ITT Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Margin Reaches 21%, Guidance Raised

ITT reported broad-based growth in its Q3 2026 earnings call, supported by aerospace and defense demand, Flow Technologies projects and the SPX FLOW acquisition. Management raised its full-year organic revenue, adjusted EPS and free cash flow guidance.

Key Takeaways

• Orders increased 58% year over year and 20% organically. Revenue rose 44% to more than $1.4 billion, with organic growth of 8% and a quarterly book-to-bill ratio of 1.08.
• Adjusted operating margin expanded 140 basis points to 21%, reaching that level for the first time. Adjusted EPS increased 20% to $2.26.
• Year-to-date free cash flow reached $464 million, up 26%. ITT repaid more than $200 million of debt in Q3 and reduced leverage to 2.3x.
• Connect & Control Technologies generated 55% organic order growth, driven by aerospace demand and defense share gains. Management said its backlog for Q4 2026 and 2027 was more than 30% higher than a year earlier.
• SPX FLOW revenue increased 6% in Q3 and 8% year to date. Management expects the acquired business to deliver high-single-digit full-year growth, while projected year-end cost savings exceed $20 million.
• ITT raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to a midpoint of $8.58 and its free cash flow guidance midpoint to $610 million.

Key Financial Data

Business and Operating Performance

Connect & Control Technologies

CCT organic revenue increased 19%, while organic orders rose 55%. Commercial aerospace benefited from higher production rates and pricing, while defense growth reflected European awards and kSARIA’s expanding participation in major programs.

In prepared remarks, management said kSARIA orders increased 146%, supported by submarine, tactical radio and F-35 awards. The business also participates in Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines and missile programs. Connectors orders rose 37%, with growth across regions, channels and end markets.

CCT operating margin expanded 100 basis points to a record 22%. Higher volume and pricing more than offset inflation. ITT is investing in engineering, automation and production capacity, including Aerospace Contacts operations in Phoenix and facilities in Germany and Mexico.

Motion Technologies

Motion Technologies organic revenue grew 2%. The business continued to outperform global vehicle production, with year-to-date outperformance of 506 basis points. KONI orders increased 24%, driven by rail and European defense demand.

Segment margin rose 70 basis points to 21% as productivity offset customer pricing pressure. Management described 21% as the segment’s new margin floor and maintained its long-term objective of reaching 23% by 2030, independent of market growth.

The company expects Geo-Pad production for a European OEM to begin in Q1 2028. Management also expects electronic braking adoption to develop fastest in China.

Flow Technologies and SPX FLOW

Flow Technologies revenue increased 99% on a reported basis and 6% organically. Orders rose 108%, including 11% organic growth, supported by oil and gas projects, marine energy-transition activity and biopharma valves.

Valves revenue increased 20% and achieved a 1.2x book-to-bill ratio. Flow Technologies margin was 22.4%, up 100 basis points sequentially, as integration synergies accelerated. Management said mix was unfavorable and acquisitions diluted the segment margin by 60 basis points.

SPX FLOW revenue grew 6% in Q3 and 8% year to date. Nutrition & Health revenue increased 16% year to date, while Waukesha Cherry-Burrell and mixers also contributed. SPX FLOW’s year-to-date book-to-bill was 1.04x, and backlog increased 7% year over year.

Management said the cost-synergy pipeline exceeds the original $80 million target. ITT projects more than $20 million of savings by year-end, equivalent to an annual run rate above $30 million. Revenue-synergy initiatives include localization in Latin America and the Middle East, expansion in China and India, and greater penetration of the Bornemann hygienic twin-screw pump platform.

Management Guidance

Management expects SPX FLOW to achieve high-single-digit revenue growth in 2026. It also said Q4 performance should be broadly aligned with Q3 after accounting for four fewer operating days and potential automotive headwinds.

Risks and Areas to Watch

• Q4 2026 has four fewer operating days year over year, and automotive OEMs could begin December shutdowns earlier than previously forecast.
• Motion Technologies continues to face demanding commercial terms and recurring efficiency concessions to automotive customers.
• Middle East project orders have shifted to the right, although management said some Saudi Aramco-related orders began to materialize in Q3.
• Habonim’s Israeli operations are growing orders and revenue, but transportation and operating inefficiencies are pressuring margins.
• Flow Technologies faced unfavorable mix and acquisition-related margin dilution during the quarter.
• SPX FLOW’s industrial pumps operations require localization in Asia and the Middle East, alongside resizing in Europe as the region’s chemical market declines.
• Management cautioned that SPX FLOW revenue synergies will take time to appear in reported results.

Analyst Q&A Highlights

Capital allocation: ITT is prioritizing cash generation, SPX FLOW synergies and debt reduction. Management said the company could pursue bolt-on acquisitions over the next 12 months but would likely need 12–15 months before being ready for another larger transaction.

Acquisition priorities: Management is evaluating opportunities in CCT connectors, particularly aerospace and defense, and in Flow Technologies. Smaller transactions could also address technology or product gaps in SPX FLOW’s mixers and Nutrition & Health businesses.

