Generac surges as data center demand strengthens

Generac Holdings GNRC.N shares advancing 18% on Weds to over three-year high of $215.12 after co reported Q4 results below Wall Street estimates but forecast mid-teens net sales growth for 2026 while its presence in the data center market grew

GNRC shares on course for steepest one-day pct gain since Jul

Co's Q4 adj EPS of $1.61 and rev of $1.09 bln missed analysts' estimates of $1.77 and $1.16 bln, per LSEG, as weaker power-outage activity hit demand for home generators

Residential segment sales fell 23%, but its commercial and industrial segment posted a 10% sales rise with orders from data-center clients strengthening

CEO Aaron Jagdfeld said "momentum in the data center end market has further accelerated" and he expects GNRC's position as a key supplier to hyperscalers to add to co's backlog in the coming quarters

Stock recently at 22 times expected earnings, vs its 5-yr avg forward PE of about 21, suggesting it may be close to fairly valued, per LSEG data

GNRC has now rallied about 58% YTD vs a 1.4% rise for the S&P 500 .SPX and 13% gain in S&P 500 Industrials .SPLRCI

Avg rating of 23 analysts is "buy" and median PT is $202