Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Wabtec’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec updated its FY 2026 guidance to 10.250-10.650 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Wabtec’s conference call:

• Strong first-quarter execution with sales of $2.95 billion (+13%) and adjusted EPS of $2.71 (+18.9%), while 12‑month backlog rose ~13% and multi‑year backlog exceeded $30 billion (+38%), giving management high visibility into future revenue.
• Management raised full‑year adjusted EPS guidance to $10.25–$10.65 (≈17% growth at midpoint) while keeping revenue guidance unchanged, attributing roughly half the EPS lift to operational improvement and half to non‑operational benefits (currency/taxes).
• Recent bolt‑on acquisitions (Inspection Technologies, Frauscher, Dellner) are integrating ahead of plan, driving a 75.7% increase in digital intelligence sales and expected to deliver meaningful synergy run‑rate savings and growth upside.
• Tariffs and rising input costs (metals, precious metals, transportation, some electronics) remain a material headwind that will press margins in the first half of 2026 despite mitigation efforts, though management expects the pressure to ease in the back half.
• Mixed operational cadence: equipment sales surged ~52.5% (locomotive and mining deliveries) while services declined ~17.3% due to lower modernization shipments; cash flow from operations was $199 million, liquidity $2.09 billion, net leverage 2.3x, and $242 million of share repurchases completed.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of WAB opened at $268.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $254.43 and a 200 day moving average of $228.30. Wabtec has a one year low of $179.25 and a one year high of $275.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Wabtec’s payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In other news, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $2,896,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 60,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,926,227.10. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 60,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.89, for a total value of $16,362,494.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 128,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,613,940.81. This represents a 32.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 92,364 shares of company stock valued at $24,522,522. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wabtec

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 7.4% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,890 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,745,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 208.7% in the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 5,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 3,641 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Wabtec by 11.6% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 92,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,281,000 after acquiring an additional 9,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 19.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 30,352 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,889 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WAB shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $262.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Wabtec from $283.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.55.

Wabtec declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wabtec Company Profile

Wabtec Corporation (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation) is a global provider of equipment, systems and services for the rail industry. The company supplies products and solutions to freight railroads, transit agencies and other industrial operators, focusing on technologies that improve the performance, safety and efficiency of locomotives and rail networks. Wabtec’s business spans new equipment manufacturing, aftermarket parts and services, and digital and control systems for rail operations.

Product and service offerings include locomotive systems and components, braking and air systems, propulsion and traction equipment, signaling and control technologies, and a range of aftermarket services such as maintenance, remanufacturing, parts distribution and fleet modernization.