CCT visibility: Management said CCT’s Q4 2026 and 2027 backlog was more than 30% above the prior-year level, while backlog for longer-term major platforms was more than 100% higher. Pricing, lean manufacturing, automation and procurement were identified as additional margin opportunities.

Flow Technologies pipeline: The opportunity funnel increased approximately 6% year over year in Q3. North America was described as the strongest growth region, with Latin America also benefiting from project activity.

2027 positioning: Management expects Motion Technologies to continue outperforming its automotive market over the next two to three years. Flow Technologies is expected to enter 2027 with a higher legacy backlog, while aerospace and defense demand supports CCT visibility.

Full Earnings Call Transcript

Complete Earnings Call Transcript

Management Remarks

Operator

Welcome to ITT's 2026 Third Quarter Conference Call. Today is Thursday, November 5, 2026. Today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. [Operator Instructions]

It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Carleen Salvage, Vice President, Investor Relations and FP&A. You may begin.

Carleen Salvage

Thank you, Liz, and good morning. Joining me in Stamford today are Luca Savi, ITT's Chief Executive Officer and President; and Mike Savinelli, Interim Chief Financial Officer.

Today's call will cover ITT's financial results for the 3-month period ended October 3, 2026, which we announced yesterday evening. Please refer to Slide 2 of the presentation available on our website where we note that today's comments will include forward-looking statements which are based on our current expectations. Actual results may differ materially due to several risks and uncertainties including those described on our 2025 annual report on Form 10-K and other recent SEC filings.

Except where otherwise noted, the third quarter results we present this morning will be compared to the third quarter of 2025 and include certain non-GAAP financial measures. The reconciliations of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures are detailed in our press release and in the appendix of our presentation, both of which are available on our website.

Today's earnings call includes year-over-year commentary on the performance of SPX FLOW that reflects financial information before the acquisition date of March 2, 2026.

With that, it is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Luca, who will begin on Slide 3.

Luca Savi

Thank you, Carleen, and good morning. Let me begin by thanking our employees around the world who have delivered another outstanding quarter. Our results are a direct reflection of the hard work we do at ITT, each and every day for our customers and our shareholders. I couldn't be more proud and I can assure you there is more to come. I would also like to extend a special thank you to our colleagues at Habonim in Israel and Goulds Pumps in Saudi, who continue to excel in extremely challenging environment. Ilan, Kalim and their teams have demonstrated remarked resilience whilst continuing to deliver quarter after quarter. Their unwavering commitment to serve our customers is second to none. This is the very best of ITT.

Now turning to the highlights to our third quarter. We grew orders 58% or 20% organically. We grew revenue for 44% or 8% organically, reflecting a book-to-bill of 1.08 for the quarter. We expanded operating margin 140 basis points reaching 21% for the very first time. We delivered EPS of $2.26, up 20% year-over-year. And finally, we generated $464 million of free cash flow year-to-date, up 26% from the prior year, a truly outstanding quarter.

Let's get now into the details on orders. Orders are once again the highlight of the quarter, with continued aerospace recovery, defense content expansion healthy project activity and ongoing market share gains across the portfolio. CCT continued its strong momentum from Q2, growing organic orders 55%, driven by aerospace tailwinds and defense share gains.

In defense, kSARIA keeps on winning market share and achieved 146% growth in orders, driven by awards in submarine, tactical radio platforms and the F-35 with a very healthy backlog for the short and medium term and our growing participation across key defense programs that provide multiyear visibility ,kSARIA will be a significant platform for growth in the years to come.

Connectors also grew 37% in the quarter, driven by broad-based trend across all regions, all channels and all end markets. In Motion Technologies, we continue to strengthen our position through a combination of platform rewins and conquest awards that will fuel future market share gains in friction. In KONI, orders were strong again this quarter, growing 24%, driven by strength in rail and European defense, including a significant order for Patria.

And finally, Flow Technologies delivered 108% orders growth, with organic orders up 11%, driven by key project wins in oil and gas, including Venezuela and in marine energy transition alongside continued strength in biopharma for our valves business.

In SPX FLOW, mixers delivered 6% growth from large project orders in North America and China. While Waukesha Cherry-Burrell grew 10%, driven by strong original equipment run rate through North America distribution.

On revenue, Organic growth across all segments contributed to another quarter of strong performance, underscoring once again the power of ITT's differentiation. In CCT, organic revenue grew 19%. Commercial aerospace continue to benefit from increasing production rates and pricing actions whilst defense growth was bolstered by European Defense wins coupled with kSARIA's expanding presence on marquee programs.

Connectors also grew its industrial segment 31% globally, mainly through distribution. MT once again outperformed global vehicle production across all regions, resulting in a year-to-date outperformance of 506 basis points. Flow Technologies grew revenue 99% or 6% organically, led by sustained momentum in pump projects and strength in our short-cycle valves businesses. Valves revenue increased 20% and we still generated a healthy 1.2 book-to-bill.

