Emerson Electric earnings: fourth quarter 2026

Emerson Electric, which makes automation equipment and software for factories, plants and energy sites, had a solid fourth quarter of its 2026 financial year. Sales rose 7% to $5.2 billion. Its own adjusted earnings per share rose 15% to $1.86. Underlying orders, which are promises of future sales, grew faster still. Emerson also gave its first forecast for 2027: about 10% more adjusted profit per share, and a much bigger return of cash to shareholders. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Emerson's adjusted earnings per share of $1.86 was about 0.5% above the $1.85 analysts expected on average, according to Nasdaq's earnings calendar, which is in line. ¹²

The strong points

• The company's own adjusted earnings per share rose 15% from a year earlier, to $1.86. ¹
• Sales for the quarter rose 7% from a year earlier, to $5.2 billion. ¹
• Underlying orders, which are promises of sales rather than sales, rose 14% in the quarter, and management called demand broad-based. ¹

The weak points

• More cash was tied up in stock and in bills customers had not yet paid: $338 million over the year, against $9 million the year before. ¹
• Interest costs over the full year rose to $334 million from $237 million, although they fell in the fourth quarter. ¹

What the company expects

• In its first forecast for 2027, Emerson expects adjusted earnings per share of about $7.25, roughly 10% above 2026's $6.59. ¹
• For the first quarter of 2027 it expects sales to grow about 5% and adjusted earnings per share of $1.58 to $1.62, and it plans to return about $3.8 billion to shareholders over the year, mostly through buybacks. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A strong report. Sales and adjusted profit grew clearly and orders grew faster still, while profit came in where analysts expected. The first 2027 forecast points to about 10% more profit per share, with a bigger return of cash to shareholders.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)
• The previous results, for what it forecast then

Notes

1. Emerson Electric's results release, 4 November 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 4 November 2026. ↩