Oct 28, 2026 earnings call — Raised guidance after strong orders and growth
Raised full-year net sales guidance to $14.7 billion.
Revenue $4.3B (est $3.7B) · EPS $2.21 (est $1.82) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $4.4B
Key quotes
"But it is worth sharing that our Q3 orders were more than 100% up year on year. Organically."
"We are making significant capacity investments globally to be well positioned to serve our customers and execute on a robust backlog."
"We are raising our full year guidance across all key metrics. Net sales expected at $14.7 billion, $650 million up on July guidance and approximately 38% organic growth."
Analyst Q&A 17
Order growth vs market share
Q (Amit Daryanani · Evercore): Was the 100%+ order growth catch-up or real demand, and is Vertiv taking share in AI deployments?
A: Management said the growth is above market and the market outlook shared in May remains intact. They said the orders trajectory is positive and that this shows the industry believes in Vertiv; they said this is not catch-up but orders.
"So if we continue to talk about orders and our orders trajectory, and we specifically talk about Q3 here, but as you as you heard, we are we are pretty positive about kind of a orders more broadly speaking." — Giordano Albertazzi
Product quality concerns
Q (Scott Davis · Melius): There is chatter about compressors burning out and UPS overheating. Are these product issues serious or overblown?
A: Management pointed to their performance and quality data and said they are optimistic about the trend. They acknowledged new products can show more variability early but said improvements are constant and that quality and reliability remain a competitive focus.
"When we look at the quality data we are, optimistic about what we see." — Giordano Albertazzi
Q2 supply issues and CapEx
Q (Charles Stephen Tusa · Wells Fargo): How did Q2 supply-chain issues play out, did revenue move into this year, and any preview of CapEx for 2027?
A: Management said some delayed revenue flowed into Q3, estimating recovery around 100 to 150. They are building factory resiliencies and put capacity in place; they will not provide a 2027 CapEx outlook now and will update as they move through fourth quarter.
"So I think we capped it somewhere around 100 to 150 I think that was some of the recovery we felt in the third quarter." — Craig Chamberlin
Americas margin differences
Q (Joe O'Dea · Vertical): Why is Americas margin spread different and how will efficiencies on new products affect margins?
A: Management said H2 incrementals in Americas are lower than H1 because of favorable comps and a large capacity ramp that caused inefficiency. They said mix shifted toward product over services, margins can improve as capacity stabilizes, and the right incremental margin framework is 30% to 35%.
"And I think the 30% to 35% that we put out there is the right way to think about it." — Craig Chamberlin
Service business KPIs and attachments
Q (Andrew Obin · BofA): Can you share KPIs for the service organization and any difference in attachment rates for electrical and thermal?
A: Management did not provide an answer in the transcript for this question.
Order pipeline by region
Q (Andrew Kaplowitz · Citi): Does the order pipeline continue to grow geographically into 2027, and how big are Europe and India opportunities?
A: Management said the pipeline strength is broad based. They said The Americas (especially the U.S.) is the largest market and accelerated in Q3, but EMEA and India also show convincing acceleration and growth outside the Americas is meaningful even if starting from smaller bases.
"So I was very explicit about the fact that we are very pleased about pipeline growth in The Americas." — Giordano Albertazzi
800-volt product progress and timing
Q (Mark Delaney · Goldman Sachs): How is customer momentum for 800 volt products and how much revenue impact in 2027?
A: Management said their roadmap and prior deck remain consistent and they are pleased with the directional progress. They said initial 800 volt to rack configurations are in validation, revenue generation starts in 2027 for those validations, and broader deployment is expected in 2028.
"I would say the situation continues to be consistent with that." — Giordano Albertazzi
Q3 to Q4 guide and 2027 growth
Q (Amit Mehrotra · UBS): Why is Q4 guidance roughly flat after a strong Q3, and does 4Q mark a jump-off for 2027 organic growth?
A: Management said Q3 contained about 100 to 150 of delayed Q2 revenue, so adjusting for that makes the sequential pattern more normal. They said they are prudent in guiding Q4, feel confident in pipeline and execution, but will not comment on 2027.
"So I think that is a little bit of a normalization there." — Craig Chamberlin
Inventory ramp and liquid cooling mix
Q (Tobey Okwara · Morgan Stanley): Why did inventory ramp over 100% year over year, and is liquid cooling taking more share and affecting margins?
