Plexus' Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y

Core Insights - Plexus Corp (PLXS) reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.78, surpassing the previous year's $1.73 and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.77 per share [1][7] - Revenues reached $1.07 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 9.6%, although it slightly missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.071 billion [1][7] - Management anticipates non-GAAP EPS to be in the range of $1.66-$1.81 and revenues between $1.05 billion and $1.09 billion for the upcoming quarter [1] Revenue Breakdown - Revenues from the Americas increased by 25.9% to $345 million, while revenues from EMEA and Asia-Pacific rose by 16.8% and 0.8%, respectively [2] - The company secured 22 manufacturing program wins, projected to contribute $283 million in annualized revenues once fully operational [2][7] Growth Outlook - Management indicated that program wins, market share gains, and increasing demand position the company to potentially exceed its revenue growth target of 9% to 12% for fiscal 2026 [3] - For the second quarter of fiscal 2026, revenues are expected to be between $1.11 billion and $1.15 billion, with non-GAAP operating margin anticipated to be between 5.6% and 6% [15] Segment Performance - Aerospace/Defense revenues grew by 11.3% year over year to $178 million, contributing 17% to total revenues [5] - Healthcare/Life Sciences revenues increased by 24.6% year over year to $466 million, accounting for 43% of total revenues [9] - Industrial sector revenues decreased by 3.6% year over year to $426 million, contributing 40% to total revenues [10] Financial Metrics - Gross profit on a GAAP basis rose by 5.4% year over year to $106.2 million, with a gross margin of 9.9%, down from 10.3% in the previous year [12] - Cash and cash equivalents stood at $248.8 million as of January 3, 2026, down from $306.5 million as of September 27, 2025 [13] - The company reported a negative free cash flow of $50.6 million after capital expenditures of $35.2 million [14]