Bearings manufacturer RBC Bearings (NYSE:RBC) beat Wall Street's revenue expectations in calendar Q3 2026 (fiscal Q2 2027), with revenue up 15.2% year on year to $524.6 million. Guidance for next quarter's revenue was better than expected at $522.5 million at the midpoint, 0.6% above analysts' consensus estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $3.74 per share was 5.9% above analysts' consensus estimates.
For more on RBC Bearings, read the full research report .
RBC Bearings (RBC) Q3 CY2026 highlights:
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Revenue$524.6 million vs S&P analysts' consensus estimates of $514.4 million (15.2% year-on-year growth, 2% beat)
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Adjusted EPS$3.74 vs S&P analysts' consensus estimates of $3.53 (5.9% beat)
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Adjusted EBITDA$175 million vs analysts' consensus estimates of $167.8 million (33.4% margin, 4.3% beat)
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Revenue guidance$522.5 million at the midpoint for Q4 CY2026, roughly in line with what analysts were expecting
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Operating margin25.1%, up from 21.5% in the same quarter last year
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Free cash flow margin16.3%, similar to the same quarter last year
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Market capitalization$15.65 billion
Revenue growth
A company's long-term revenue performance is one signal of its overall quality. Even a poor business can perform well for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. RBC Bearings's 26.6% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was strong. Its growth surpassed the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers.
Long-term growth is the most important, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss new industry trends or demand cycles. RBC Bearings's annualized revenue growth of 12.8% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but the results still suggest healthy demand.
This quarter, RBC Bearings reported year-on-year revenue growth of 15.2%, and its $524.6 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street's consensus estimates by 2%. Company management is currently guiding for a 13.2% year-on-year increase in revenue next quarter.
Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 10.4% over the next 12 months, according to S&P, a slight deceleration versus the last two years. Despite the slowdown, this is a strong growth projection and suggests the market expects success for its products and services.
Operating margin
Operating margin is one of the best measures of profitability because it tells us how much money a company takes home after procuring and manufacturing its products, marketing and selling those products and most importantly, keeping them relevant through research and development.
RBC Bearings has performed well over the last five years. It demonstrated strong profitability for an industrials business, with an average operating margin of 21.6%. This result is unsurprising given its favorable gross margin baseline.
Looking at the trend in its profitability, RBC Bearings's operating margin rose by 8.7 percentage points over the last five years, as its revenue growth provided substantial operating leverage.
In Q3, RBC Bearings generated an operating margin of 25.1%, up 3.6 percentage points year on year. The increase was a positive sign, and its operating margin rose more than its gross margin, indicating greater efficiency with expenses such as marketing, R&D and administrative overhead.
Earnings per share
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company's growth is profitable.
RBC Bearings's EPS grew at a 29.6% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, higher than its 26.6% annualized revenue growth. This indicates the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.
We can take a deeper look into RBC Bearings's earnings to better understand the drivers of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, RBC Bearings's operating margin expanded by 8.7 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its higher earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don't tell us as much about a company's fundamentals.
As with revenue, we analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business.
For RBC Bearings, its two-year annual EPS growth of 24.9% was lower than its five-year trend. Still, growth remained solid.
In Q3, RBC Bearings reported adjusted EPS of $3.74, up from $2.88 in the same quarter last year. This result beat analysts' consensus estimates by 5.9%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects RBC Bearings's full-year EPS to grow 11.1% from $14.28 to $15.87, according to S&P.
Key takeaways from RBC Bearings's Q3 results
RBC Bearings delivered a solid quarter, topping expectations for both EBITDA and revenue. Those beats were the key positives in the report. Shares remained flat at $495.76 immediately after the release.
RBC Bearings had a solid quarterly earnings result, but that alone doesn't determine whether the stock is a good investment. That decision requires considering its valuation, business quality and latest quarterly results. For more on RBC Bearings, read our free full research report here .