A: Management said the inventory increase supports growth and adds factory resiliency, so it is both a reset and to support future demand. On liquid cooling, they said the mix is moving toward liquid cooling, Vertiv is satisfied with win rates and leadership there, air cooling remains relevant, system-level coordination matters, and they have factored these trends into guidance including services.
"the mix is definitely moving towards liquid cooling in the market, but we are also very satisfied about our role in the industry and our win rates" — Giordano Albertazzi
Supply fixes and new operations hire
Q (Nigel Coe · Wolfe): What measures fixed the internal supply issues and what will the new hire Mike bring to operations?
A: Management said they built processes and matured their on-site factory operations, progressed well on the learning curve, and believe they are ahead in the industry while still improving. They said Mike will help drive operational excellence and mature their vertical operating system across the business.
"I am pleased with the progress on our learning curve that is a combination of how we execute and how we really architect the entire system, how it works." — Giordano Albertazzi
Permitting and shipment timing
Q (Nicole DeBlase · Deutsche Bank): Are data center projects being pushed later because of power availability, permitting, or moratoriums?
A: Management said project-level movements are typical industry construction slippages and site complexities and they do not see material out-of-the-ordinary shifts. They said customers are careful and procure when projects are ready to be completed.
"What we see in terms of movements at project level is nothing out of the ordinary from what we have seen in the industry over the years." — Giordano Albertazzi
800V industrialization and customers
Q (Luke Junk · Baird): Where is industrialization of 800 volt products and which customers (chipmakers vs hyperscalers) are engaged?
A: Management said product launches must be paired with the right capacity, dedicated production lines, and supply chains, so industrialization is intrinsic to launch. They said customers include a combination of hyperscalers and silicon partners but they would not be more specific.
"So the industrialization is an intrinsic part of the product launch." — Giordano Albertazzi
NVIDIA DSX and deployment speed
Q (Ananda Baruah · Loop Capital): Will NVIDIA's DSX pod speed Vertiv's orders-to-revenue timing and increase velocity?
A: Management said they are very involved with DGX and the DSX AI factory and that the fundamental driver is time-to-token. They said their converged infrastructure and the DSX work aim to compress design and deployment via simulation and digital twin, which should accelerate deployment and expand market share.
"So what we are doing with the converged infrastructure, 1 core Smartron and what we are doing together with the NVIDIA on, the DSX, be it the pod of the broader is exactly going in the same direction." — Giordano Albertazzi
Backlog duration and order timing
Q (Varun Govindaraj · Bernstein): Are customers placing orders further out and has backlog coverage shifted from the typical range?
A: Management said how far out orders are placed has not changed dramatically and the 12 to 18 months range remains broadly true. They emphasized they count only purchase orders as backlog and do not include capacity agreements in backlog.
"Clearly, as you will very well remember, we are very strict in what we call a backlog." — Giordano Albertazzi
Margins footing into next year
Q (Andrew Buscaglia · BNP Paribas): Should we view exit margins as the starting point for 2027 given incremental volume, mix, and capacity?
A: Management said they will not give 2027 specifics now but reiterated the long-term framework targeting 30% to 35% incremental margins. They noted growth and other factors can influence where in that range they sit.
"I say, historically, what we have said and kinda go forward with what we laid out in the long term planning is we aim to be at the 30% to 35%." — Craig Chamberlin
Incremental margins and EMEA step-up
Q (Noah Kaye · Oppenheimer): Are higher incremental margins from 3Q to 4Q due to efficiency or timing, and are EMEA margin levels sustainable?
A: Management said there is a modest pickup in incremental margins from Q3 to Q4 but nothing material. They said positive impacts come from EMEA pull-through and APAC facilities coming online and running more normally.
"and, again, you still see some good pull through on EMEA." — Craig Chamberlin
Capital allocation and UIG strategy
Q (David Tarantino · KeyBanc): Can you discuss moving up the grid-interconnect market with UIG and whether opportunistic buybacks are possible?
A: Management said they want to keep cash for investments in operations and scalable inorganic plays and will continuously consider buybacks and dividends but see most value in investing in capabilities or M&A. They said UIG helps them engage earlier in architecture conversations and is synergistic for data center and microgrid design.
"We will continuously look at things like, you know, buybacks, dividends, and stuff like that, but in terms of where we see the most value accretive nature is investing in our own capabilities and capacity and or inorganic plays." — Craig Chamberlin