B

• Record first quarter reported net sales of $6.1 billion, up 14% YOY
  • Organic sales up 12% YOY
  • Data center sales of $1.4 billion, up ~70% YOY
• Record total company backlog, up 22% YOY
• First quarter operating margin of 4.8%, up 30 basis points YOY; adjusted EBITDA margin of 6.4%, up 60 basis points YOY
• First quarter diluted EPS of $3.11; adjusted diluted EPS of $3.37, up 52.5% YOY
• First quarter operating cash flow of $221 million, up $193 million YOY; free cash flow of $213 million or 128% of adjusted net income
• Raising 2026 outlook reflecting an exceptional start to the year

PITTSBURGH, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Wesco International (NYSE: WCC), a leading provider of business-to-business distribution, logistics services and supply chain solutions, announces its results for the first quarter of 2026.

“We delivered an exceptional start to 2026, building on last year’s market outperformance and accelerating business momentum. Sales, backlog, operating margin, adjusted earnings per share, and free cash flow all increased versus the prior year and exceeded our expectations. Record sales of $6.1 billion were up 14% marking our third quarter in a row of double-digit sales growth. Data center sales of $1.4 billion were up approximately 70% and now represent 24% of our total Wesco sales. Backlog was up 22%, to a new record level, reflecting the benefits of secular growth trends and continued effectiveness of our cross-selling program. Profit growth and margin improvement were also excellent, driven by gross margin expansion and strong operating cost leverage. As a result, we delivered adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 60 basis points, adjusted EBITDA growth of 25%, and adjusted EPS growth of over 50% versus the prior year. Free cash flow generation, at 128% of adjusted net income, was also very strong. The power of our customer value proposition, global capabilities, and leading portfolio of products, services and solutions is clear as we continue to outperform the market,” said John Engel, Chairman, President, and CEO.

Mr. Engel concluded, “We are very pleased with our first quarter results and continued positive business momentum to start the year. While uncertainty in the macro-economic environment may present challenges, we’re focused on continued strong execution and outperformance under all market conditions. We are raising our full-year 2026 outlook reflecting our exceptional start to the year. As the market leader, and with positive momentum building, I’m confident that Wesco will continue to outperform our markets and deliver superior value to our customers and shareholders in 2026 and beyond.”

Key Financial Highlights

Net Sales

• On an organic basis, which removes differences in foreign exchange rates, sales for the first quarter of 2026 grew by 12.3%. The increase in organic sales reflects volume growth in all three segments (CSS, EES and UBS), as well as a favorable impact from changes in price. We had record backlog at the end of the first quarter of 2026, up by 22% compared to the end of the first quarter of 2025.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

• The increase in gross margin for the first quarter of 2026 reflects improved gross margin in the EES segment partially offset by a decline in the UBS segment.

Selling, General, and Administrative (“SG&A“) Expenses

• The increase in SG&A expenses for the first quarter of 2026 is primarily driven by higher salaries and an increase in commissions and incentives due to higher sales and profit. SG&A expenses for the first quarter of 2026 include $17.5 million of digital transformation costs, compared to $7.3 million of digital transformation and restructuring costs for the first quarter of 2025. Adjusted for these costs, SG&A expenses were 15.3% and 15.5% of net sales for the first quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively, reflecting positive operating cost leverage on the sales growth.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin

• The increase in adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2026 primarily reflects higher sales, lower cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales, and lower SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales, as described above.

Effective Tax Rate

• The lower effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2026 is largely driven by higher discrete income tax benefits relating to the exercise and vesting of stock-based awards.

Adjusted Earnings Per Diluted Share

• The increase in adjusted earnings per diluted share in the first quarter of 2026 primarily reflects higher sales, lower cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales, and lower SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales, as described above. Additionally, the prior year period included $14.4 million of preferred stock dividends. The preferred stock was retired in the second quarter of 2025.

Operating Cash Flow

• Net cash provided by operating activities for the first quarter of 2026 totaled $221.4 million compared to $28.0 million in the first quarter of 2025. The $193.4 million increase is driven by a $105.7 million impact from changes in accounts payable, due to the increase in inventory purchases, as well as the timing of inventory purchases and payments to suppliers as compared to the prior year. Additionally an increase in net income as adjusted for certain non-cash items also contributed to the increase in operating cash flows.

Webcast and Teleconference Access

Wesco will conduct a webcast and teleconference to discuss the first quarter of 2026 earnings as described in this News Release on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. E.T. The call will be broadcast live over the internet and can be accessed from the Investor Relations page of the Company’s website at https://investors.wesco.com. The call will be archived on this internet site for seven days.

Wesco International (NYSE: WCC) builds, connects, powers and protects the world. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wesco is a FORTUNE 500® company with approximately $24 billion in annual sales in 2025 and a leading provider of business-to-business distribution, logistics services and supply chain solutions. Wesco offers a best-in-class product and services portfolio of Electrical and Electronic Solutions, Communications and Security Solutions, and Utility and Broadband Solutions. The Company employs approximately 21,000 people, partners with the industry’s premier suppliers, and serves thousands of customers around the world. With millions of products, end-to-end supply chain services, and significant digital capabilities, Wesco provides innovative solutions to meet customer needs across commercial and industrial businesses, technology companies, telecommunications providers, and utilities. Wesco operates more than 700 sites, including distribution centers, fulfillment centers, and sales offices in approximately 50 countries, providing a local presence for customers and a global network to serve multi-location businesses and global corporations.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements made herein that are not historical facts should be considered as “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding business strategy, growth strategy, competitive strengths, productivity and profitability enhancement, competition, new product and service introductions, and liquidity and capital resources. Such statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “expect,” “project,” and similar words, phrases or expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would,” although not all forward-looking statements contain such words. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs of Wesco’s management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, Wesco’s management, current market trends and market conditions and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of Wesco’s and Wesco’s management’s control, and which may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on such statements.

Important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presented or implied in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the failure to achieve the anticipated benefits of, and other risks associated with, acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and other corporate transactions; the inability to successfully integrate acquired businesses; the impact of increased interest rates or borrowing costs; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; evolving impacts from tariffs or other trade tensions between the U.S. and other countries (including implementation of new tariffs and retaliatory measures); failure to adequately protect Wesco’s intellectual property or successfully defend against infringement claims; the inability to successfully deploy new technologies, digital products and information systems or to otherwise adapt to emerging technologies in the marketplace, such as those incorporating artificial intelligence (AI); risks relating to our use or reliance on AI; failure to execute on our efforts and programs related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters; unanticipated expenditures or other adverse developments related to compliance with new or stricter government policies, laws or regulations, including those relating to data privacy, cybersecurity, competition, sustainability and environmental protection; the inability to successfully develop, manage or implement new technology initiatives or business strategies, including with respect to the expansion of e-commerce or AI capabilities and other digital solutions and digitalization initiatives; disruption of information technology systems or operations; natural disasters (including as a result of climate change), health epidemics, pandemics and other outbreaks; supply chain disruptions; geopolitical conflicts and issues, such as the ongoing Middle East and Russia/Ukraine conflicts; the impact of changing and expanding export controls, sanctions, and data localization rules; the failure to manage the increased risks and impacts of cyber incidents or data breaches; and exacerbation of key materials shortages, inflationary cost pressures, material cost increases, demand volatility, and logistics and capacity constraints, any of which may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition. All such factors are difficult to predict and are beyond the Company’s control. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Wesco’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.