Finally, SPX FLOW revenue grew 6% in Q3 and 8% year-to-date, keeping the business on track to deliver high single-digit growth for the full year, supported by strength in Nutrition & Health, Waukesha Cherry-Burrell and mixers.

On operating margin, CCT margins expanded 100 basis points year-over-year to a record 22%. Volume and pricing actions more than offset inflationary pressures. We continue to invest in resources, in automation and capacity to deliver today's backlog and capture tomorrow's share gains. kSARIA also contributed to CCT's performance expanding margin to over 19%, benefiting from pricing and operating leverage. Well done, my team, for kSARIA's margin expansion as well as revenue growth and order.

Motion Technologies expanded margins 70 basis points to 21% as net productivity more than offset customer pricing pressures in friction. Flow Technologies delivered a margin of 22.4%, improving 100 basis points sequentially as integration synergies accelerate. All of this contributed to EPS growth of 20% to $2.26.

Now to cash capital deployment. In Q3, we generated $288 million of free cash flow, bringing our year-to-date total to $464 million. With this strong cash performance, we paid down over $200 million of debt and reduced our leverage ratio to 2.3x. We now expect the year-end ratio to be approximately 2.1x.

We also continue to repurchase shares, $50 million in Q3 and over $150 million year-to-date. In the quarter, we also acquired Aerospace Contacts, strengthening our supply chain and improving our ability to support future growth in CCT. While on the topic of M&A, it has been 8 months since we completed our largest acquisition, SPX FLOW. Let me now share our progress on the 2 biggest drivers of value creation, growth and cost synergies.

On the growth front, year-to-date revenue growth of 8% was driven by strength in Nutrition & Health, which has grown 16% year-to-date as a result of a healthy backlog. This performance, coupled with strength in Waukesha Cherry-Burrell and mixers more than offset the challenges in the former Industrial pumps segment. Given this performance and the backlog for Q4, we are confident SPX FLOW will achieve high single-digit growth in 2026.

Also, orders momentum continues to be strong, resulting in a book-to-bill of 1.04x year-to-date, and the backlog growing 7% versus the prior year.

As we look ahead, our focus is on unlocking SPX FLOW's growth potential by deploying the IT playbook of driving market share gains and relentless execution, both operationally and commercially. In Nutrition & Health, we're simplifying the organization to increase accountability, eliminate bureaucracy and accelerate decision-making was driving more innovation and leveraging an already strong customer intimacy. I was able to experience this intimacy firsthand when I met with Danone's leadership team in Paris. This partnership is exceptional. Our teams are working side-by-side to develop capital plans and design specialized equipment to improve productivity, increase throughput and reduce energy consumption to help the Danone win. This level of partnership is a powerful competitive advantage that helps us secure long-term growth opportunities.

In mixers, we are utilizing our technical leadership to expand aftermarket penetration and we are driving productivity VA/VE initiatives to improve cost competitiveness. For the future, we're also now laying the groundwork to deliver on the revenue synergies through localization in Latin America and the Middle East, leveraging the Goulds footprint and network. At Waukesha Cherry-Burrell, we're expanding our TAM by growing our presence in China and India and by entering the attractive industrial process market.

And we're already leveraging our installed base and customer relationships to drive share gains in North America for our Bornemann hygienic twin screw pump platform. In industrial pumps, the picture is mixed. Bran+Luebbe pumps on one hand, need to get closer to our customers in Asia and the Middle East by localizing assembly as well as engineering whilst resizing our European operations. On the other hand, our Johnson Pumps engineered and manufactured in India have successfully conquered the Indian market. We can leverage this competitive product to expand sales globally. I was fortunate to spend time with Sergit and his team in our plant in India. It's a great plant, a good team, and we will invest into this business.

On cost synergies, we are ahead. The team has built a robust pipeline of synergies well surpassing our original $80 million target. For Q3 '26, we targeted $15 million of savings. And since closing in just 8 months, we are projecting savings of over $20 million by year-end. This translates to an annual run rate greater than $30 million.

Corporate and business unit G&A synergies are executed, supply chain and procurement actions are well underway and will deliver savings in year 2. While it is still early innings, were performing well ahead of plan.

Thank you, Lori, Bartek, the entire team and the EYP team for your hard work and for delivering these amazing results.

With that, let me turn the call over to Mike to discuss Q3 results in more detail.

Michael Savinelli

Thank you, Luca, and good morning. As Luca highlighted, Q3 marked another quarter of strong execution. We once again delivered growth across key financial metrics, including revenue, adjusted operating margin, earnings per share and free cash flow. Our teams delivered over $1.4 billion in revenue, growing 44% and 8% organically. SPX FLOW contributed 35 points of total revenue growth in the quarter. CCT grew 19% organically, fueled by strength in industrial connectors and aerospace events. As Luca highlighted, kSARIA's continues to be a key contributor to the segment's growth. Motion Technologies grew 2% organically, driven by continued friction, outperformance and aftermarket strength.

