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Amphenol's Communication Solutions Soar: How High Can Growth Go?

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Key Takeaways

  • Amphenol's Communication Solutions segment soared 96.4% in Q3, driving investor optimism.
  • Strong IT datacom demand and higher operator spending lifted segment margins to 32.7%.
  • Pending CCS acquisition and rising cloud, OEM and AI platform demand support multi-year growth.

Amphenol (APH - Free Report) is riding a powerful upswing, driven by its largest and most reliable revenue source, the Communication Solutions segment. Making up nearly half of the company's total sales, this division soared 96.4% year over year in the third quarter, boosting investors’ increasing optimism.

The key driver behind this surge is the rapid expansion of next-generation data centers, AI compute infrastructure and advanced communications networks. Within the segment, IT datacom stands out as the strongest contributor. Amphenol is seeing robust demand for its high-speed, power and fiber-optic interconnects, components that are essential for AI workloads. Importantly, both AI-driven and traditional datacom products posted strong growth, signaling broad-based strength.

Communications networks provided additional lift, boosted by higher operator spending and the integration of the Andrew acquisition. This strong mix pushed segment operating margin to 32.7%, a 710-basis-point improvement from last year, the highest among all business units.

Also, demand is rising across cloud providers, OEMs, service operators and AI platform builders, reducing reliance on any single technology cycle. Meanwhile, Amphenol’s acquisition strategy continues to deepen its competitive moat; the pending acquisition of CommScope’s CCS business (expected in early 2026) should further extend the runway for Communication Solutions.

Looking forward, projections remain firmly supportive. According to the Zacks model, Communication Solutions revenue is expected to rise 87% in 2025 and 19% in 2026. With AI architectures growing more complex and bandwidth needs accelerating globally, Amphenol’s Communication Solutions segment is positioned at the center of a multi-year infrastructure expansion.

How Rivals Stack Up Against APH

Amphenol is increasingly challenged by major rivals such as TE Connectivity (TEL - Free Report) and the rapidly rising Astera Labs (ALAB - Free Report) .

TE Connectivity remains Amphenol’s most formidable rival, matching APH across connectors, sensors and advanced interconnect solutions spanning automotive, industrial, aerospace and high-speed communications. With a vast global footprint, deep customer relationships and a broad product portfolio, TE Connectivity leverages targeted acquisitions and strong AI and EV design wins, especially in hyperscale platforms, to reinforce its leadership and keep pace with APH in the accelerating communications race.

Astera Labs is rapidly emerging as a high-speed connectivity challenger to Amphenol, with Astera Labs focusing on semiconductor-based PCIe 6 and CXL solutions built for AI and cloud infrastructure. Astera Labs’ Aries, Taurus, and Scorpio product lines power next-generation GPU and accelerator platforms, enabling ultra-low-latency data movement. With sharp specialization and strong hyperscale adoption, Astera Labs is gaining momentum in the race for next-gen communications performance.

APH’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Amphenol’s shares have surged 89.7% year to date, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s 27.5% growth.

APH’s YTD Price Performance

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Amphenol shares are trading at a premium, as suggested by a Value Score of F. In terms of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), APH is trading at 35.28X, higher than the sector’s 28.45X.

APH’s Valuation

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Amphenol’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $3.29 per share, an upward revision of 2.2% over the past 30 days. The figure indicates a 74.07% increase year over year.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

APH currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.


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