WAUKESHA, Wis., April 29, 2026, 09:10 (CDT)
Generac Holdings Inc. bumped up its 2026 sales target on Wednesday, following a better-than-expected first quarter. Data center demand played a key role, sending the backup-power equipment maker’s profit above analyst forecasts. Now the company is looking for full-year net sales growth in the mid-to-high teens percentage range—an increase from its prior mid-teens outlook.
The timing’s key here: Generac is out to show it’s not simply tied to storms and home generators anymore. With data centers—serving cloud and AI—hungry for backup power during outages, the Waukesha-based company now sees bigger opportunities on the commercial side. Residential sales still swing up and down.
Generac jumped roughly 11% to $241.25 early in New York, briefly reaching $246.99, market data showed. Adjusted earnings landed at $1.80 a share, clearing the $1.33 estimate from LSEG. Revenue hit $1.06 billion, another beat.
Net sales for the first quarter climbed 12% year over year. Commercial and industrial external sales surged roughly 28% to $510 million, driven by demand from global data center clients. Residential external sales, on the other hand, inched up just 1% to $549 million.
Chief Executive Aaron Jagdfeld told investors Generac was wrapping up “final stages of vendor approval” with several hyperscale customers—those huge cloud and internet players. He noted the company’s backlog had grown, thanks to both new wins and repeat business from data center clients. Generac Holdings Inc.
Generac bumped up its adjusted EBITDA margin outlook, now targeting 18.5% to 19.5%, a step above the earlier 18.0% to 19.0% range. EBITDA—earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—remains a key metric for investors looking at core operating performance stripped of financing and accounting charges.
Generac tweaked its reporting structure, shifting from Domestic and International units to new Residential and Commercial & Industrial segments as of March 31, according to a filing. The company noted the recast numbers aren’t restatements of prior financials.
Two deals in quick succession point to a broader change. Generac wrapped up its purchase of Allmand, a mobile power equipment manufacturer, on Jan. 5. Then, on April 1, it finalized the buyout of Enercon, a company specializing in generator enclosures and switchgear—key hardware for managing and safeguarding electrical systems.
After a sluggish fourth quarter—dragged down by fewer outages and softer demand for home standby and portable generators—Generac fell short of its estimates. So, Wednesday’s bump in commercial and industrial growth took on extra weight for investors trying to gauge if data center orders might counterbalance volatility in weather-driven residential sales.
Generac isn’t the only one eyeing the surge. Back in February, Cummins pointed to strong demand for data center backup power lifting results in its Distribution and Power Systems units. Caterpillar landed a data-center power deal with Joule Capital Partners, while Eaton has pushed deeper into the sector through acquisitions covering both power and cooling.
The updated forecast comes with its own caveats. Residential sales barely budged last quarter, while the guidance leaves out any added boost from a possible long-term hyperscale deal. Generac flagged risks: tariffs, components, the frequency of outages, and unpredictable data center growth could all weigh on the numbers.
The business mix is shifting quickly. During the quarter, commercial and industrial external sales landed just $40 million shy of residential external sales, closing in on Generac’s traditional home-generator segment and edging toward the bigger power-equipment space the company wants a piece of.