Finally, Flow Technologies grew 6% organically, reflecting continued strength in project and valves. Strong execution across ITT coupled with SPX FLOW drove 55% adjusted operating income growth and 140 basis points of margin expansion. CCT grew operating income 27% and expanded margin 100 basis points to 22% as the team converted higher volume into strong earnings growth with disciplined pricing and productivity initiatives that more than offset inflation.

Flow Technology delivered a 22.4% margin in the quarter, up 100 basis sequentially, driven by cost synergies. And MT expanded 70 basis points to 21%, overcoming commercial pricing pressures by driving net productivity of 140 basis points. Although inflation remains present across the macro environment, we continue to effectively manage price cost and invest in initiatives that support margin expansion and long-term valuation. Year-to-date free cash flow totaled $464 million, reflecting a margin of 11%.

Excluding acquisition-related expenses highlighted in Q1, free cash flow increased 46%. Lastly, strong revenue growth and robust margin expansion drove adjusted EPS to $2.26 for the quarter, increasing 20% versus the prior year. This marks yet another quarter of exceptional earnings growth.

Now let's turn to the Q3 EPS bridge on Slide 6. EPS growth primarily driven by strong operational performance across all legacy businesses, which contributed $0.31 of growth through operating leverage, pricing and net productivity savings. The operational contribution from SPX FLOW added $0.80 of growth, partially offset by the impact of the incremental interest share count and tax rate.

What makes these results even more compelling is that we achieve them while making significant investments in engineering resources in R&D, in VIDAR and in production capacity to support future growth.

Now let's move to Slide 7 to discuss our updated 2026 outlook and guide. We are raising our full year organic revenue guidance range to 7% to 9% growth reflecting stronger bookings in CCT, continued strength across both project and short-cycle businesses and FT and strong operational perform across all businesses. On adjusted operating margin, we expect to deliver over 100 basis points of expansion to approximately 20.6% in the midpoint, fueled by top line growth, favorable price-to-cost ratio, productivity gains and accelerated synergy savings.

Our tax projects have reduced the effective tax rate to 23.75% as of Q3, and this is considered in the full year guide. Because of the year-to-date results and the momentum we've generated in the first 3 quarters, we are raising our adjusted EPS outlook for 2026 to $8.58 at the midpoint. This represents a $0.36 increase and a 19% growth year-over-year, fueled by volume, pricing, productivity initiatives and accelerated realization of cost synergies.

We now expect SPX FLOW's net contributing to be over $0.20. Notably, the low end of our new guidance range now exceeds the high end of our prior range. Finally, turning to cash and capital structure. We're raising the midpoint of our free cash flow guidance to $610 million, representing a free cash flow margin of approximately 11%. Strong cash generation continues to support our deleveraging efforts and we remain ahead of plan as we drive towards approximately 2.1x by year-end.

Now let me turn the call back over to Luca to wrap up on Slide 8.

Luca Savi

Thanks, Mike. Before closing the call with key takeaways, I would like to share an organizational change within the ITT leadership team. Davide Barbon, currently Senior Vice President and President of Motion Technologies will expand his responsibility and take the leadership role of Connect & Control Technologies in addition to MT.

I would like to thank Michael Guhde for his contribution in improving CCT over the last few years. CCT is the business in our portfolio with the highest growth potential, largest margin expansion potential and the richest opportunity for continuous improvement. This is the perfect court for Davide to excel and run its playbook. While it can exercise once more, this commercial acumen is relentless drive for continuous improvement and his 100, over 100 approach, capturing the 20 others leave behind.

Davide's incredible track record in APAC and in MT makes him the ideal fit to transform CCT. Congratulations Davide and thanks for all you've done and above all for what you will do and the value you will create for our customers, our shareholders and our people.

Now before we move to our favorite part of the call, the Q&A, let me drive home a few points. The message is the same. ITT differentiation is driving share gains, which continue to fuel growth across our platforms. Our relentless execution continues to deliver margin expansion and accelerate earnings. And trust me, there is more to come. And our acquisitions are turbocharging value creation and increase our growth opportunities.

Guys, the strategy is sound and executed rigorously. Q3 was strong and our backlog is healthy and growing. This momentum gives us confidence for Q4 entering 2027. As always, I appreciate your time and continued interest in ITT. Liz, please open the line for Q&A.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Scott Davis with Melius Research.

Question-and-Answer Session

Unknown Analyst

It's actually Jake on, surprise. We've got a busy morning. So I figured I would hear you folks. I just had a quick question for you. As leverage is coming down here pretty quickly, now I think you peaked almost 3x and will probably be well under well under 2x next year. Is the organization in a place where you actually have the capacity to go out and do something, I don't know if it's of the size of SPX, but certainly, I think on the larger side?

Luca Savi

So I would say the focus right now continue and generate the cash, deliver on the synergies, pay down the debt and be ready for something larger in 12, 15 months. Now this doesn't exclude bolt-on acquisitions. So I would say in the next 12 months, you shouldn't be surprised if we are able to add some bolt-ons. But when it comes to larger acquisitions, I think that we still need to deliver and for our shareholders and improve the values of SPX FLOW. It's still early innings, as I said.

