Belden reported record third-quarter revenue and orders, with growth across its networking business, and announced a signed agreement to supply $100 million of fiber assemblies to a major U.S. data-center customer in 2027. The company said it now expects its data-center business to grow by more than 50% next year.
The quarter also included a sharp contrast between stronger adjusted earnings and a GAAP loss. Belden attributed the GAAP result to non-cash purchase-accounting charges related to its Ruckus acquisition.
Key details
- Revenue reached a quarterly record of $966 million, up 38% from $698 million a year earlier. Organic revenue growth was 11%, indicating that acquisitions contributed to the larger reported increase.
- Orders also set a record, topping $1 billion at $1.017 billion, up 46% year over year and 16% organically. The book-to-bill ratio was 1.05, meaning orders exceeded revenue during the quarter.
- Adjusted earnings per share were $2.26, up 15% from a year earlier.
- GAAP results were a loss of $11 million, or 29 cents per share, compared with net income of $57 million and earnings of $1.41 per share in the year-earlier quarter. Belden said non-cash purchase-accounting charges related to Ruckus affected the comparison.
- The data-center agreement covers $100 million of fiber assemblies for delivery in 2027. Belden described the customer as a major U.S. data-center operator and said the agreement supports its expectation of more than 50% growth in its data-center business next year.
- Belden said Ruckus integration is progressing, with a growing cross-selling pipeline and positive customer discussions. The company linked demand across its markets to investment in networking infrastructure for data centers, automation and what it calls physical AI.
What changes
The new agreement gives Belden a sizable data-center supply commitment for 2027 and underpins the company’s higher growth expectation for that business. For the quarter, the headline revenue and order records show strong demand, while the difference between adjusted earnings and the GAAP loss reflects acquisition-related accounting charges rather than a reported decline in adjusted EPS.