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Strength in Electric Utility Drives Powell: Will the Momentum Last?
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Key Takeaways
Powell backlog reached $1.8 billion as utility and industrial demand fueled new orders.
POWL secured major data center and electric utility awards, including a $400 million order.
Electric utility and commercial industrial revenues rose sharply in fiscal Q2 2026.
Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL - Free Report) is witnessing persistent strength and healthy levels of project activity across the electric utility and commercial & other industrial markets. Growing investments across power generation and electrical distribution markets have been driving demand for the company’s products in the electric utility market.
The company’s increased participation across the electrical power value chain has enabled it to generate solid bookings from the electric utility and commercial & other industrial markets. This has led to a strong backlog level, which was $1.8 billion (up 33% year over year and 12% sequentially) while exiting second-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended March 2026). Exiting the quarter, Powell’s new orders totaled $490 million, much higher than $439 million at the end of the previous quarter.
The new orders consisted of a solid volume of small, medium and large-sized awards that reflected the company’s core competencies and well-balanced portfolio across markets. It’s worth noting that in the second quarter, the company secured a data center and an electric utility order, each with about $75 million of value. Also, it booked another mega data center order with a value of more than $400 million.
In the fiscal second quarter, revenues from the electric utility sector increased 14% year over year, while those from the commercial & other industrial sector surged 35%. A strong pipeline of projects and its growing presence across the data center and electric utility sectors are expected to drive its performance in the quarters ahead.
Segment Snapshot of POWL’s Peers
EnerSys (ENS - Free Report) is benefiting from the expansion of U.S. communications networks, fueled by AI-driven data demand. Increased demand for products from industrial customers is driving the Energy Systems segment’s results. Revenues from EnerSys’ Energy Systems segment increased 2.6% to $399.5 million in third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended Dec. 31, 2025).
Franklin Electric Co. (FELE - Free Report) is benefiting from strength in the Energy Systems segment. Net sales from Franklin Electric’s Energy Systems segment totaled $71.8 million in first-quarter 2026, an increase of 7% year over year. The segmental results were driven by an increase in volumes and price realization.
POWL’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Powell have surged 46.4% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 1.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, POWL is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 42.10X, above the industry’s average of 23.67X. Powell carries a Value Score of F.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for POWL’s fiscal 2026 (ending September 2026) earnings has increased 2.8% over the past 60 days.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Strength in Electric Utility Drives Powell: Will the Momentum Last?
Key Takeaways
Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL - Free Report) is witnessing persistent strength and healthy levels of project activity across the electric utility and commercial & other industrial markets. Growing investments across power generation and electrical distribution markets have been driving demand for the company’s products in the electric utility market.
The company’s increased participation across the electrical power value chain has enabled it to generate solid bookings from the electric utility and commercial & other industrial markets. This has led to a strong backlog level, which was $1.8 billion (up 33% year over year and 12% sequentially) while exiting second-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended March 2026). Exiting the quarter, Powell’s new orders totaled $490 million, much higher than $439 million at the end of the previous quarter.
The new orders consisted of a solid volume of small, medium and large-sized awards that reflected the company’s core competencies and well-balanced portfolio across markets. It’s worth noting that in the second quarter, the company secured a data center and an electric utility order, each with about $75 million of value. Also, it booked another mega data center order with a value of more than $400 million.
In the fiscal second quarter, revenues from the electric utility sector increased 14% year over year, while those from the commercial & other industrial sector surged 35%. A strong pipeline of projects and its growing presence across the data center and electric utility sectors are expected to drive its performance in the quarters ahead.
Segment Snapshot of POWL’s Peers
EnerSys (ENS - Free Report) is benefiting from the expansion of U.S. communications networks, fueled by AI-driven data demand. Increased demand for products from industrial customers is driving the Energy Systems segment’s results. Revenues from EnerSys’ Energy Systems segment increased 2.6% to $399.5 million in third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended Dec. 31, 2025).
Franklin Electric Co. (FELE - Free Report) is benefiting from strength in the Energy Systems segment. Net sales from Franklin Electric’s Energy Systems segment totaled $71.8 million in first-quarter 2026, an increase of 7% year over year. The segmental results were driven by an increase in volumes and price realization.
POWL’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Powell have surged 46.4% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 1.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, POWL is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 42.10X, above the industry’s average of 23.67X. Powell carries a Value Score of F.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for POWL’s fiscal 2026 (ending September 2026) earnings has increased 2.8% over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.