Belden NYSE: BDC reported first-quarter 2026 results that exceeded the high end of management’s guidance range and used the earnings call to detail a definitive agreement to acquire RUCKUS Networks in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.85 billion.
First-quarter results beat guidance as organic growth rose 7%
President and CEO Ashish Chand said the company had “a strong start to the year” as revenue and adjusted earnings per share came in above the top end of Belden’s outlook.
For the quarter, Belden posted revenue of $696 million, up 11% year-over-year, and adjusted EPS of $1.77, also up 11%, Chand said. Revenue increased 7% organically compared to the prior year, with growth “across all our markets in major regions,” led by strength in the Americas, where the U.S. grew “high single digits” year-over-year.
By market category, Chand said:
- Automation delivered “solid mid-single digit organic growth” with broad-based gains, including discrete and energy verticals.
- Smart Buildings grew “double digits organically,” supported by solution adoption and momentum in priority verticals.
- Broadband posted “mid-single digit organic growth” during what he called a seasonally slower period.
On profitability, Chand reported adjusted EBITDA of $118 million, up 14% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA margin expanding 40 basis points to 17%. He noted Belden continued to pass through copper and tariff-related costs that “modestly diluted” reported margin percentages, and said that excluding these pass-throughs, adjusted gross margins were flat while adjusted EBITDA margins expanded by approximately 100 basis points year-over-year.
Second-quarter outlook reflects “balanced, measured view”
Chand said Belden’s second-quarter guidance assumes a continuation of current market conditions while acknowledging “near-term visibility is limited and the macro environment remains fluid.” The company expects second-quarter revenue of $735 million to $750 million, GAAP EPS of $1.53 to $1.63, and adjusted EPS of $1.95 to $2.05.
He emphasized the guidance is provided on a standalone basis and excludes any contribution from the proposed RUCKUS acquisition.
During Q&A, EVP and CFO Jeremy Parks characterized the outlook as “a quarter that looks a lot like Q1, just with typical seasonality.” He said industrial trends appeared to be strengthening, citing PMIs “continue to go in the right direction,” and said Smart Buildings has now grown organically for “the last five quarters or so,” including double-digit year-over-year growth in the first quarter. Parks also said he expected Broadband to improve as the year progresses.
Belden announces $1.85B deal to acquire RUCKUS Networks
Management spent much of the call discussing the planned acquisition of RUCKUS Networks from Vi-stance Networks, which Chand described as a step that “directly accelerates our evolution into a full-stack IT/OT networking solutions provider.”
Chand said RUCKUS is a market-leading provider of Wi-Fi and enterprise switching solutions, with customer demand particularly evident in hospitality, education, and healthcare. He also pointed to an opportunity to extend RUCKUS capabilities into industrial settings as customers increasingly look to converge IT and OT environments.
According to Chand, RUCKUS has 48,000 customers globally and generated $687 million in revenue last year, with gross margins above 60%. He also said RUCKUS has “over 1,700 employees.”
He framed the portfolio combination as complementary rather than overlapping. “This is not an overlap story. It is a completion story,” Chand said, arguing the combined company would be able to provide an end-to-end offering spanning passive infrastructure through active networking, from industrial edge environments to enterprise campuses.
Financing, valuation, and deleveraging plans
Parks said Belden plans to acquire RUCKUS for approximately $1.85 billion in cash, representing “13 times projected 2026 adjusted EBITDA.” He said the company has obtained “fully committed debt financing from JP Morgan,” providing flexibility to optimize the permanent capital structure between signing and closing depending on market conditions.
The transaction, Parks said, has been approved by both boards of directors and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Post-close, Parks said deleveraging will be the company’s “top priority.” He outlined a target path to reduce net leverage to approximately 2.9 times by year-end 2027 and return to the company’s long-term target of approximately 1.5 times by year-end 2029. He said the combined business is expected to have an adjusted EBITDA base of approximately $650 million and a pro forma unlevered free cash flow base of more than $360 million, citing RUCKUS’s “low capital intensity” as a contributor to free cash flow conversion.
As Belden prioritizes debt reduction, Parks said the company intends to “temporarily pause both share repurchases and strategic M&A until leverage returns closer to our long-term target.”
Strategy and end-market themes: IT/OT convergence, software, and AI
Chand positioned the acquisition within Belden’s broader solutions strategy and said the company’s approach remains unchanged. In Q&A, he described Belden’s vision as providing comprehensive network solutions that take customers “from basic digitization all the way to autonomy,” including themes such as IT/OT convergence, wired/wireless convergence, and embedded security.
Asked about solutions mix, Chand said Belden previously articulated a target of “over 20% by 2028” and noted the company reached 15% in 2025. With RUCKUS, Parks said that on a 2025 pro forma basis, RUCKUS would represent approximately 20% of combined revenue and would take Belden’s solutions mix from 15% to “over 20%.” Chand added that in the medium term, “the 30-ish% number” for solutions mix is “the right framework to keep in mind.”
On software, Chand highlighted RUCKUS’s AI-driven capabilities for newer Wi-Fi standards and said RUCKUS offers unified wired and wireless management software, which he described as a potential complement to Belden’s Horizon platform. He also pointed to RUCKUS’s Network as a Service offering, saying Belden has started in that area “at a very basic level” while RUCKUS is “at a more advanced stage.”
Separately, Chand addressed AI infrastructure demand, saying AI data centers represent “one of our top growth opportunities over the next few years,” alongside “Physical AI.” He said Belden’s data center category was up double digits in the quarter and referenced the company’s integration with OptiCool to bring “advanced cooling straight to the rack to support AI workloads.” He also said Belden has seen a “very, very consistent flow” of mid-sized wins in AI data centers, alongside pilots related to Physical AI use cases.
In other Q&A topics, Parks said Belden’s Middle East exposure is “less than 5%” of total revenue, primarily in Smart Buildings, and that the company built roughly flat sequential expectations for that business into its guidance. On supply chain and inflation, Parks said Belden expects to continue passing on “real true market inflation,” noting exposure to commodities such as metals and plastics as well as electronic components, and added that the company has been able to recover higher input costs through pricing.
About Belden NYSE: BDC
Belden, formerly Belden Inc NYSE: BDC, was a global provider of signal transmission solutions for demanding applications. The company produced a wide range of copper and fiber optic cables, connectors, patch panels, cable assemblies, and surge protection devices. Its portfolio extended into networking and security hardware, including managed switches, industrial routers, and software tools for remote monitoring and network management.
Founded in 1902 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Belden built its reputation on delivering high‐performance, reliable products for harsh environments.
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