Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation

Q2 sales were $3.18 billion, up 17.5% year over year, or up 16.6% excluding currency. GAAP operating income was $600 million, up 27.1%, and GAAP operating margin was 18.9%, up 1.5 percentage points. Adjusted operating margin was 21.9%, up 0.8 percentage points. GAAP EPS was $2.33, up 18.9%, and adjusted EPS was $2.76, up 21.6%. Gross margin was 36.5% GAAP, up 1.8 percentage points. Cash flow from operations was $441 million, and cash conversion was 82%. For 2026, management raised guidance to approximately $12.5 billion of revenue at the midpoint, up 11.5% from last year, and adjusted EPS of $10.60 to $10.90; John Olin later referenced a midpoint of $10.75 after the raise. Management said the majority of margin expansion for the year should occur in the back half, with Q4 expected to show the strongest margin improvement.

Rafael Santana said the company had a strong first half despite tariff headwinds, unfavorable mix, and tough comparisons, and emphasized that Wabtec is strengthening its position as a leading industrial technology company. He highlighted healthy demand, a strong pipeline, and profitable backlog growth, and said the company is seeing momentum in both freight and transit markets. His tone was confident and upbeat, but he repeatedly noted ongoing tariff pressures, inflation, and chip shortages as items the team is still managing through.

John Olin said Q2 outperformed expectations because revenue growth and margin expansion both came in better than planned, supported by favorable shipment timing, incremental flow business, better product mix, and productivity from Integration 3.0. He cited Q2 sales of $3.18 billion, GAAP operating income of $600 million, adjusted operating margin of 21.9%, adjusted EPS of $2.76, and cash flow from operations of $441 million with 82% cash conversion. He also noted liquidity ended the quarter over $2 billion, net debt leverage was 2.2x, the company repurchased $215 million of stock in the quarter and $457 million in the first half, and paid $53 million in dividends.

Analysts focused on backlog conversion, the sustainability of high-single-digit organic growth, margin cadence into Q4, components weakness, data center exposure, and the EVO modernization ramp. Management said the strong flow business, helped by North America carloads up 4% in Q2 and improved freight volumes, drove part of the revenue beat and is expected to continue through the back half. On components and data centers, management said railcar weakness is still a drag, industrial demand is helping modestly, and data center exposure is only a very small niche today, with engines not the most competitive backup-power solution and only nominal sales so far. Management also confirmed the first North America EVO Advantage order arrived in Q2, and said the larger $1.3 billion order from late last year was not for EVO Advantage.