Wabtec third-quarter earnings rise to $2.42 per share as sales climb 8.1%

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (WAB), known as Wabtec, reported third-quarter 2026 GAAP earnings of $2.42 per diluted share, up 33.7% from a year earlier, it said in a filing on Wednesday. Sales for the quarter were $3.12 billion.

Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $2.83, up 22.0% from $2.32 a year earlier. The company also raised and tightened its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance.

Here's how the company did:

• GAAP earnings per diluted share: $2.42 vs. $1.81 a year earlier
• Adjusted earnings per diluted share: $2.83 vs. $2.32 a year earlier
• Sales: $3.12 billion vs. $2.89 billion a year earlier
• GAAP operating margin: 20.0% vs. 17.0%
• Adjusted operating margin: 22.9% vs. 21.0%
• Cash from operations: $455 million vs. $367 million

Sales rose 8.1%. The figure includes the acquisitions of Frauscher Sensor Technologies and Dellner Couplers, which added $114 million. Organic growth added $137 million, while portfolio optimization removed $12 million and foreign exchange reduced sales by $5 million.

For the first nine months, sales were $9.25 billion, up 12.8% from $8.20 billion a year earlier. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $6.86, up from $5.64.

GAAP gross margin was 37.3%, up 2.6 points from 34.7%. GAAP operating income was $625 million, up from $491 million.

Both GAAP and adjusted operating margins benefited from sales growth and improved gross margins, the company said.

Here's how the company's two segments did during the quarter:

• Freight: sales of $2.24 billion, up 6.9% from $2.09 billion; adjusted operating margin of 26.4% vs. 24.5%
• Transit: sales of $883 million, up 11.3% from $793 million; adjusted operating margin of 18.1% vs. 15.5%

In Freight, services sales rose 6.7% on core services demand and higher modernization deliveries. Digital sales rose 24.2%, driven by the Frauscher acquisition and core digital demand.

Equipment sales were up 0.3%, as mining sales increased and partly offset lower locomotive deliveries.

Transit sales rose 11.3%, driven by the Dellner Couplers acquisition and higher original equipment and aftermarket sales. On a constant currency basis, Transit sales were up 12.5%, the company said.

“Wabtec delivered another strong quarter, evidenced by sales growth, margin expansion and a 22% increase in adjusted EPS,” said Chairman and CEO Rafael Santana. “Our teams continue to translate healthy customer demand into profitable growth while investing in technologies that will advance the future of transportation.”

The company raised and tightened its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $10.85 to $11.05, up from a prior range of $10.60 to $10.90, according to the earnings presentation. At the midpoint, the new range is up 22.0% versus the prior year.

The company continues to expect 2026 revenues of $12.30 billion to $12.60 billion, up 11.5% at the midpoint from the prior year.

The outlook assumes tariffs in effect as of Oct. 21 and excludes IEEPA tariff refunds in the fourth quarter, the presentation said. It also assumes a tax rate of about 24.5% and capital expenditure of about 2% of sales.

Total backlog was $31.44 billion at Sept. 30, up 22.9% from $25.58 billion a year earlier. The 12-month backlog was $8.99 billion, up 8.8%.

The presentation cited about $1 billion in international locomotive and service orders, including about $700 million of locomotive service work for the Simandou mining project.

Cash from operations was $455 million, up from $367 million, and cash conversion was 82%. During the quarter the company repurchased $305 million of its shares and paid $52 million in dividends.

At Sept. 30, total debt was $6.38 billion and total available liquidity was $2.09 billion.

Adjusted results exclude $89 million of non-cash amortization expense in the quarter. The company said it cannot predict with reasonable certainty the timing and impact of restructuring-related and other charges, or the outcome of certain regulatory, legal and tax matters. For that reason it did not provide a quantitative reconciliation of forecast GAAP EPS to adjusted EPS.

The company will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the release.