Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.29, FiscalAI reports. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 10.42%.The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation updated its FY 2026 guidance to 11.400-12.200 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Rockwell Automation’s conference call:

• Rockwell beat expectations in Q1 with double‑digit sales growth, adjusted EPS of $2.75, and total company segment margin of 20.7%, driven by higher volume, favorable mix and productivity.
• Software & Control was a standout: organic sales +17%, Logix North America sales >25%, strong early adoption of the new L9 controller, and Plex delivered its best quarter with notable customer wins (e.g., R.H. Sheppard).
• Companywide productivity and margin initiatives (commercial spend, direct material, supply chain efficiencies and AI adoption) are expanding gross margins and support management’s target of >100 bps segment margin expansion for the year and >40% incremental margins.
• Macro and trade uncertainty (tariffs, regional conflict) is keeping some large CapEx projects on hold, Lifecycle Services revenue declined 6% in Q1, and the Sensia JV dissolution will remove ~$250M of annualized sales (with modest margin improvement).
• Outlook unchanged: fiscal‑2026 organic sales guidance of 2%–6% (midpoint assumes gradual improvement), adjusted EPS midpoint raised to $11.80, free cash flow conversion targeted at ~100% and ~$500M of planned share repurchases.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded up $10.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $417.38. The company had a trading volume of 484,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,773. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $407.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $372.22. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $438.72. The firm has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a PE ratio of 54.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.07, for a total transaction of $410,111.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,420,863.47. This represents a 14.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 2,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.45, for a total transaction of $956,176.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,375.80. The trade was a 54.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,531 shares of company stock valued at $10,259,637. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $329.00 to $448.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $392.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $409.56.

Key Rockwell Automation News

Here are the key news stories impacting Rockwell Automation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat estimates — Rockwell reported $2.75 EPS vs. consensus ~$2.46 and revenue of ~$2.10B (organic sales up ~10–12%), showing healthy demand across products and software. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Margin leverage and profitability improvement — Management cited volume leverage, pricing and mix that materially widened margins (pre‑tax and segment operating margins), driving strong EPS leverage versus revenue. This supports higher long‑run earnings power. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recurring revenue and product mix trends remain constructive — annual recurring revenue grew and Intelligent Devices/Software & Control showed notable growth, supporting more visible revenue streams. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: FY 2026 guidance set to $11.40–12.20 EPS and revenue ~ $8.8B — the range still implies year‑over‑year improvement but the midpoint is slightly below some analysts’ consensus, leaving room for debate on near‑term upside. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Free cash flow weakness and one‑off items weighed on sentiment — reports indicate a cash‑flow slide tied partly to higher compensation timing/one‑time items; investors punished the stock despite the beat because cash conversion was weaker than expected. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell after the print — the combination of cautious/full‑year guide positioning and FCF concerns drove the intra‑day pullback even though fundamentals (sales, margins) are improving. Article Title

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

Rockwell Automation is a global industrial automation and digital transformation company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm designs, manufactures and supports control systems, industrial control hardware and software, and related services that help manufacturers and industrial operators automate processes, improve productivity and enable data-driven decision making. Rockwell traces its heritage to the Allen-Bradley and Rockwell automation businesses and positions itself as a provider of integrated automation solutions across discrete and process industries.

The company’s product portfolio includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency drives, sensors, safety components and other industrial control hardware, often marketed under the Allen-Bradley brand.