Belden (NYSE:BDC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Belden (NYSE:BDC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.15, FiscalAI reports. Belden had a return on equity of 23.95% and a net margin of 8.57%.The company had revenue of $720.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $696.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Belden updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.650-1.750 EPS.

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

• Record results: Belden reported a record Q4 revenue of $720M and adjusted EPS of $2.08, and a record full-year revenue of ~$2.7B with adjusted EPS of $7.54, driven by strong order momentum and execution.
• Solutions acceleration & org change: Solutions wins crossed 15% of revenue in 2025 and management launched a unified functional operating model (effective Jan 1, 2026) to scale IT/OT converged solutions and pursue a >20% solutions mix by 2028.
• Segment momentum — Automation led growth while broadband showed mixed trends: Automation Solutions grew ~14% (organic 11%) to nearly $1.5B with strong order growth, Smart Infrastructure reached ~$1.2B with broadband moderation but rising fiber content and expected recovery (BEAD tailwinds).
• Margins & pass‑throughs: Reported gross margin was 38.5% and EBITDA margin 16.9%, but management said tariffs/copper pass‑throughs diluted reported margins while excluding those effects gross margins improved ~160bps and EBITDA ~80bps; Q1 2026 guidance is $675–690M revenue and $1.65–1.75 adjusted EPS.
• Balance sheet & capital allocation: Trailing‑12‑month free cash flow was $219M, the company repurchased $195M of stock (1.7M shares) with $145M remaining authorization, and extended debt maturities via EUR450M notes (avg. rate ~3.9%), leaving net leverage ~1.9x.

Belden Trading Up 8.2%

Shares of Belden stock traded up $11.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $153.85. The stock had a trading volume of 254,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,789. Belden has a 1 year low of $83.18 and a 1 year high of $159.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31 and a beta of 1.20.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BDC shares. Wall Street Zen raised Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Belden in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Belden from $149.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Belden news, SVP Hiran Bhadra sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 26,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,134,280. This trade represents a 5.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.19, for a total transaction of $372,570.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,037,359.07. This represents a 26.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,045 shares of company stock worth $2,010,690. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BDC. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Belden by 4.6% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Belden by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Belden by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Belden by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Belden by 134.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Company Profile

Belden, formerly Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC), was a global provider of signal transmission solutions for demanding applications. The company produced a wide range of copper and fiber optic cables, connectors, patch panels, cable assemblies, and surge protection devices. Its portfolio extended into networking and security hardware, including managed switches, industrial routers, and software tools for remote monitoring and network management.

Founded in 1902 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Belden built its reputation on delivering high‐performance, reliable products for harsh environments.