What Management Said
Read the full Q2 2026 transcript ↗Please refer to the safe harbor statement included in our earnings release and earnings presentation, as well as our SEC filings for additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties. We delivered record second quarter sales of $591 million and record second quarter earnings, reflecting growth across all three segments and margin expansion supported by disciplined expense management and operational execution. Contractor generated organic growth in the Americas, led by home center and professional paint. Industrial benefited from broad-based activity across core markets, while expansion markets continued to see strong semiconductor demand.
The most recent six-week booking average was up 14% versus last year, and backlog as of July 17th, excluding acquisitions, was up $57 million, or 28% from the beginning of the year. Capital allocation remains an important part of how we create long-term shareholder value. In May, we announced the acquisition of Valco Melton, one of Graco's largest acquisitions in more than a decade. Our strong cash position and balance sheet provide the flexibility to invest in businesses, pursue strategic acquisition, and return capital to shareholders.
Revenue increased 4%, and organic sales were higher across both paint and home center markets in the Americas for the first time in nearly two years. We also continue to see good demand in protective coatings and foam, which represent a more global and application-driven part of the contractor business. The strength in these applications highlights the breadth of the contractor segment and our ability to serve customers beyond traditional residential paint. Together, these factors helped drive 4% organic bookings growth in the quarter, with the most recent six-week order trends improving to 14% growth over last year.
What went well
- Graco delivered record second-quarter sales of $591 million (up 3%) and record second-quarter earnings, with growth across all three segments and significant margin expansion.
- Reported net earnings were $145 million, or $0.87 per diluted share (up 14%), with adjusted EPS of $0.91 (up 17%); operating earnings rose 11% and the operating margin expanded to 30% of sales from 26%.
- Gross margin improved 130 basis points on price realization, better manufacturing performance and a $9 million net tariff-refund benefit, while operating expenses were held essentially flat despite inflation and acquired businesses.
- Order momentum accelerated: organic orders grew 5%, the most recent six-week booking average was up 14% year over year, and backlog (excluding acquisitions) rose $57 million (28%) from the start of the year, supporting a stronger second half.
- The Contractor segment posted record sales/earnings with organic growth in both Americas paint and home-center markets for the first time in nearly two years, and Expansion Markets bookings surged 58% on strong semiconductor demand (year-to-date bookings +33%).
- Graco announced the Valco Melton acquisition (one of its largest in over a decade, entering the high-growth packaging-dispense market with 50%+ gross margins and majority parts/accessories) and, for the first time, initiated quarterly revenue guidance ($580-600 million for Q3 excluding Valco).
What went wrong
- Organic sales declined 1% in the quarter (after roughly a 6% organic decline in Q1), driven primarily by the timing of finishing-systems (powder/Gema) revenue within the Industrial segment.
- The powder-finishing business faced first-half headwinds from order-acceptance timing against tough prior-year comparisons, with completion of projects expected to shift into the second half.
- Asia was slower to start the year, with China specifically affected by prior-year pull-forward ahead of tariff-related pricing actions and softer automotive demand.
- The Contractor recovery remains early-stage, with management cautious ('don't want to get irrationally exuberant') about extrapolating the improvement given several years of weak macro conditions.
Guidance Changes
| Metric | Period | Current guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Q3 2026 | $580M-$600M (excluding Valco Melton, expected to close in Q3) - first quarterly revenue guide |
| Full-year revenue outlook | FY2026 | Maintained (more back-half weighted) |
| Unallocated corporate expenses | FY2026 | $39M-$42M |
| Capital expenditures | FY2026 | $90M-$100M |
| Adjusted effective tax rate | FY2026 | 20%-21%; currency ~1% favorable to full-year sales and earnings |
Performance Breakdown
| Metric | YoY | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total sales | +3% to $591M (record) | Acquisitions +3% and currency +1%, partly offset by -1% organic (finishing-systems timing in Industrial). |
| Net earnings / diluted EPS | $145M / $0.87 (+14%) | Margin expansion and disciplined cost management; adjusted EPS $0.91, up 17%. |
| Operating margin | 30% vs 26% | 130 bps gross-margin gain (price, manufacturing, $9M net tariff refund) plus flat operating expenses; operating earnings +11%. |
| Contractor sales | +4% | Organic growth in both Americas paint and home-center for the first time in ~2 years, plus protective coatings/foam tied to commercial construction, infrastructure and data centers. |