Unknown Analyst

Okay. That makes sense. And just on a different topic. I didn't hear much mention of the Middle East. I know there obviously still a lot of disruption there. But have those projects -- those project discussions, are they starting to move forward at this point and the region sort of settling into a new normal? Or is that still getting pushed to the right?

Luca Savi

Sure. Thanks. So when you look at the Middle East, we really have 2 operations there, Jake. We have Habonim making valves, hydrogen, LNG in Israel and Goulds Pumps in Dammam, Saudi. So when you look at the former, it's performing exceptionally well. So we are growing orders. We are growing revenue we are suffering a little bit on the operating margin because of the cost. You can imagine the operations are not as efficient as they could be, the cost of transportation, but you're talking about high teens versus in the 20s. So that is going incredibly well. So well done to Ilan and his team. .

The latter, which is the Goulds pumps in Saudi, first of all, this business has been growing and when I look at the full year basis, probably the businesses this year will be growing more than 20%. This is because we are delivering a very healthy and very good backlog that we had at the beginning of the year. When it comes to the orders, the orders shifted to the right, as you said, but I'm pleased to share that in Q3, some very good orders start materializing, but of course, not to the level that it was in the past. But the things are moving, and we booked some good orders for some very good investment with the Saudi Aramco.

Operator

Our next question comes from Jeff Hammond with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Jeffrey Hammond

Just on FLOW margins, they were a little light versus my expectations. I don't know if that's mix or some of the Middle East noise, just kind of maybe talk about margin progression. I know the synergies are running ahead, but margin progression on the core.

Luca Savi

Sure. So if you look at the Flow Technologies, I mean the margin at 22.4% is if you look at the legacy, the legacy was approximately 20%, 23%. And so you have 60 basis points of dilution in the margin of Flow Technologies. Now sequentially, it improved 100 basis points Q2 over Q3. Volume and price were positive, but rightly you rightly said that, Jeff, the mix was negative. So there was a negative mix as well as 60 basis points of dilution -- of acquisition dilution.

Jeffrey Hammond

Okay. Great. And then just on flow, can you just speak to pipeline, I think you covered Middle East pretty well, but there seem to be some concerns about orders, which turned out pretty good, but just pipeline in FLOW. And then just as you think about revenue synergies on SPX FLOW, you listed a lot of opportunities. Just how do you think that's coming along versus expectation where that starts to deliver differentiation in '27?

Luca Savi

Sure. So when you look at the pipeline, the funnel is healthy, and it continues to grow. It was up in Q1. It was up in Q2. It's up again in Q3, roughly 6% year-over-year. So you have to think about it. I mean, this is really a powerful flywheel, the way say, Jeff. Because you have a good revenue growth when you look at the business, right? On top of this good revenue growth, you have a book to bill, which is above 1. So order coming in faster than your revenue growth.

And the funnel of opportunities is actually increasing 6% in the quarter year-over-year. So the funnel gets replenished even at a faster rate than you're booking the orders. So it's a powerful flywheel. It's fair to say that when you look at geography, the most powerful region is North America. And this is really the best growth engine that we have within Flow Technology. Latin America is good as well, but North America is definitely where the growth is.

Going to the second part of your question, revenue synergies, it takes time in terms of revenue synergy. This is really why we didn't put them in the model. Now having said that, Waukesha has done an outstanding job, Rudy and the team to move super fast to localize the inventory to start Bornemann pumps. We are proceeding quite fast on the localization also of the assembly and the venture of the machining. So I'm feeling very positive about that. And as a matter of fact, we had just recently a touch base with Wendy on the localization of both in the Middle East and in Latin America. So thing is progressing quite well, I would say. But it takes time to get the revenue synergies in the books.

Operator

Our next question comes from Mike Halloran with Baird.

Michael Halloran

So CCT, just another quarter of dynamic trends here. So maybe you could talk about -- maybe more context on durability, I suppose. What does this mean for forward visibility, all else equal, how do these contracts that you're winning right now cadence out? What's the line of sight to continue to see the strength, maybe not at this level, but still strong win rates and customer penetration on a forward basis?

Luca Savi

Sure. So let me address this in 2 ways. First of all, when you look at the strength of the order in CCT, it's broad, it's across the board. You have it in controls, up 34% in orders. You have it in connectors up 37% after already a Q2 of 38% up. And kSARIA, 136%. So now -- and this broad across different segments, it's aero, defense, is industrial.

So if I think about the -- some of these markets, aerospace, the recovery will keep on going. Defense, the spending will keep on happening. So I see it from a market point of view, we will continue to have these tailwinds for a while, and the team is doing a great job in winning market share on the award side.

Now in terms of the ability to translate this into revenue and it's -- we've got a very good situation here because we look at the backlog in the short, medium and the long term. So our backlog for Q4 and for 2027 is up more than 30% versus what we had last year at this point in time. And the one for the long term, the big platform is up more than 100%, which gives you extreme visibility. So this is really a good platform for growth for the future, Mike.

