AAON Inc. shares rallied sharply in morning trading, climbing roughly 40.04% after the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based HVAC manufacturer released first-quarter 2026 results that outperformed analyst expectations across multiple metrics.
For the first quarter of 2026, AAON reported net sales of $496.9 million, up 54.3% from $322.1 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The $496.9 million revenue figure exceeded Wall Street estimates by 29.5%.
On the profit side, AAON posted a non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.48 for the quarter, which was 63.3% above the analysts' consensus forecast. In addition to the results, the company’s board authorized a share repurchase program of up to $100 million, a move that contributed to investor enthusiasm.
Management also sharply raised the company’s 2026 outlook. The updated guidance calls for full-year sales growth of 40% to 45% and gross margins of 27% to 28% for 2026, a substantial increase from prior expectations communicated by the company.
A central driver cited in the report was an unprecedented backlog and the rapid expansion of AAON’s BASX brand, which focuses on equipment for data centers. Total backlog rose 107.4% year-over-year to $2.13 billion and grew 16.5% sequentially. The sequential increase was driven entirely by the BASX business, whose backlog climbed 24.4% from the prior quarter.
Net sales for the BASX segment surged 104.5% to $135.4 million in the quarter, up from $66.2 million a year ago. The company attributed BASX’s growth to continued demand from data centers and the segment’s custom-engineered solutions that have supported share gains.
CEO Matt Tobolski said that "first-quarter results demonstrate strong earnings growth driven by higher volume, improved execution, and continued share gains." The statement highlighted higher production volume and operational execution as contributors to the quarter’s performance.
While revenue and earnings topped estimates, gross margin contracted to 25.1% from 26.8% in the prior-year period. Management attributed the margin decline to temporarily unabsorbed fixed costs arising from recent capacity investments, outsourcing needed to support rapid growth, and transitory timing differences between pricing and costs. Company leaders characterized these headwinds as intentional and temporary, and said margins should improve as internal capacity scales and utilization increases later in the year.
The stock’s surge occurred against a largely neutral market backdrop. The wider indexes provided no meaningful lift - the S&P 500 was essentially flat, the Dow Jones slipped slightly, and the NASDAQ was marginally higher - indicating that AAON’s rally was driven by company-specific developments.
Combining a sizeable revenue and earnings beat, a record $2.13 billion backlog, a stepped-up full-year revenue growth target, and a new $100 million buyback authorization produced a multi-faceted catalyst that pushed AAON shares to a fresh 52-week high of $145.99 during the trading session.
Note: This article focuses on the company-reported results, guidance, backlog figures, and management commentary as presented.