| Industrial sales | +3% | Broad process/machinery/general-industrial activity, semiconductor investment and electrified platforms, offset by lower powder-finishing (timing) and slower Asia/China. |
| Expansion Markets sales / bookings | +3% sales; +58% bookings | Strong semiconductor demand in Asia-Pacific (White Knight); year-to-date bookings up 33%, six-week average up 36%. |
| Operating cash flow (H1) | $298M | Strong earnings-to-cash conversion, funding $331M of buybacks, $98M of dividends and $29M of CapEx in the first half. |
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introducing quarterly guidance | Full-year outlook only | Graco committed to ongoing quarterly revenue guidance (starting with a consolidated Q3 number) given ~13-week visibility, to better inform analysts on intra-year phasing and create internal accountability, with segment-level detail possibly to follow. | — |
| Second-half re-acceleration | Backlog-building, shipment-constrained H1 | A $57 million (28%) backlog build, 14% six-week bookings growth, easier powder comps, the Color Service acquisition turning organic, and broad Contractor momentum underpin confidence in hitting the full-year revenue guide with a back-half weighting. | — |
| Data center / AI build-out exposure | Traditional residential/non-res view | Graco participates across the ecosystem - semiconductor tool manufacturing (White Knight), Gema powder coating of data center cabinets, thermal-interface-material dispense for heat dissipation, and Contractor paint/coatings/roofing/flooring - a net positive versus a year ago (a modest but growing, multi-year tailwind). | — |
| M&A and capital allocation | Balanced framework | Valco Melton (packaging dispense) is a strategic hand-in-glove fit complementing InvisiPac; Graco targets ~1/3 of revenue growth from M&A through a cycle, and stepped into buybacks (4.2M shares, ~$331M in H1) opportunistically, viewing the current stock level as a buying opportunity. | — |
| Contractor recovery | Multi-year weak paint market | Broad-based order pickup with both pro paint and home center growing together for the first time in ~2 years, aided by new products (QuickShot, ProReach, autonomous striping) and the Corob acquisition ramping into the back half; management hopeful the worst is past. | — |
| Semiconductor durability | Lumpy end market | Management views the current semiconductor strength (Expansion Markets bookings +58%) as sustainable through this year and into next given AI-driven capacity build-out, while cautioning that semiconductor cycles are inherently lumpy over 3-5 year periods. | — |
Q&A Summary
Deane Dray (RBC) asked why Graco is now giving quarterly sales guidance and about pricing and price-cost.
Sheahan said better ~13-week visibility (strong backlog, orders) makes it helpful for analysts and it is a permanent change; Gupta said price-cost stays positive with ~1.5-2% realized pricing and a plan to keep the historical start-of-year price cadence.
Mike Halloran (Baird) asked how first-half bookings translate to the back half and how much Graco can participate in the broader AI/data-center CapEx build-out.
Sheahan explained H1 built backlog faster than it could ship (Q1 -6% organic, Q2 ~flat), with easier powder comps, Color Service turning organic, and broad Contractor momentum supporting the back half; he detailed multiple data center touchpoints (semiconductor tools, Gema cabinet coating, thermal-interface dispense, construction coatings).
Bryan Blair (Oppenheimer) asked for segment detail behind the Q3 guide and the Valco Melton deal-model levers and facility footprint.
Sheahan/Gupta said Q3 guidance is a consolidated number (including M&A) for now with segment detail possibly later, and that Valco has 50%+ gross margins, more than half parts/accessories, ~5 manufacturing sites (rest sales/service), with value creation from revenue growth and efficiency.
Matt Summerville (D.A. Davidson) asked whether Valco's 9% revenue CAGR is organic and about pricing, plus the sustainability of Expansion Markets and powder timing.
Knutson said the 9% CAGR is organic (Valco's acquisitions are small); Sheahan expects normal/rational pricing to continue, sees sustainable near-term semiconductor strength (though lumpy long term), and Knutson said powder favors a seasonally strong Q4 with pickup in both Q3 and Q4.
Mitch Moran (KeyBanc) asked whether the step-up in buybacks and M&A is opportunistic or a more constructive cash-deployment stance, and about Contractor sustainability.
Gupta reaffirmed the unchanged, disciplined, balanced framework (organic growth first, then strategic M&A, then dividends/opportunistic buybacks); Sheahan called the recent ~$95 stock level a buying opportunity, targeted ~1/3 of growth from M&A through a cycle, and expressed cautious optimism the Contractor market has bottomed.
Walter Liptak (Seaport) asked whether data center exposure involves new Contractor products and about the general-industrial recovery.
Sheahan said data center demand uses the same Contractor products (paint, protective coatings, roofing, flooring) capitalizing on new opportunities, and characterized industrial growth as broad-based (PMIs turning positive, machinery/general-industrial/MRO), with H1 pressure concentrated in powder that faces easier back-half comps.
More on Graco Inc
Reported 2026-07-23 · figures from the Graco Inc Q2 2026 earnings call.
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