Analysis NVT
nVent lifts outlook as sales jump 44% before its latest acquisition
The electrical equipment maker raised its annual forecast after strong growth in its existing business. Its newest data-center acquisition closed after the quarter ended.
nVent Electric is growing rapidly before its newest acquisition adds to sales. The company, which makes electrical connections and equipment protection systems, raised its annual outlook after third-quarter 2026 revenue rose 44% from a year earlier to $1.51 billion.
The increase also came to 44% on the company's organic measure. This excludes currency movements and the effect of acquisitions during their first year, as well as relevant divestitures. Its sales reconciliation showed no contribution to sales growth from acquisitions or divestitures in the quarter. That matters because nVent completed its purchase of Maverick Power on October 1, after the reporting period ended on September 30.
Maverick adds power distribution equipment for data centers. Its contribution belongs in the next quarter, rather than explaining the growth nVent has just reported.
More sales, and more profit from each dollar
Growth was strongest in Systems Protection, the business that includes equipment enclosures and other protective systems. Sales rose 53%, compared with 23% at Electrical Connections.
Chair and Chief Executive Officer Beth Wozniak said infrastructure led growth across the company's markets and new products contributed about 30 percentage points to sales growth. Those are management's explanations. The release does not put a separate number on how much of the overall increase came from data centers.
Higher sales translated into stronger reported operating profit, which measures earnings before interest and taxes. It rose about 70% to $282 million. The operating margin, or the share of sales left at that level, increased to 18.6% from 15.8%.
Profit growth was therefore more than a consequence of selling more. nVent also kept more operating profit from each dollar of revenue. These figures use standard U.S. accounting rules, rather than the company's adjusted earnings measure.
The higher forecast includes two different sources of growth
nVent now expects full-year sales to rise 48% to 49%, up from its previous forecast of 37% to 39%. Part of that increase reflects acquisitions. But the forecast for organic growth, on the same basis used for the quarter, also rises, to 38% to 39% from 32% to 34%.
The distinction becomes especially clear in the fourth-quarter forecast. nVent expects total sales growth of 45% to 48%, including a 19-percentage-point contribution from acquisitions and divestitures. Growth on its organic measure is expected to be 26% to 29%. The full headline increase will therefore not be a direct measure of growth in the existing business.
Cash generation is another measure to watch. Cash from continuing operations rose about 12% in the third quarter to $303 million, substantially slower than sales and operating profit. Cash flow tracks money moving through the business and can differ from profit because customer payments and business spending fall at different times.