AAON Inc
Q1 2026 Earnings
Market Reaction
S&P 500 over the same 30 days: +0.75%.
Did AAON Beat Earnings? Q1 2026 Results
AAON, Inc. delivered a blowout first quarter, posting earnings per share of $0.48 against a consensus estimate of $0.29, a beat of 63.27%, while revenue of $496.94 million topped the $383.60 million estimate by 29.55% and grew 54.3% year-over-year. The primary engine behind the result was explosive momentum in data center cooling, where AAON's BASX brand more than doubled its revenue to $135.36 million and carried a backlog of $1.62 billion, up 160% year-over-year, reflecting sustained infrastructure buildout demand that had prompted analysts ahead of the print to question whether margins could keep pace with growth. Gross margin did compress to 25.1% from 26.8% a year ago, weighed by unabsorbed costs from new facilities including the Memphis plant, though management characterized those pressures as intentional and temporary. Looking ahead, AAON raised its full-year 2026 revenue growth guidance sharply to 40%-45% from a prior 18%-20%, while projecting gross margins of 27%-28% as capacity utilization improves through the remainder of the year.
- Strong demand across both AAON and BASX brands
- Accelerating production throughput from capacity investments
- BASX-branded sales increased 72.4% to $228.6 million reflecting data center cooling demand
- AAON-branded sales increased 41.6% to $268.4 million supported by strong backlog
- Total backlog increased 107.4% to $2.1 billion driven by data center market strength
- SG&A as percent of sales declined 220 basis points to 13.7% demonstrating operating leverage
- AAON Oklahoma benefited from easier YoY comparison following prior-year refrigerant transition disruption
- BASX-branded liquid cooling sales of $93.2 million grew 40.5% within AAON Coil Products
“First-quarter results demonstrate strong earnings growth driven by higher volume, improved execution, and continued share gains. We delivered record sales, improved cash flow, and higher production throughput across our manufacturing network. Importantly, the additional volume we are taking on is carrying attractive incremental contribution, allowing earnings to grow while we intentionally sequence margin improvement during this phase of capacity ramp.”
AAON CEO, on the earnings call
Forward Guidance & Outlook
AAON raised its full-year 2026 outlook significantly. Revenue growth is now expected at 40%-45% (up from prior guidance of 18%-20%). Gross profit margin is projected at 27%-28% (lowered from 29%-31%), reflecting intentional ramp decisions early in the year with improving margins expected as utilization and productivity increase through the year. SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales are expected at 14%-15% (improved from ~16%), and depreciation and amortization expenses are expected at $95-$100 million, unchanged from prior guidance.
AAON YoY Financials
AAON Revenue by Segment
Figures from SEC filings and company reports. Not investment advice.