Belden (NYSE:BDC) closed out 2025 with record fourth-quarter and full-year results, driven by continued growth in its solutions offerings and strong execution across its end markets. Management also outlined a significant organizational shift that will take effect in 2026, as the company moves to a unified functional operating model and plans to report as a single consolidated segment.
Record quarter and full-year performance
President and CEO Ashish Chand said the company delivered “an outstanding close to 2025,” with fourth-quarter revenue reaching a record $720 million, above the high end of guidance. Adjusted EPS was also a quarterly record at $2.08, exceeding the high end of the company’s outlook.
Executive Vice President and CFO Jeremy Parks said fourth-quarter revenue increased 8% year-over-year and 5% organically, with Automation Solutions up 10% organically while Smart Infrastructure Solutions was flat. Orders rose 12% year-over-year and 5% sequentially. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $122 million, up 7%, while net income was $83 million.
For 2025, Parks said revenue rose 6% organically, driven primarily by Automation Solutions. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $459 million, up from $411 million a year earlier. Gross margin improved 40 basis points to 38.5% and EBITDA margin increased 20 basis points to 16.9%.
Pricing actions, mix shift, and solutions adoption
Management emphasized that pricing actions taken in 2025 were aimed at offsetting the impact of copper inflation and tariffs. Parks said Belden “proactively managed pricing” to protect profitability and EPS, noting that while the company fully recovered these incremental costs, pass-through actions diluted reported margin percentages.
Excluding the impact of pass-throughs, Parks said gross margin improved 160 basis points and EBITDA margin improved 80 basis points year-over-year, aided by a growing solutions mix. He also said incremental EBITDA margins excluding pass-throughs were approximately 28%, in line with long-term targets.
Chand highlighted solutions progress as a key strategic metric, saying solutions wins as a percentage of total revenue surpassed 15% in 2025. In the Q&A, management said solutions penetration was “in the low 20s” within Automation Solutions and had reached the “mid-single digits” in Smart Buildings, up from essentially zero at the beginning of 2025. The company reiterated its longer-term goal of reaching at least 20% solutions mix by 2028 and said it expects acceleration as it scales more repeatable reference architectures.
End-market commentary: automation, broadband, and data centers
On demand trends, Chand said the total solutions pipeline increased 26% at the end of 2025 versus the end of 2024. He described strong demand on the automation side, particularly in energy, discrete manufacturing, and process industries, and noted meaningful activity in hospitality as an integrated IT/OT opportunity. Broadband was described as less robust in 2025, though fiber demand was cited as a positive trend.
In broadband, Chand said a temporary slowdown tied to architectural upgrades and interoperability issues weighed on the second half, alongside an inventory overhang. He said those issues have “largely resolved” and pointed to a 2026 rebound supported by fiber adoption and DOCSIS deployments among major MSO customers. He also referenced BEAD funding as a 2026 tailwind. Chand added that fiber content as a percentage of total broadband revenue increased from 40% at the end of 2024 to 50% at the end of 2025, and said the company launched differentiated fiber products protected by IP.
Chand also discussed “Physical AI” opportunities in warehousing and smart manufacturing, describing early-stage pilots and a multi-step journey for customers (digitization, harmonization, convergence, and autonomy) that can take 12–18 months depending on customer maturity. He framed inflation as potentially increasing customer interest in automation as companies seek efficiency and labor savings.
On data centers, Chand said Belden views integrated “white space” and “gray space” opportunities—particularly for AI data centers—as a top growth area. He said the company expanded its data center team by roughly 2–3x in recent quarters. A pilot related to modular cooling systems “went very well,” according to Chand, and has expanded into a larger commercial relationship under negotiation for multiple data centers. He said Belden booked some orders and revenue in the fourth quarter from additional accounts and characterized the pipeline as “3–4 times larger.”
Organizational realignment and segment reporting change
Chand said Belden is undertaking a “significant strategic evolution” effective January 1, 2026, shifting from a legacy segment structure to a unified functional operating model across the enterprise. Management said the change is intended to better align resources and accountability with the company’s solutions-first strategy as IT and OT converge, and to improve speed of decision-making and consistency in delivering integrated solutions.
Parks added that beginning in the first quarter of 2026, Belden will transition to a single consolidated reportable segment. He said the change will not affect historical consolidated financials, and that the company will continue to provide commentary on market-level categories and key verticals.
When asked whether the realignment would create P&L impacts through cost reductions or restructuring, Chand said cost reduction was not the primary objective. He said the goal was to align around solutions and customer centricity, though he acknowledged the new structure should generate efficiencies that Belden expects to reinvest rather than position as a restructuring savings model.
Cash flow, capital allocation, and 2026 outlook
Belden generated $219 million in free cash flow in 2025, and Chand said the company continued disciplined capital deployment. Parks said the company repurchased 1.7 million shares for $195 million, and that the share count is now more than 11% lower than at the end of 2021. Belden ended 2025 with $390 million in cash and cash equivalents and net leverage of 1.9x net debt to EBITDA. Parks said the company targets approximately 1.5x net leverage over the long term, with flexibility for strategic opportunities.
Parks also said the company completed a debt refinancing early in the year by issuing EUR 450 million of 4.25% senior subordinated notes due in 2033, redeeming outstanding 2027 notes and extending the maturity profile. He said the company’s debt remains entirely fixed with an average rate of approximately 3.9%.
For the first quarter of 2026, Belden guided for revenue between $675 million and $690 million and adjusted EPS between $1.65 and $1.75, citing typical seasonality and ongoing market uncertainty. In response to a question on foreign exchange, Parks said FX is expected to be a year-over-year benefit of roughly 2% of revenue in the first quarter.
About Belden (NYSE:BDC)
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.
