Oshkosh Q3 Revenue Rises, but Adjusted Profit Falls on Mix and Costs

Oshkosh Corporation reported higher third-quarter revenue as strong Access equipment demand offset declines in its Vocational and Transport businesses, but a less favorable sales mix and higher costs weighed on profitability. The company outlined a 2026 outlook calling for about $11.0 billion in revenue and adjusted diluted earnings of $8.50 to $9.50 per share.

For the three months ended September 30, net sales increased 5.7% to $2.84 billion from $2.69 billion a year earlier. Adjusted operating income fell 20.9% to $216.9 million, while adjusted operating margin narrowed to 7.6% from 10.2%.

Adjusted diluted EPS declined 24.7% to $2.41 from $3.20. On a GAAP basis, operating income was $197.1 million, representing a 6.9% margin, and diluted EPS was $2.22, compared with $3.04 in the prior-year quarter.

Oshkosh attributed the adjusted earnings decline primarily to sales mix, higher selling, general and administrative expenses, and income taxes. Higher sales volume, price-cost dynamics and a lower share count provided offsets.

Access Leads Revenue Growth

Access segment sales rose 20.7% to $1.34 billion, supported by higher North American volume and pricing. Adjusted operating income increased 23.1% to $149.9 million, and the adjusted margin edged up to 11.2% from 11.0%.

The company said demand for its JLG products continued to benefit from mega-project activity. Access backlog reached $2.7 billion, up 268% from a year earlier, providing visibility into future revenue. However, sales mix and incentive compensation partially offset the segment’s volume benefit during the quarter.

Oshkosh also highlighted Nextera’s autonomous Didge robots, which use visual artificial intelligence to map construction sites and provide information on project progress, quality and safety.

Vocational and Transport Profits Decline

Vocational segment sales decreased 7.0% to $899.9 million as lower volume more than offset pricing. Adjusted operating income fell 32.2% to $102.4 million, while adjusted margin contracted to 11.4% from 15.6%.

The segment’s results were affected by lower volume, production-transformation costs and higher SG&A expenses. Oshkosh said its Pierce business continued moving fire-truck assembly to new high-flow production lines as part of efforts to increase throughput. Vocational backlog was $6.7 billion, 5.3% above the prior-year level.

Transport sales fell 4.4% to $562.0 million, partly reflecting a prior-year Joint Light Tactical Vehicle intellectual-property license agreement. Operating income declined 77.6% to $8.2 million, and margin narrowed to 1.5% from 6.2%, also reflecting sales mix and manufacturing overhead costs. Pricing provided a partial offset.

Transport backlog totaled $5.6 billion, down 12.8% year over year. Oshkosh also disclosed a follow-on order from Morocco for 50 additional HET A1 tractors and trailers.

2026 Outlook and Cash Flow

For 2026, Oshkosh expects approximately $11.0 billion in revenue and about $850 million in adjusted operating income. Its adjusted EPS range of $8.50 to $9.50 corresponds to expected GAAP diluted EPS of $8.00 to $9.00.

The company projects Access sales of about $4.8 billion with a 9.75% adjusted operating margin, Vocational sales of approximately $3.7 billion with a 12.5% adjusted margin, and Transport sales of about $2.3 billion with a 4.0% operating margin.

Management also expects a tax rate of approximately 23.5%, capital expenditures of about $180 million and an average share count of roughly 62.5 million. Free cash flow is projected at $600 million to $700 million, based on expected operating cash flow of $780 million to $880 million.

Third-quarter free cash flow was $274.7 million, down from $464.3 million a year earlier. For the first nine months of 2026, free cash flow increased to $433.2 million from $77.7 million, as net cash from operating activities rose to $533.2 million.

Oshkosh’s outlook remains subject to several uncertainties, including cyclical demand in access equipment and specialty vehicle markets, tariffs and supply-chain disruption, input costs, production-rate execution, labor availability, government budget uncertainty and the timing of defense and postal-service orders. The company also identified pricing execution, manufacturing-efficiency savings, warranty costs, cybersecurity and the integration of acquisitions as potential risks to its financial objectives.