Amphenol has delivered one of the strongest earnings reports of the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, with third-quarter sales jumping 65% to a record $10.23 billion. The maker of antennas, connectors and fiber-optic components beat analyst forecasts on every major measure, and its shares rose 6.3% in pre-market trading to $83.11.
Profit rose to $2.03 billion, or 79 cents a share, from $1.25 billion, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier. Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings came in at 80 cents a share, ahead of the 73 cents analysts had expected, according to FactSet. Revenue also cleared the $9.49 billion consensus by a wide margin.
Chief executive Adam Norwitt credited organic growth across most of the company's markets, with particularly strong growth in IT datacom — the business that supplies the high-speed connections inside data centers.
A $1.6 billion shopping spree
Alongside the results, Amphenol detailed a four-deal acquisition programme worth about $1.6 billion in total, funded with cash on hand and debt. The largest piece already closed: Empire Electronics, a Michigan maker of complex automotive interconnect assemblies, joined in September and is expected to generate about $320 million in sales this year.
Three more deals are signed and awaiting completion. AdvancedPCB, a maker of high-technology circuit boards for defence and industrial customers, is being bought from Industrial Growth Partners and is expected to post about $270 million in full-year 2026 sales. Dexgreen, which supplies fiber connectivity products mainly for European fiber-to-the-home networks, is expected to add about $90 million in sales. Humanetics Sensors, a precision force and fiber sensing business, is expected to add about $70 million.
AdvancedPCB and Humanetics Sensors are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, with Dexgreen following in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. "We look forward to building on this momentum as part of Amphenol," said AdvancedPCB chief executive Greg Halvorson.
Guidance beats, and shareholders get more cash
The outlook was just as strong as the quarter. For the fourth quarter, Amphenol expects sales of $10.3 billion to $10.5 billion and adjusted earnings of 81 to 83 cents a share — both ahead of Wall Street's estimates of $9.77 billion and 75 cents. For the full year, it guides to sales of $36.9 billion to $37.1 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.82 to $2.84 a share, versus consensus forecasts of $35.67 billion and $2.69.
Shareholders are also getting a bigger payout. The board approved a 20% increase in the quarterly dividend to 15 cents a share, payable on January 13, 2027 to shareholders of record on December 22, 2026. A new three-year, $4 billion share repurchase programme will take effect on January 1, 2027, once the remaining repurchases under the current $2 billion plan are completed by the end of 2026.
Why it matters for the AI trade
Amphenol's quarter is the latest sign that spending on AI infrastructure is still accelerating rather than cooling. Its IT datacom strength echoes the upbeat results from power and cooling suppliers earlier in the week, and its guidance suggests the order book is carrying into 2027. The acquisitions, meanwhile, spread its reach beyond data centers into defence electronics, automotive lighting and sensing — giving future growth more than one engine.
The risks are familiar: a premium valuation, the cost of integrating four businesses at once, and the chance that AI spending eventually slows. For now, though, Amphenol's numbers argue that the companies selling the picks and shovels of the AI boom are still digging up record profits.
