Executive Summary

Belden delivered record Q3 2025 results, with revenue of $698.2M and adjusted EPS of $1.97, both above the high end of prior guidance; revenue grew 7% y/y (4% organic) and adjusted EPS rose 16% y/y .
Strength was led by Automation Solutions (organic +10% y/y; segment revenue +14% y/y to $381.3M; EBITDA margin 20.8%), while Smart Infrastructure Solutions was modestly softer (revenue -1% y/y to $316.9M; EBITDA margin 12.6%) .
Orders rose 7% y/y with book-to-bill at 1.0 (vs 0.99 a year ago), highlighting demand resilience; management again cited tariffs and copper pass-through as headwinds to reported margin percentages but emphasized underlying incremental margin discipline .
Q4 2025 guidance: revenue $690–$700M, GAAP EPS $1.40–$1.50, adjusted EPS $1.90–$2.00; tax rate ~14% for Q4; sequential strength in Automation expected to be offset by a more muted Smart Infrastructure quarter, implying roughly flat total revenue q/q .
Stock catalysts: ongoing Solutions-led mix shift (utility modernization win, Physical AI pilots), data center traction, and an improving macro in industrials (notably Germany/China), alongside potential 2026 acceleration in broadband tied to BEAD and MSO upgrades .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Solutions-led execution drove records: “Both revenue and earnings per share came in above the high end of our guidance, reaching new quarterly records for Belden” with revenue $698M (+7% y/y) and adjusted EPS $1.97 (+16% y/y) .
Automation Solutions outperformance: organic revenue +10%; segment revenue +14% y/y to $381.3M; orders +14% y/y; strength in Germany and China and double-digit gains in discrete manufacturing .
Strategic wins underpin Solutions narrative: secured a $14M multi-year utility modernization award anchored on the XTran platform; reinforces Belden’s role in critical infrastructure OT networks .

What Went Wrong

Margin headwinds from pass-throughs: higher copper and tariffs reduced reported margin percentages by ~50 bps y/y (copper) and slightly less from tariffs; sequential pass-through impact was ~30–40 bps combined, with some unfavorable mix from industrial construction cable .
SIS growth mixed: Smart Infrastructure Solutions revenue -1% y/y to $316.9M; broadband -4% y suppose y/y in Q3 with expectation of similar y/y decline in Q4; MSO technology interoperability created timing moderation in back half of 2025 .
Elevated R&D to build software-led orchestration: step-up in 2025 R&D tied to Belden Horizon and TSN capabilities (R&D $33.9M in Q3 vs $27.9M prior year); investment expected to moderate going forward but weighed near term .

Financial Results

Headline Metrics vs Prior Year and Prior Quarter

Metric	Q3 2024	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Revenues ($M)	$654.9	$672.0	$698.2
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)	$1.30	$1.53	$1.41
Adjusted EPS ($)	$1.70	$1.89	$1.97
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	$112.5	$114.1	$118.6
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	17.2%	17.0%	17.0%
Adjusted Gross Margin (%)	37.8%	38.9%	38.2%

Notes: Company stated Q3 revenue +7% y/y (4% organic) and adjusted EPS +16% y/y; both finished above the high end of guidance .

Segment Breakdown

Segment	Q3 2024 Revenue ($M)	Q3 2025 Revenue ($M)	YoY	Q3 2024 EBITDA Margin	Q3 2025 EBITDA Margin
Automation Solutions	$335.3	$381.3	+14%	21.4%	20.8%
Smart Infrastructure Solutions	$319.6	$316.9	-1%	12.7%	12.6%

KPIs and Other Metrics

KPI	Q3 2025	Prior
Organic Revenue Growth	+4% overall	n/a
Automation Solutions Organic Growth	+10%	n/a
Orders Growth	+7% y/y	n/a
Book-to-Bill	1.0 (vs 0.99 prior year)	0.99 (Q3’24)
Free Cash Flow ($M)	$65.4 in Q3	$67.2 Q3’24
TTM Free Cash Flow ($M)	$214 TTM	n/a
Share Repurchases	0.4M shares/$50M in Q3; 1.4M/$150M YTD	n/a
Cash & Equivalents	$314.3M at 9/28/25	$370.3M at 12/31/24
Net Leverage	~2.1x Net Debt/EBITDA	LT target ~1.5x

