Emerson Electric Co. (EMR.US) Q4 revenue beats expectations: orders up 14%, FY2027 guidance anchored at 5% growth

Before the U.S. market open on November 4, Emerson Electric Co. (EMR.US) reported its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results. The report showed Q4 net sales of $5.201 billion, up 7% year-over-year, beating the market expectation of $5.12 billion; adjusted earnings per share of $1.86, up 15% year-over-year, slightly above the expectation of about $1.85; GAAP earnings per share of $1.33, up 24% year-over-year. Order momentum was the biggest highlight: Q4 underlying orders rose 14% year-over-year, with CEO Lal Karsanbhai saying growth was driven by "long-cycle project activity in growth verticals," with demand broadly improving across business segments and regions. By segment, software and systems sales rose 14% year-over-year (including test and measurement +14% and control systems and software +14%); intelligent devices rose 5% year-over-year; safety and productivity rose 2% year-over-year. By region, the Americas rose 9% year-over-year, Asia, Africa and the Middle East rose 7% year-over-year, and Europe rose only 1% year-over-year. Earnings quality improved in tandem: pretax margin was 19.2%, up 360 basis points year-over-year; adjusted segment EBITA margin was 29.1%, up 160 basis points. For full-year fiscal 2026, the company's net sales were $18.982 billion, up 5% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share were $6.59, up 10% year-over-year, above the company's guidance of about $6.55 raised in August; full-year free cash flow was $3.535 billion (+9%). The company also provided preliminary guidance for fiscal 2027: net sales and underlying sales are both expected to grow about 5%, adjusted earnings per share of about $7.25 (up about 10% year-over-year, roughly in line with the market consensus), and free cash flow of $3.8 billion to $3.9 billion. On capital allocation, the company announced a 7% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.595 per share, and plans to return a total of about $3.8 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2027 through about $2.5 billion in buybacks and about $1.3 billion in dividends, a marked step-up from about $2.2 billion in fiscal 2026.