AAON (NASDAQ:AAON) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

AAON (NASDAQ:AAON) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The construction company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.17, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $496.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.08 million. AAON had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 13.13%. AAON’s revenue for the quarter was up 54.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from AAON’s conference call:

• Record Q1 net sales of $496.9 million (+54% YoY) and a backlog of $2.1 billion (more than double year-ago) with BASX sales +72% and AAON sales +42%, indicating strong demand and market-share gains.
• Gross margin declined to 25.1% (down 170 bps YoY) driven by intentional outsourcing, unabsorbed fixed costs at the new Memphis facility, and tariff/inflation pressures—management characterizes these as temporary but they compressed near-term margins.
• Company updated 2026 outlook to ~40–45% sales growth with a gross margin target of 27–28% and says margins should improve through the year as internal capacity scales and reliance on outsourcing falls.
• AAON is continuing heavy capacity investment (Q1 CapEx $52.9M; full-year ~ $190M) and Memphis/Longview ramping drove higher throughput and a $34M operating cash inflow, while debt sits at $425.2M (leverage 1.71x) and the new CFO is prioritizing margin discipline and working capital.

AAON Stock Up 31.5%

Shares of AAON traded up $30.95 on Thursday, reaching $129.25. The stock had a trading volume of 7,695,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,772. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.83. AAON has a 12-month low of $62.00 and a 12-month high of $149.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.63.

AAON Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. AAON’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

AAON News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AAON this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported record Q1 results: revenue $496.9M (+54% YoY), EPS $0.48 (beat), operating leverage beginning to show, backlog up ~107% to $2.1B, and management raised full‑year guidance (now targeting ~40–45% revenue growth and ~27–28% gross margins). This directly supports stronger near‑term cash flow and explains investor enthusiasm. PR Newswire Release
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction and commentary emphasize surging data‑center demand as a key growth driver and the “catalyst” behind today’s move — investors are rewarding the combination of outsized beat, backlog visibility, and capacity expansion. Fool Article
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results cleared consensus by a wide margin (Zacks/other wire coverage): EPS and revenue both beat street estimates, reinforcing the credibility of the raised outlook and improving short‑term fundamentals. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street coverage: William Blair reiterated a Buy rating citing BASX-driven growth and margin recovery potential but left an unchanged $98 price target (below current market levels), indicating some analyst conservatism despite the positive results. TipRanks Analyst Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript is available for detail on backlog composition, capacity expansion timing, and margin cadence — useful for investors wanting to vet management’s assumptions behind the raised guide. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and mixed institutional moves were highlighted in coverage (multiple executive sales reported), which could raise governance/near‑term sentiment questions for some investors. Quiver Quant
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/risk: share price now implies significantly more growth; AAON trades at a high trailing P/E and investors should weigh margin sustainability and execution risk as the company ramps capacity. MarketBeat Profile

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAON shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $118.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of AAON in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AAON in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AAON from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of AAON in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AAON in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at AAON

In related news, CAO Rebecca Thompson sold 21,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.21, for a total transaction of $2,196,001.94. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,773,913.01. The trade was a 44.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Casey Kidwell sold 5,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $470,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,580. This represents a 29.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 37,118 shares of company stock valued at $3,665,241 in the last three months. Insiders own 18.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of AAON by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,839,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $521,495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,099,385 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in AAON by 27.1% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,138,959 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $199,864,000 after buying an additional 456,560 shares during the last quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AAON by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 1,198,921 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $91,418,000 after buying an additional 130,062 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of AAON by 1.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,138,606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $106,392,000 after acquiring an additional 18,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in AAON by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 762,711 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,268,000 after acquiring an additional 113,249 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.81% of the company’s stock.

About AAON

AAON, Inc (NASDAQ: AAON) is a U.S.-based designer and manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment for commercial and industrial applications. The company’s product portfolio focuses on rooftop packaged units, water-source heat pumps, chillers and custom-engineered solutions that cater to a wide array of building types, from office complexes and schools to data centers and healthcare facilities.

AAON’s core offerings include rooftop units available in gas, electric and dual-fuel configurations, precision air-conditioning systems for temperature- and humidity-sensitive environments, and modular chillers suited for both indoor and outdoor installations.