VRT · Q2 2026 Earnings

Bullish

Vertiv

Reported July 29, 2026

30-second summary

Vertiv delivered Q2 FY2026 revenue of $3.27B (+24% YoY), landing $24M below the low end of the $3.25–3.45B guide and 3.1% below the $3.38B consensus, but adjusted operating margin of 22.6% cleared the 20.7–21.7% guide by 90–190bps and adjusted EPS of $1.52 beat consensus by 6.3% and the guide high end by $0.09. Management raised every FY2026 line: revenue midpoint up $250M to $14.0B, adjusted EPS midpoint up $0.35 (+5.5%) to $6.70, and organic growth lifted to 30–32% from 29–31%. The tell: revenue growth decelerated vs. the guide, EMEA came in worse than the H2 recovery narrative implied at +1.7% reported (from -29% organic in Q1), yet management is guiding Q3 to 34–36% organic — the biggest single-quarter organic acceleration in this cycle. Either the capacity ramp is now unlocking, or Q3 is where the credibility test happens.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q2 FY2026

$1.52

+6.3% vs est.

Revenue

Q2 FY2026

$3.27B

+24.1% YoY

-3.1% vs est.

Gross margin

Q2 FY2026

37.7%

Free cash flow

Q2 FY2026

$0.93B

Operating margin

Q2 FY2026

19.5%

Key financials

Q2 FY2026

Metric	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY	Q1 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$3.27B	$2.64B	+24.1%	$2.65B	+23.5%
EPS	$1.52	$0.95	+60.0%	$1.17	+29.9%
Gross margin	37.7%	—	—	37.7%	-4bps
Operating margin	19.5%	16.8%	+270bps	16.6%	+290bps
Free cash flow	$0.93B	$0.28B	+233.9%	$0.65B	+42.3%

Guidance

Guidance is issued for the full year only, refreshed each quarter. Prior and new below are the same FY updated this quarter.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Revenue	Q2 FY2026	$3,250M - $3,450M	$3,274M	-$176M below guide (5.1% below midpoint)	Missed
Adjusted Diluted EPS	Q2 FY2026	$1.37 - $1.43	$1.52	+$0.09 above guide (6.3% above midpoint)	Beat
Adjusted Operating Margin	Q2 FY2026	20.7% - 21.7%	22.6%	+0.9-1.9pts above guide	Beat
Organic Net Sales Growth	Q2 FY2026	20% - 24%	17.8%	-2.2 to -6.2pts below guide	Missed

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Revenue	FY2026	$13,500M - $14,000M	$13,800M - $14,200M	+$200M at low end, +$200M at high end	Raised
Adjusted Diluted EPS	FY2026	$6.30 - $6.40	$6.65 - $6.75	+$0.35 at low end, +$0.35 at high end	Raised
Adjusted Operating Profit	FY2026	$3,140M - $3,260M	$3,285M - $3,365M	+$145M at low end, +$105M at high end	Raised
Adjusted Operating Margin	FY2026	22.8% - 23.8%	23.3% - 24.3%	+0.5pts at low end, +0.5pts at high end	Raised
Adjusted Diluted EPS Growth	FY2026	50% - 52%	58% - 61%	+8pts at low end, +9pts at high end	Raised
Organic Net Sales Growth	FY2026	29% - 31%	30% - 32%	+1pt at low end, +1pt at high end	Raised

Segment KPIs

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Products	$2.646B	$2.119B	+24.9%
Services & Spares	$0.628B	$0.519B	+21.0%

Other KPIs

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Americas	$2.071B	$1.602B	+29.3%
Asia Pacific	$0.72B	$0.56B	+28.5%
Europe, Middle East & Africa	$0.484B	$0.476B	+1.8%
Organic Revenue Growth	17.8%	—	—
Adjusted Operating Margin	22.6%	18.5%	—
Operating Cash Flow	$1,100M	—	—
Adjusted Free Cash Flow	$925M	—	—
Americas Adjusted Operating Margin	27.6%	—	—
Asia Pacific Adjusted Operating Margin	13.3%	—	—
EMEA Adjusted Operating Margin	25.7%	—	—
Services Revenue Growth	28.6%	—	—

Management tone

No earnings-call transcript was available for this quarter; tone analysis is deferred until transcript coverage is restored. The prepared-remarks-equivalent language in the press release ("Demand for AI and general compute continues to intensify", "growth at this pace demands both vision and operational precision", "Vertiv is further accelerating capacity expansion and strategic investments") is consistent with the Q1 FY2026 posture — confidence-heavy, capacity-focused, no hedging language on demand — but without the call itself, cross-quarter tone shifts cannot be assessed with the usual rigor.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q2 FY2026 revenue landing in the upper half of the $3.25–3.45B range. Revenue landed at $3.27B — $24M below the low end, not the upper half. The FY guide was still raised because margin and EPS more than compensated, but the top-line miss vs. guide is the first shortfall of this cycle.