Michael Halloran

And then prepared remarks, you alluded that the CCT had the most margin upside, not really a surprise, but maybe just give some context on why you feel that way and what those aspirations look like.

Luca Savi

Sure. For the aspiration, you will have to wait our next Capital Markets Day that is going to happen next year, right? So you need to be patient on that one. But let me tell you why we see that way. First of all, is this segment in a market where you've got the best pricing leverage. And therefore, these is an area where we have done a good job, but believe me, we can do much, much more. That is a big level.

Second, when I look at the continuous improvement and lean and the factory and the operations, this is probably the best value center of the business that is still behind the compare, for sure to MT, but also compared to Flow Technologies. And therefore, there is plenty of opportunity there and not to talk also in terms of the purchasing.

So because of these levers and the level of maturity that we have there compared to MT or Flow technologies, this is why we say we have this great opportunity.

Operator

Our next question comes from Joe Ritchie with Goldman Sachs.

Unknown Analyst

This is [Andre] on for Joe. Congrats on the.quarter. I just wanted to touch upon the 2026 guide and the puts and takes around it. So I recognize got the organic growth guide, but you've had really strong order growth as well as organic year-to-date. Q4 kind of implies low to mid-single-digit growth in the quarter. And I know you've spoken about the 4 extra days coming out of Q4. So I just wanted to understand the puts and takes on what we should keep in mind and how you're thinking about it versus your initial guide.

Luca Savi

Okay. I think that when we look at Q4, I think that our guidance is having a Q4, which is pretty much aligned with our Q3. I think that what you -- what we need to pay attention here as you rightly said, is in Q4 if we're going to have 4 days less on a year-to-year -- on a year-over-year basis and then also probably some headwind when it comes to the automotive market. And what we see is that because of the dynamic in the market, there is the potential that several OEMs might decide to shut down earlier in December that originally forecasted.

And for the reason, specifically, when you look at Motion Technologies that it will be on a year-over-year and more of a challenging compare, even though they're growing on a yearly basis, but Q4 will be a little bit more challenging for them.

Unknown Analyst

Got it. That's helpful. Just as my follow-up, since you mentioned Motion Technology as well. The margins in that segment have really been a standout and have now sustained for 21%, at the 21% for the last 3 quarters. I just wanted to understand how repeatable that productivity performance is and what kind of volume assumptions you're baking in to achieve our 2030 margin targets, given some of the softness that we're seeing in the auto OEM space and also the price cost environment.

Luca Savi

Sure. You are spot on. 21% now is the new floor. And really, the team is doing an exceptional job in really consolidating this 21% and then to continue to improve. I would say that when you say about the -- we are targeting our long-term target by 2030 of 23% independently from the growth in the market. And the reason for that is because we still have several opportunities to improve in our plan. Let me give you a couple of examples. If you think about our high-performance plant, which we started in 2025, now we are making money this year, but Q3 was just double-digit profitability and much dilutive to the profitability of several of the plants in friction.

And as we are ramping up, that margin will go up. There are plenty of opportunities still to improve productivity in the plant and eliminating waste and then the introduction of new formulation like the Geo-Pad, which will start production for a European OEM in Q1 2028 that will give us some room as it's going to be a much more cost competitive product.

Operator

Our next question comes from Daniel DiCicco with BMO Capital Markets.

Daniel DiCicco

One more on CCT. Obviously, impressive growth, again, another really strong orders quarter. I know you acquired Aerospace Contacts to help the supply base there, but maybe you could talk through some of the investments you're making to help sustain that growth? And if there's any other areas that you're kind of focused on.

Luca Savi

Spot on. We acquired Aerospace Contacts in July and actually spent a couple of days with Ed and the team in Phoenix with them the other week. It's a good plant. We've got good machines for the high-mix, low-volume contacts. Ed and Melissa are doing a fantastic job, the management over there. And we are talking to Ed and Melissa to invest in new machines also to address the high-volume, low-mix content, which completely different type of machine, for setting up a different shop floor close by.

We also invested in new machines -- and this has been a process that started more than 12 months ago in Weinstadt Germany for our molding, for our machining and also in Nogales, Mexico, and this is really to be able to supply this level of growth. And these analysis continue on a monthly basis, I would say.

Daniel DiCicco

Great. And then just the kSARIA numbers are huge. And so I know you mentioned the F-35. But just what are some of the other platforms you're seeing there? And then what is really driving those wins for you all?

Luca Savi

Sure. Mike, Stravos, Mike -- the team in kSARIA team are doing a fantastic job in execution. They are really well known in the market for doing a consistent, good job and for delivering on time. This was a feedback that we got it loud and clear also during the due diligence. And therefore, because of this consistent execution, they are able to win market share. And they know we might not be particularly sexy. There are not cool words saying it, but it's just great execution, and they're differentiating in executing.

So they are able to win in the submarines, the Virginia and Columbia Class, the fighters, the F-35 and they are also on the missile programs. So it's broad-based, I would say.

Operator

Our next question comes from Joe Giordano with TD Cowen.