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue ($M)	Q3 2025	$670–$685 (set on 7/31)	Actual: $698.2	Above high end (beat vs guidance)
Adjusted EPS ($)	Q3 2025	$1.85–$1.95 (set on 7/31)	Actual: $1.97	Above high end (beat vs guidance)
Revenue ($M)	Q4 2025	n/a	$690–$700	New
GAAP EPS ($)	Q4 2025	n/a	$1.40–$1.50	New
Adjusted EPS ($)	Q4 2025	n/a	$1.90–$2.00	New
Tax Rate	Q4 2025	n/a	~14%	New

Management expects Automation Solutions to grow sequentially in Q4 with SIS more muted, yielding roughly flat total revenue q/q .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q2 & Q1 2025)	Current Period (Q3 2025)	Trend
Solutions-led growth	Q2: Orders +16% y/y; organic +5%; mix improving; guided Q3 revenue $670–$685M and adj EPS $1.85–$1.95 . Q1: Organic +11%; solutions narrative emphasized .	Record revenue/EPS; orders +7% y/y; book-to-bill 1.0; Q3 above high-end guidance .	Improving execution; guidance beat.
Automation demand & regional recovery	Q2: Both segments growing; AS +8% organic . Q1: AS +16% organic .	AS organic +10%; strength in Germany & China; discrete mfg double-digit; orders +14% .	Strengthening.
Broadband	Q2: SIS +3% organic; no explicit broadband caution in PR .	Broadband -4% y/y in Q3; expected similar y/y in Q4; BEAD awards supportive; interoperability/timing issues near term .	Near-term moderation, constructive 2026.
Tariffs & copper	Q2 PR did not quantify impacts .	Copper pass-through ~50 bps y/y gross margin impact; tariffs slightly less; 30–40 bps sequential pass-through + some mix headwind .	Cost pass-through headwind on % margins.
Physical AI & IT/OT convergence	Q1/Q2 PRs highlight digitization; less detail on Physical AI in PRs .	Accenture/NVIDIA partnership; pilot “virtual safety fence” moving to commercial deployment; TSN + Horizon at the edge central to solution .	New growth vector emerging.
Data centers	Q2: management previously discussed cooling win (referenced in Q3) .	Double-digit growth in data center from converged IT/OT; focus on sustainable use cases (white/gray space) .	Expanding opportunities.
R&D & platform	Q1/Q2: steady investment .	2025 R&D step-up (Horizon orchestration, TSN, XTran); spend to moderate ahead .	Investment peak passed; leverage ahead.
Quantum/network security	Not discussed in Q1/Q2 PRs.	Joined Chicago Quantum Exchange to advance quantum‑safe networking solutions .	Strategic positioning for future.

Management Commentary

“Both revenue and earnings per share came in above the high end of our guidance, reaching new quarterly records for Belden… Revenue reached $698 million… adjusted earnings per share grew to $1.97” – Ashish Chand, CEO .
“Automation Solutions… demonstrated particular strength, achieving 10% organic revenue growth… double-digit gains in discrete manufacturing… Orders… up 7% y/y… book-to-bill ratio of 1.0” .
“We recently secured a $14 million multi-year solutions award with a leading utility provider to modernize their communications infrastructure… XTran platform was selected as the core” .
“We announced a collaboration with Accenture and Nvidia… a virtual safety fence solution… commercially deployed at a major U.S. manufacturer… time sensitive networking… Belden Horizon as the orchestration platform” .
“Copper prices impacted [gross] margins by about 50 bps y/y… tariffs slightly less… sequentially both together maybe 30–40 bps” – Jeremy Parks, CFO .
“Revenues for the fourth quarter are expected to be between $690 million and $700 million… adjusted EPS… $1.90 to $2.00… projecting a tax rate of 14%” .