Resolved negatively

EMEA Q2 FY2026 trajectory — is the -29% organic Q1 the trough? EMEA reported +1.7% YoY in Q2, a swing of roughly 22pts from Q1's -20.3% reported print. The "H2 recovery" thesis is landing early. Organic growth is not disclosed at the segment level in the press release, but the reported figure is a decisive move.

Resolved positively

Q2 FY2026 adjusted operating margin holding 20.7%+ at the guided low end. Margin came in at 22.6%, clearing the high end by 90bps. The FY2026 guide was raised 50bps to 23.3–24.3% as anticipated, confirming the setup for further raises if the pattern holds.

Resolved positively

CapEx disclosure and FCF conversion shape. Adjusted FCF of $925M in Q2 (with 1H at ~$1.58B) and the FY FCF guide raised to $2.4–2.6B from $2.1–2.3B says CapEx-to-sales is tracking at approximately 4.0% (management's disclosed guide) with FCF conversion holding better than modeled. The CapEx delta is showing up but operating profit is more than absorbing it.

Resolved positively

Americas revenue concentration and customer mention. Americas share of total revenue was ~63% in Q2 (down from ~68% in Q1) as APAC and EMEA re-accelerated. This is diversification within the AI cycle, exactly the structural-breadth signal the watch item asked for. The press release does not name specific hyperscaler engagements.

Resolved positively

Tariff cost commentary post-Q1 FY2026 margin print. Without a transcript, the specific "price-cost positive" vs "price-cost accretive" framing update cannot be verified. The 22.6% Q2 margin (up from 20.8% in Q1) is implicit evidence tariff countermeasures are more than working, but management's own characterization isn't in the print.

Continue monitoring

May 19–20 Investor Day in Greenville, SC. The event has passed; any disclosure updates from the day would have been folded into subsequent guidance. Without a transcript this quarter, the specific investor-day-to-Q2-print connective tissue isn't observable.

Not resolved

What to watch into next quarter

Q3 FY2026 revenue landing in the upper half of the $3.65–3.85B range. The 34–36% organic growth guide is a 16–18pt sequential acceleration from Q2's 17.8% actual — this is the largest single-quarter guided organic jump in this cycle. A low-end print would signal the capacity ramp isn't unlocking as management expects; a high-end print sets up a fourth consecutive FY guide raise.

Q3 FY2026 organic growth reconciliation vs. Q2 actual of 17.8%. Watch specifically whether management explains what drove the 220bps Q2 miss vs. the 20–24% guide (mix, timing, project-slippage) and whether the same dynamic is neutralized in Q3.

Q3 FY2026 adjusted operating margin landing at or above the 24.0% guide low end. If margin holds 24%+, the FY2026 23.3–24.3% range becomes conservative and a Q3 raise is likely. Below 24% and the Q4 implied margin would have to soften to hit the FY midpoint.

EMEA Q3 FY2026 — does the +1.7% Q2 accelerate or flatten? The H2 recovery has arrived, but the credibility of the FY 30–32% organic guide requires EMEA to contribute, not just avoid decline. Watch whether EMEA reported growth clears +10% in Q3.

APAC adjusted operating margin at 13.3% vs. Americas 27.6% and EMEA 25.7%. The 14pt gap is the largest profitability discrepancy across the segment set. Watch whether APAC margin improves alongside its accelerating revenue growth, or whether the mix within APAC (China vs. India vs. Rest of Asia) is structurally lower-margin.

Restoration of orders-cadence commentary. With backlog no longer disclosed quarterly, the two Q2 misses (revenue $24M below low end, organic 220bps below low end) are the first data points suggesting management's forward visibility is imperfect. Watch whether Q3 comes with any qualitative orders commentary that gives investors a substitute for the pulled disclosure.

Sources

Vertiv Q2 FY2026 press release (Exhibit 99.1, Form 8-K), filed July 29, 2026 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1674101/000162828026050323/q22026exhibit991vrt07292026.htm
Prior guidance baselines: Vertiv Q1 FY2026 press release (April 22, 2026) and Q4 FY2025 press release (February 11, 2026)

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