Joseph Giordano

Luca, I felt for a long time that Davide did not have enough work to do, so I'm glad to see him doing this now. I just am curious like MT playbook, how applicable is it to CCT, right?

Like MT, you think about friction in particular, very consolidated big plants that serve a global footprint, high volume. CCT, smaller businesses, more plants or like a lot of like higher mix type stuff. So how does he take what he's done so well at MT and apply it to CCT?

Luca Savi

Sure. Okay. When you talk about drive for continuous improvement that can apply at whatever manufacturing setup that you have, right? And then those differences are absolutely true. You're absolutely true, Joe. And those tend to be used by people as excuses to justify numbers that should not be -- they're not the way that it should be. This is our honestly say.

But let me give you a specific example. In Shenzhen, Shenzhen is our plant in connectors in China. Sergio has taken over the plant and the business of our connector business in Asia Pacific and in China. That plant is performing in terms of on-time delivery at the 99% exactly like MT, has got the best quality track record of all the plants in connectors and is really using the playbook of friction and Motion Technologies like-for-like. So it has been done. Right? You really need to have the drive, the willingness and the standard to make it happen and Davide has that.

Joseph Giordano

Your mentioned earlier the internal pump piece of SPX needs to be closer to customers, talk about like opening up in China and India and probably reducing exposure in Europe. That all makes sense, but it's -- my first thought is that could take a ton of time to do. [indiscernible]. So could you maybe talk to us about like how realistic it is to do that quickly? .

Luca Savi

Sure. Sure. So if you think about it, the when I was in Xidu a couple of months ago, the team was already setting up the assembly operation for the Bran+Luebbe pumps in China. And let's not forget, Bran+Luebbe is a very well-known brand is really well known in the market. We do not need to sell or spend time in selling the brand. It's just that we need to localize it so that we can reduce the lead time so that we can make it more cost competitive.

It doesn't make any sense this day to make these pumps in Germany and thinking that you're cost competitive and the lead time and price and sell it in China. Those times are gone. So setting the assembly in China, is -- I wouldn't say it's easy, but it's not that complicated. The same thing is in the Middle East. So we are setting up assembly of Bran+Luebbe also in the Middle East. And the resizing in Europe is happening and it's happening right now. So now it's a good plant in Europe. Don't get me wrong. But obviously, the chemical market in Europe is declining, and therefore, we need to adjust the supply to the demand for that region. Did I answer your question, Joe?

Operator

Our next question comes from Andrew Obin with Bank of America.

Andrew Obin

And yes, as I said, let's -- more questions related to Davide because clearly, he's underutilized. So maybe on Motion Tech, you're sort of highlighting in terms of technology, right, and you have consistent history of market share gain. But maybe can you just talk to us if and when we're going to see the impact of electronic brakes and actual products with geopolymer sort of impacting organic growth in this business. I know you've made the investments. I know you were sort of at the cutting edge of technology. Is it a '27 event? Is it a '28 event? When do we start seeing that?

Luca Savi

Sure. Thank you, Andrew. And it's a very pertinent question because when you look historically, every single time there is a technological change, being the copper feed brake pad, being the electric vehicles or the European, the Euro 7 regulation and eventually the new brakes. This is where we leap frog and when we gain sizable amount of market share because our R&D is how we differentiate. You have seen it, Andrew ,in Italy when you went to [indiscernible] is a powerhouse. So that's is going to play in our playground. It's really good for us. Now I think that when you look at those brakes, you start seeing those brakes in China. And I would say you will start seeing more and more, but I will expect that China to be probably the most the region that we see them fast and with faster adoption. And when you look at the Geo-Pad, we will start seeing Geo-Pad entering the market in Q1 2028. And after that, have many of the new platform that we will either try to conquer or that we will rewin will be based on formulation that might be in the Geo-Pad family.

Andrew Obin

And maybe a follow-up question on Joe Giordano's question on sort of learnings from Motion Tech. It seems to you guys, Termoli, very, very unique facility you sort of cutting edge off there. What's the opportunity to take manufacturing processes that you use internally? And look, as I said, Joe sort of talked about the fact that it's -- what the nature of the process is. But what's the nature -- can you take what you have at Termoli and take it to maybe kSARIA, take it to your other businesses because what you're doing there is very unique from my understanding, you've guys been quite successful.

Luca Savi

Yes. So yes, what you saw in Termoli, Andrew, is -- and that level of automation, I think that similar you need to adopt it. It could be probably adapted to some of the controls and some of the connector business. So automation is definitely an area where we can improve in those 2 areas. Different, I would say, for kSARIA. Can we improve the automation in kSARIA. Sure. But that will be a little bit more tricky.

But connectors and controls, absolutely. And now with Davide being in charge of CCT, I think that it will be also easier to expand the responsibility and double hat some more people in Motion Technologies, too. .

Operator

Our next question comes from Robert Davies with Wolfe Research.

Robert Davies

First was if you could cover the price cost dynamics of different segments. Just be kind of curious where you're pushing through prices most aggressively where kind of costs are rising most quickly. Just a bit more color by segment would be helpful. .

