Otis Worldwide Corporation OTIS reported mixed second-quarter 2026 results, wherein earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but declined year over year. Meanwhile, net sales surpassed the consensus mark and increased from the prior year's reported figure.
Following the results, OTIS’ shares declined 1.9% during today's pre-market trading session, likely reflecting negative investor sentiment toward its reduced full-year adjusted EPS, adjusted operating profit and free cash flow guidance despite continued strength in the Service business.
Otis' second-quarter performance reflected continued momentum in its Service business, driven by strong modernization and repair activity, accelerating maintenance trends and robust backlog growth. However, higher investments in Service initiatives and continued weakness in the New Equipment business weighed on profitability.
Inside OTIS' Q2 Headlines
OTIS reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.00 by 1%. In the year-ago quarter, it reported adjusted EPS of $1.05.
Net sales of $3.86 billion surpassed the consensus mark of $3.72 billion by 3.7% and increased 7.3% from $3.60 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Organic sales increased 6% year over year, led by continued strength in the Service segment. Modernization orders increased 9% at constant currency, while modernization backlog expanded 24% year over year, highlighting healthy demand across the business.
Otis Worldwide Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Otis Worldwide Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Otis Worldwide Corporation Quote
Adjusted operating margin contracted 180 basis points (bps) year over year to 15.2%, reflecting unfavorable segment performance and ongoing investments in strategic Service growth initiatives, partly offset by a favorable business mix.
Segment Details of OTIS
Service: Net sales from the segment increased 11% year over year to $2.58 billion. Organic sales rose 9%, driven by broad-based strength across maintenance, repair and modernization activities. Our model estimated organic sales for the segment to grow 5.4%.
Organic maintenance and repair sales increased 6%, while organic modernization sales jumped 24% from the prior-year quarter.
Segment operating profit increased to $599 million from $578 million a year ago. However, segment operating margin contracted 170 bps year over year to 23.2% as higher labor costs, ongoing investments in strategic Service initiatives, productivity headwinds, material costs and unfavorable mix more than offset higher volume and favorable pricing.
New Equipment: Net sales from the segment were $1.28 billion, flat year over year. Organic sales decreased 1%, reflecting a high-teens decline in China and a mid-single-digit decline in EMEA, partly offset by approximately 10% organic growth in the Americas and low single-digit growth in Asia Pacific. Our model predicted organic sales for the New Equipment segment to decrease 3.3%.
New Equipment orders declined 5% at constant currency, while backlog increased 3% at actual currency and 4% at constant currency.
Segment operating profit declined to $40 million from $68 million in the year-ago quarter. Segment operating margin contracted 220 bps year over year to 3.1%, primarily due to lower volume, unfavorable pricing and adverse mix.
Financial Position of Otis
Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $267 million during the second quarter compared with $215 million in the prior-year period.
Free cash flow improved to $223 million from $179 million a year ago, while adjusted free cash flow increased to $290 million from $243 million. During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately $400 million of shares, underscoring its continued focus on returning capital to shareholders.
OTIS Revises 2026 Guidance
Otis reaffirmed its 2026 net sales outlook of $15.1-$15.3 billion, implying approximately 4.6-6% year-over-year growth. Organic sales growth is also still expected in the low to mid-single-digit range.
Organic New Equipment sales are now expected to range from down low single digits to flat, compared with the previous outlook of flat to low single digits. Organic Service sales guidance remained unchanged at mid to high-single-digit growth.
The company lowered its adjusted operating profit outlook to approximately $2.4 billion from the previous expectation of approximately $2.5 billion. Adjusted EPS is now expected in the range of $4.01-$4.05, down from the prior outlook of $4.20-$4.24.
Otis also reduced its adjusted free cash flow guidance to $1.50-$1.55 billion from the previous $1.60-$1.65 billion.
OTIS' Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Otis currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Here are some better-ranked stocks from the Industrial Products sector:
CECO Environmental Corp. CECO sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 46.5%, on average. CECO stock has climbed 20% in the past six months. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CECO Environmental’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 66.4% and 121.4%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.
W.W. Grainger, Inc. GWW holds a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.2%, on average. GWW stock has gained 28.7% in the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for W.W. Grainger’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 8.2% and 15.2%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT presently carries a Zacks Rank 2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4%, on average. AIT stock has jumped 21.8% in the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Applied Industrial Technologies’ fiscal 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 7.5% and 5.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Otis Worldwide Corporation (OTIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW): Free Stock Analysis Report
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT): Free Stock Analysis Report
CECO Environmental Corp. (CECO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).