 8 for industrial customers. He also asked for more detail on Broadband strength and whether that market is changing.
A: Ashish said RUCKUS was first with commercial Wi-Fi 7 and they are testing Wi-Fi 8 platforms now with a plan to enter the market in 2028. Jeremy said Broadband had low single-digit organic growth in the quarter, expects fourth quarter to be about the same or slightly better year-over-year, and described the market as relatively steady with customers still investing.
"And our plan is to certainly complete that, hopefully ahead of many of our competitors, and be in that market in 2028." — Ashish Chand (CEO)