And then the other one was just around M&A and the comment you made earlier on the bolt-ons. I'd just be curious now sort of post the SPX FLOW deal, where when you look across the portfolio, is there any sort of regional gaps? Is it sort of product kind of holds you need to fill in the portfolio? Where would be your sort of primary place to look?

Luca Savi

Okay. Thanks, Robert. When you look at price cost, I think that the dynamic is consistent, it's not particular, it's not changed, and it's still very much the same. So what you have is a price cost positive in Flow Technologies. So the team is acting very quickly, and we are ahead of the game here. And therefore, that dynamic is positive.

On CCT, it's even more positive, I would say, in terms of price and cost. And this is also the comment I made earlier, this is the segment where we got more pricing leverage. And this dynamic is happening, and there will be price cost positive for the full year. Obviously, when you look at pricing, the dynamic is different in Motion Technologies. This is where you have to give price and efficiency to the customer.

Now having said that, 3, 4 years ago, we were at work with our customers to ensure that the major commodities and energies get indexed in the contract. So what you have is that if the commodities goes up, copper, tin, steel or energy cost goes up, you are getting some price or some compensation. You only have a time lag on one. But don't forget, you always need to give efficiency in this market.

Having said that, if you look at between those changes in the contract of the commodities as well the efficiency that we are delivering in the business you see that the margin keeps on improving in Motion Technologies and was 70 basis points in the quarter, and we are really flowing at 21% today.

Then the M&A -- sorry, I was forgetting, Robert, sorry. On the M&A front, I would say yes, we are active on the M&A front. I mean we are cultivating, Bart and myself and the the business leader. And I mean, we are spending on cultivating. Now the area, the sectors that we are spending time are really on CCT, on the connectors, particularly on aero and defense and the Flow Technologies. These are really the areas where we are spending time and cultivating. Now we are also looking, but this probably is a little bit early on some -- on the SPX FLOW business unit. If you think about mixer, if you think about the Nutrition & Health, there might be areas where there are technology gaps or product gaps that where we might need to add a mix and some acquisitions. But those acquisitions will not be today large. It will be just to cover a product gap also because we want to ensure that we consolidate the performance of SPX FLOW.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Vlad Bystricky with Citigroup.

Vladimir Bystricky

I guess maybe just first question from me, Luca, following up on the price cost question that you just answered and sort of the different dynamic in Motion Tech, in the friction business, in particular. Have you seen any changes or incremental pressure on commercial terms from the OEMs just given the competitive dynamics that are out there for them globally?

Luca Savi

I would say it has always been tough, and it gets tougher and tougher, I would say. So that's the dynamic of that business. and this is the game in the market. Having said that, this is helping in building a super resilient team and team that are really driving continuous improvement with the hunger that you see in ITT that now we're going to spread also in CCT.

Vladimir Bystricky

Got it. That's helpful, Luca. And then I guess just stepping back, if I think about the bigger picture here. Obviously, very strong organic growth on the revenue side this year, strong organic orders growth. But there's still obviously some macro crosscurrents out there in the broader economy. So can you just talk about how you're thinking about some of the puts and takes heading into next year and how that could influence or impact your ability to continue to grow organic top line sort of at an accelerated pace versus the longer-term 5% plus target you have out there?

Luca Savi

Sure. So thanks for that. So I would say we need to talk about the market in all the different segments, right? If you look at Motion Technologies, listen, the automotive market is what it is. Can we change the market? No, we can't. What we can do is continue to perform. So I can tell you that we think that we will be able to outperform the market for the next 2, 3 years because we saw the award. We won the award last year and this year, and therefore, we know what it's going to start and the one that we conquer.

So that is you should expect an outperformance in '27 and the next couple of years similar to what you had here in 2026. The rail, the rail will be growing. And I think that, that trend is continuing. And when you look at KONI, you've got also the tailwind of defense. So that is a positive tailwind in that business when it comes to MT.

Now if you look at Flow Technologies, we look at Flow Technologies, oil and gas, chemical, general industrial, North America, Middle East, I mean, it's an interesting dynamic there. First of all, our backlog at the end of the year will be higher than what it was last year. I'm not talking just about the SPX FLOW. I'm talking about our own backlog, right? In the legacy backlog.

So that is a positive trend. If you think about the Middle East headwind because the backlog in the Middle East will be lower, but we already covered that and surpass with, for example, Venezuela or other investment in North America. So that is good. And North America keeps on being an engine mode. Latin America is positive as well with investment on the mining. And will hand back the year with a higher backlog. So good trend there and definitely a good starting point, higher backlog beginning of 2027.

And then when you look at CCT, listen, I mean the backlog for Q4 and '27 is 30% or more higher than it was last year at this point in time. And the one for '28 and above is even higher. So when you look at aero and defense, there is a tailwind. This is really the first time, to be honest with you, this year where we've been able to have some tailwinds, and we take it.

Operator

This does conclude today's teleconference. Please disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful day.