Celestica beats on Q3 as revenue jumps 83% to $5.83B, raises 2026 outlook to $21B; shares rise after hours

CLS reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $5.83 billion after the close on Monday, Oct. 26, up 83% from $3.19 billion a year earlier and ahead of the FactSet consensus of $5.46 billion. Adjusted EPS was $3.30, against $1.58 a year earlier, which StreetInsider put at 31 cents above estimates; GAAP EPS was $3.26. Adjusted operating margin widened to 8.5% from 7.6%, although GAAP operating margin fell to 7.9% from 10.2%, per the company's results release.

The growth came from the Connectivity & Cloud Solutions (CCS) segment, which serves hyperscale data center customers: CCS revenue rose 102% to $4.87 billion, while Advanced Technology Solutions grew 23% to $0.96 billion. Within CCS, compute and storage revenue climbed to $1.61 billion from $470 million a year earlier. That growth is concentrated: Celestica's 10-Q shows its largest customer, which it does not name, accounted for 35% of third-quarter revenue, up from 30% a year earlier, with two other CCS customers at 17% and 14%.

Management raised its full-year 2026 outlook to $21.0 billion in revenue, from $20.5 billion, and $11.55 in adjusted EPS, from $11.30, both ahead of FactSet estimates of $20.62 billion and $11.21. Not every target went up: the company lowered its 2026 free cash flow outlook to $460 million from $600 million, as inventories more than doubled from year-end to support the ramp. For the fourth quarter it guided to revenue of $6.275 billion to $6.575 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.37 to $3.57. Celestica also set initial 2027 targets of about $40 billion in revenue and $21.50 in adjusted EPS, according to Investing.com.

The stock had closed 5.1% lower at $246.65 in the regular session before the release, then rose about 9% in after-hours trading. What to watch at Tuesday's investor and analyst day: how management backs up the 2027 targets, whether customer concentration keeps rising, and how quickly the inventory build turns into cash.