Belden Q3 Revenue, Orders Hit Records as Data Center Outlook Expands

Belden Inc. reported record fiscal third-quarter revenue and orders as double-digit organic growth in its core Automation and Smart Buildings markets combined with the first-quarter contribution from Ruckus Networks. The networking equipment company also said a new $100 million fiber-assembly agreement expanded its expected 2027 data center business to more than $275 million, compared with the $175 million run rate announced in the previous quarter.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 27 rose 38% year over year to $966.0 million. Acquisitions and divestitures contributed 24 percentage points of the increase, copper pass-through pricing added 3 points, and organic revenue grew 11%. The results include Ruckus, whose acquisition closed July 1.

Orders reached a record $1.02 billion, up 46% on a reported basis and 16% organically. The book-to-bill ratio was 1.05, indicating that orders exceeded quarterly revenue. Automation and Smart Buildings each recorded double-digit organic revenue growth and order increases of about 30%.

Adjusted gross profit climbed 50% to $401.2 million, while adjusted gross margin expanded 330 basis points to 41.5%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 44% to $171.1 million, with the margin rising 70 basis points to 17.7%. Adjusted net income advanced 13% to $89.3 million, and adjusted earnings per diluted share rose 15% to $2.26.

On a GAAP basis, Belden recorded a net loss of $11.4 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, compared with net income of $56.7 million, or $1.41 per share, a year earlier. Quarterly operating income fell to $16.8 million from $76.3 million, reflecting higher selling, general and administrative costs, research and development spending, and intangible-asset amortization. Interest expense also increased to $41.8 million from $11.6 million.

Data center agreement expands 2027 opportunity

Belden said the $100 million agreement, signed after quarter-end and therefore excluded from third-quarter orders, covers fiber assemblies for delivery in 2027. It expands a previously announced program with a Tier-1 hyperscale customer and will be fulfilled through Wesco International.

The company expects its data center business to exceed $275 million in 2027. Belden also reported more than $8 million of follow-on orders from an existing hyperscale customer. In data center infrastructure outside the data hall, industrial-switch orders associated with a 2025 award were approximately 50% above the company’s initial estimate, while additional project wins in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific broadened its specification positions.

Belden’s solutions strategy also produced several large projects during the quarter, including a $10 million high-speed rail network award in Asia-Pacific, a $9 million hospital project in the U.S. and approximately $20 million of work covering two new hospitals in Canada.

Ruckus demand outpaces shipments

Ruckus generated $168 million of revenue, down 6% from a year earlier, as component availability and longer supplier lead times delayed shipments. Orders nevertheless increased 10%, point-of-sale and sell-through activity rose 6%, and the business posted a 1.09 book-to-bill ratio.

Belden said it is responding to the supply constraints through alternate sourcing, product substitutions and combined purchasing intended to secure larger component allocations. The company described Ruckus backlog as healthy but said shipment recovery will vary by product family. Fourth-quarter guidance incorporates its current visibility into supplier availability.

Integration efforts include joint Belden-Ruckus customer pilots, combined procurement and logistics, and new production in India for Ruckus ICX Ethernet switches. Management said the acquisition expands Belden’s portfolio across wired and wireless networking and supports its push toward full-stack converged network solutions.

Elsewhere, Wireless Broadband delivered low-single-digit organic revenue growth, consistent with the first half of 2026, as customers continued investing in DOCSIS 4.0 and fiber expansion projects.

Fourth-quarter outlook and balance-sheet priorities

For the fourth quarter, Belden expects revenue of $960 million to $980 million. The company forecasts GAAP diluted earnings of $0.24 to $0.39 per share and adjusted earnings of $2.20 to $2.35 per share. The guidance includes Ruckus and assumes net interest expense of $44.3 million, depreciation of $19.0 million, a 17.2% tax rate and 39.5 million shares.

Trailing-12-month free cash flow was $228.7 million at the end of the quarter, up from $214.0 million a year earlier. Belden estimates about $200 million of free cash flow for the second half of 2026 and approximately $300 million for 2027. Deleveraging is management’s near-term capital-allocation priority following the Ruckus acquisition, which helped lift long-term debt to $3.03 billion at Sept. 27 from $1.29 billion at the end of 2025. Net leverage stood at 3.9 times, and the company’s long-term target is approximately 1.5 times by 2029.

The outlook remains subject to component constraints, variable supplier lead times and acquisition-integration execution. Belden also cautioned that actual results may differ from its projections because of economic and market conditions, working-capital movements, pricing, tax rates and other risks described in its regulatory filings.