Evercore ISI maintained its Outperform rating on Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH) and left its price target at $165.00 following the company's latest quarterly results, which outstripped analyst expectations.
For the quarter, Amphenol reported revenue of $6.44 billion and earnings per share of $0.97, topping consensus forecasts of $6.19 billion in revenue and $0.93 in EPS. Sales for the December quarter rose 49.1% year-over-year, including 37% organic growth, with management citing strength in IT Datacom and investments tied to artificial intelligence as primary contributors.
Orders hit a record $8.43 billion, up 68% from the prior year and up 38% sequentially, producing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.31x. The company also posted notable margin expansion: gross margin was 38.2%, an improvement of 393 basis points year-over-year, while operating margin widened to 27.5%, up 513 basis points.
Amphenol provided forward guidance for the March quarter that exceeded street expectations. The company projected sales in a $6.9 billion to $7.0 billion range versus consensus of $6.55 billion, and earnings per share of $0.91 to $0.93 compared with an expected $0.89. Management stated that the guidance incorporates roughly $900 million of revenue from the recently completed CCS acquisition.
The CCS deal, which closed in early January, is forecast by the company to generate $4.1 billion in revenue and to contribute about $0.15 to EPS. Amphenol said the acquisition broadens its fiber-optic capabilities across the interconnect spectrum.
In additional disclosures, Amphenol reported fourth-quarter 2025 results that marked a record $6.4 billion in sales and EPS of $0.97. Despite the stronger-than-expected financial performance, the stock fell noticeably in pre-market trading; the company did not provide a detailed explanation for the intraday price movement.
Context and takeaway - The quarter combined outsized revenue growth, order momentum and margin expansion, while management raised near-term sales and EPS guidance by factoring in the CCS acquisition. Investors received both the beat on results and a higher outlook for the March quarter, even as early trading reacted negatively for reasons the company did not detail.
Reporting limitations - The company has not provided further detail explaining the pre-market share movement following the earnings release.