IDEX forecast full year profit below estimates as industrial demand stays weak

Feb 4 (Reuters) - IDEX Corp IEX.N on Wednesday forecast 2026 profit below Wall Street estimates, weighed down by poor demand for industrial equipment.

Large industrial customers have been slow to place orders as they navigate a shifting trade environment, hurting companies like IDEX, whose end-markets range from industrials and energy to automotive and pharmaceuticals.

U.S. manufacturing PMI registered its tenth straight month of contraction in December, when it was at 47.9, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management. Readings below 50 signal shrinking activity.

Even as the index recovered to 52.6 in January, manufacturers remained wary due to a shifting U.S. trade policy.

Excluding items, IDEX expects its 2026 adjusted profit to be between $8.15 and $8.35 per share, whose midpoint is below Wall Street estimates of $8.31 apiece, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company's fourth-quarter adjusted earnings stood at $2.10 per share, compared to $2.04 per share a year ago.

Total revenue rose about 4.2% to $899.1 million for the quarter ended December 31 from a year earlier. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $882.4 million.