The quarter beat on sales but missed on earnings. Revenue rose 9% year over year to $9.46 billion, ahead of published expectations near $9.31–$9.33 billion, but diluted EPS of $6.73 was below consensus around $7.21. Even adding back the $0.21 per-share unfavorable tax items, underlying EPS was roughly $6.94—still below the market bar.
| Metric | Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 / expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $9.457B (Income Statement) | $8.643B prior year; ~$9.31–$9.33B consensus |
| Diluted EPS | $6.73 (Income Statement) | $6.43 prior year; ~$7.21 consensus |
| EBITDA | $1.653B, 17.5% margin (EBITDA reconciliation) | $1.587B, 18.4% margin prior year |
| Operating cash flow | $1.499B (Cash Flow statement) | $785M prior year |
| Power Systems sales | $2.255B (Segment results — Power Systems) | $1.889B prior year |
Demand was the clear upside driver, especially power generation. Power Systems sales increased 19% year over year, with power-generation revenue up to $1.54 billion from $1.21 billion; the company attributed the strength primarily to data-center demand. Engine sales also improved sequentially, helped by North American truck markets. These are meaningful operational gains, but much of the data-center and truck recovery narrative was already established by the first-quarter outlook and subsequent company updates. (Segment results — Power Systems; Segment results — Engine)
Margins were weaker than the record headline suggests. Consolidated EBITDA margin fell to 17.5% from 18.4% despite higher sales, as incentive compensation and other costs absorbed part of the volume benefit. Six-month EBITDA margin was 16.5% versus 18.1% a year earlier; excluding the first-quarter fuel-cell charge, the comparison improves to 17.6% versus 18.1%, but still does not show broad-based margin expansion. (EBITDA reconciliation; Segment results)
The forward signal was better than the quarter itself. Cummins raised full-year EBITDA-margin guidance to 18.0%–18.5% from 17.75%–18.5% and said the second half should be stronger than the first. That narrows the downside at the low end and supports the demand thesis, particularly in data-center power and North American trucks, but it does not erase the current-period EPS miss. (2026 Outlook)
Net read: a mixed earnings print, with guidance doing the recovery work. The market received better-than-expected revenue and a higher outlook, but the core earnings result missed a relatively high consensus bar and profitability declined year over year. The filing therefore lands as a miss on reported earnings, partially offset by stronger demand visibility and raised full-year expectations.
Read the original 8-K on SEC EDGAR ↗