Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. SWK reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 80 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 61 cents. The bottom line increased 6.7% year over year.
Stanley Black’s net sales of $3.85 billion beat the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. The top line increased 2.7% from the year-ago quarter.
Stanley Black’s Segmental Discussion
Effective from the first quarter of 2025, SWK has renamed the Industrial segment as the Engineered Fastening segment. It had no impact on the company's consolidated financial statements or segment results.
Revenues from the company’s primary segment, Tools & Outdoor, totaled $3.34 billion, which increased 2% from the year-ago quarter. However, the segment’s organic revenues decreased 1%. Our estimate was $3.29 billion.
Revenues from the Engineered Fastening segment grossed $511 million, up 10% year over year. The segment’s organic revenues increased 7%. Our estimate was $459.3 million.
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. Quote
SWK’s Margin Profile
Stanley Black’s cost of sales was up 2.5% year over year to $2.69 billion. The gross profit increased 3.3% year over year to $1.16 billion. The gross margin increased 20 basis points (bps) year over year to 30.1%.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 2% year over year to $884.0 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $354.7 million, indicating a year-over-year decrease of 2%. The margin decreased 50 bps to 9.2%.
SWK’s Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
While exiting the first quarter, Stanley Black had cash and cash equivalents of $333.7 million compared with $280.1 million at the end of fourth-quarter 2025. The long-term debt balance was $4.70 billion, in line with the figure reported at the end of fourth-quarter 2025.
In the first three months of 2026, net cash used for operating activities was $388.8 million compared with $420 million used in the year-ago period. Capital and software expenditures totaled $58.5 million, down from $65 million reported in the year-ago period. Free cash flow (before dividends) was ($447.3) million compared with ($485.0) million a year ago.
In the first three months of 2026, SWK paid out dividends worth $126 million to its shareholders, up 1.2% from the year-ago period.
SWK’s 2026 Guidance
Stanley Black updated its 2026 guidance. The company now anticipates earnings to be $4.15-$5.35 per share compared with $3.15-$4.35 expected earlier. Adjusted earnings are projected to be $4.90-$5.70 per share. The company targets to generate annual free cash flow (non-GAAP) of $700-$900 million, increasing 16% at the midpoint.
SWK’s Zacks Rank
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other Companies
Graco Inc. GGG posted quarterly earnings of 66 cents per share in the first quarter of 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents per share. This compares with earnings of 70 cents per share a year ago.
Graco posted revenues of $540.1 million for the quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.5%. This compares with year-ago revenues of $528.3 million.
Danaher Corporation’s DHR first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.06 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.95. The bottom line increased 9.6% year over year.
Danaher reported net sales of $5.95 billion, which missed the consensus estimate of $5.99 billion. However, the metric increased 3.5% year over year.
3M Company MMM delivered adjusted earnings of $2.14 per share in the first quarter of 2026, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.02. The bottom line increased 14% year over year.
MMM’s adjusted revenues of $6.00 billion missed the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. On an adjusted basis, organic revenues increased 1.2% year over year.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).