Q&A Highlights

Utility go-to-market and scale: Focus on packet-based MPLS-TP migration with XTran, differentiated by consulting/services, multi-year software/training; U.S./W. Europe penetration ~7–10% with double-digit growth in PT&D .
Margin bridge: ~50 bps y/y copper pass-through impact; tariffs slightly less; 30–40 bps sequential combined impact; some unfavorable mix from industrial construction cable demand .
Physical AI and data centers: “Virtual safety fence” moving to commercialization with a large U.S. auto customer; edge-processing via cameras, TSN, Horizon; data center practice delivering double-digit growth in white/gray space from converged IT/OT solutions .
Broadband outlook: Q4 broadband expected down ~4% y/y similar to Q3; BEAD awards and fiber adoption supportive; more constructive for 2026 .
2026 tone/reshoring: Management expressed optimism about 2026 growth across automation and select SIS verticals; reshoring pipeline across pharma, CPG, logistics, auto, process, semi with multi‑year planning horizons .

Estimates Context

S&P Global consensus estimates were unavailable for Q3 2025 at the time of query; therefore, comparisons are anchored to company guidance. Values retrieved from S&P Global were unavailable for this period.*
Versus guidance, Belden delivered revenue of $698.2M vs $670–$685M guided (above high end) and adjusted EPS of $1.97 vs $1.85–$1.95 guided (above high end) .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Quality beat vs guidance: Both revenue and adjusted EPS exceeded the high end, driven by Automation Solutions strength and resilient orders; underscores the Solutions-led transition .
Secular and strategic tailwinds: Utility modernization and Physical AI (Accenture/NVIDIA) plus data center opportunities create incremental growth vectors beyond core connectivity .
Margin optics vs economics: Copper/tariff pass-throughs pressure reported margin percentages, but management reiterates incremental margins aligned with LT targets; focus on gross profit quality via solutions .
Balanced Q4 setup: Revenue guided $690–$700M with flat q/q implied; Automation momentum offset by SIS seasonality/softness; tax rate ~14% .
2026 watch items: Broadband acceleration potential from BEAD/MSO upgrades; industrials stabilizing (PMIs near 50, even Germany); reshoring pipeline broadening .
Capital deployment: $150M YTD buybacks with $190M remaining authorization; net leverage ~2.1x with LT target ~1.5x; fixed-rate debt averages 3.5% with next maturity in 2027 .
Strategic security posture: CQE partnership positions Belden in quantum-safe networking—another validator for long-term OT network leadership .

Financial Appendix

Additional Detail: Income Statement and Margins (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)

Metric	Q3 2024	Q3 2025
Revenue ($M)	$654.9	$698.2
GAAP Gross Profit ($M)	$244.0	$263.2
GAAP Gross Margin (%)	37.3%	37.7%
Adjusted Gross Profit ($M)	$247.6	$266.6
Adjusted Gross Margin (%)	37.8%	38.2%
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)	$1.30	$1.41
Adjusted EPS ($)	$1.70	$1.97

Balance Sheet/Cash Flow Highlights

Metric	12/31/2024	9/28/2025
Cash & Equivalents ($M)	$370.3	$314.3
Long-term Debt ($M)	$1,130.1	$1,284.4
Total Equity ($M)	$1,294.7	$1,242.1
Q3 Operating Cash Flow ($M)	$91.7 (Q3’24)	$105.0
Q3 Free Cash Flow ($M)	$67.2 (Q3’24)	$65.4

Additional Relevant Press Releases (Q3 2025 timeframe)

Belden joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange to advance quantum‑safe networking solutions, aligning with long-term security needs in critical infrastructure .

Bolded surprises:

Revenue and adjusted EPS above high end of guidance: $698.2M vs $670–$685M; $1.97 vs $1.85–$1.95 .

All figures, quotes, and guidance are sourced from Belden’s Q3 2025 press release/8‑K and earnings call transcript as cited.

BELDEN INC. (BDC)·Q3 2025 Earnings Summary