Illinois Tool Works Inc. · ITW · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
ITW Q1 2026: Revenue Up 5%, EPS Beats, Guidance Raised on CapEx-Driven Growth
ITW beat consensus on both lines in Q1 2026: EPS of $2.66 versus $2.57 estimated (3.5% surprise) and revenue of $4.016B versus $4.010B estimated. Operating margin expanded 60 bps to 25.4%, and management raised full-year GAAP EPS guidance from the prior $11–$11.20 range to an $11.30 midpoint. Despite the beat-and-raise, the stock sold off — the abnormal move was -3.9% against a +1.0% benchmark on the report session, with a subsequent drift of -4.2% over the following period and volume at 3.0x baseline. The negative reaction likely reflected modest organic growth expectations embedded in the raised guidance and headwinds in consumer-facing segments. All seven segments are projected to deliver positive organic growth, with CapEx-related businesses (Welding, Test & Measurement) outpacing, while Food Equipment and Specialty Products lagged original expectations. As of July 29, 2026, the…
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationIllinois Tool Works Inc. is a global enterprise specializing in the production and distribution of a wide array of industrial goods and specialized equipment. The company operates through seven distinct divisions: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM division supplies plastic and metal components, various fastening solutions, and integrated assemblies for automobiles, light-duty trucks, and other industrial applications. Its Food Equipment segment delivers commercial kitchen appliances for washing, refrigeration, cooking, and food processing, alongside comprehensive kitchen exhaust, ventilation, and pollution control systems, and offers related maintenance and repair services.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensusEarnings History
Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 29, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jul 13, 2026 |
| Truist Securities | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 2, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Underweight | Underweight | Maintain | May 4, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 4, 2026 |
| Barclays | Underweight | Underweight | Maintain | Apr 1, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI Group | Underperform | Underperform | Maintain | Feb 23, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Sell | Neutral | Downgrade | Dec 16, 2025 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Underperform | Upgrade | Nov 18, 2025 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 31, 2025 |
| Stifel | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 31, 2025 |
| Baird | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 1, 2025 |
| Jefferies | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Dec 6, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Underweight | Underweight | Maintain | Aug 3, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Aug 2, 2023 |
| Deutsche Bank | Sell | Sell | Maintain | Apr 12, 2023 |
| Vertical Research | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Jan 3, 2023 |
| BMO Capital | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | May 3, 2021 |
| CFRA | Sell | Sell | Maintain | Jan 31, 2020 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jul 29, 2019 |
| Northcoast Research | Sell | Neutral | Downgrade | Jun 26, 2019 |
| Argus Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 26, 2019 |
| Bank of America | Underperform | Neutral | Downgrade | Feb 5, 2019 |
| Seaport Global | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Oct 25, 2018 |
| Argus | Buy | Buy | Maintain | May 5, 2018 |
| RBC Capital | Perform | Sector Perform | Maintain | Nov 25, 2014 |
| ISI Group | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Aug 7, 2014 |
| Tigress Financial | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Mar 12, 2013 |
| Barrington Research | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Oct 24, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $295.16. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfe Research | Nigel Coe | $286 | $266.56 | -3.1% | Jul 9, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $301 | $268.97 | +2.0% | Jul 2, 2026 |
| Evercore ISI | Analyst unavailable | $272 | $254.72 | -7.8% | May 11, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Joseph O'Dea | $255 | $255.47 | -13.6% | May 4, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $254 | $258.01 | -13.9% | Apr 30, 2026 |
| Barclays | Julian Mitchell | $275 | $293.57 | -6.8% | Feb 9, 2026 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $280 | $290.33 | -5.1% | Feb 4, 2026 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $285 | $290.71 | -3.4% | Feb 4, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Mircea Dobre | $278 | $278.91 | -5.8% | Feb 4, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Joseph O'Dea | $270 | $278.91 | -8.5% | Feb 4, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $253 | $278.91 | -14.3% | Feb 3, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $230 | $259.07 | -22.1% | Dec 16, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $275 | $245.75 | -6.8% | Oct 27, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $244 | $246.98 | -17.3% | Oct 27, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $265 | $247.12 | -10.2% | Oct 27, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $258 | $247.48 | -12.6% | Oct 27, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Joseph O'Dea | $245 | $245.75 | -17.0% | Oct 27, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $298 | $255.75 | +1.0% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| Evercore ISI | David Raso | $265 | $259.22 | -10.2% | Aug 19, 2025 |
| Truist Financial | Analyst unavailable | $283 | $253.67 | -4.1% | Jul 31, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $252 | $255.89 | -14.6% | Mar 26, 2025 |
| Barclays | Julian Mitchell | $260 | $274.48 | -11.9% | Mar 10, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Joseph O'Dea | $250 | $248.59 | -15.3% | Jan 7, 2025 |
| CFRA | Jonathan Sakraida | $250 | $247.57 | -15.3% | Sep 10, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Joseph O'Dea | $236 | $249.34 | -20.0% | Jul 31, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Jamie Cook | $281 | $249.34 | -4.8% | Jul 31, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Joseph O'Dea | $244 | $244.11 | -17.3% | May 1, 2024 |
| Wolfe Research | Nigel Coe | $250 | $262.94 | -15.3% | Apr 8, 2024 |
| Truist Financial | Jamie Cook | $303 | $262.67 | +2.7% | Mar 13, 2024 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $172 | $183.33 | -41.7% | Oct 3, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $191 | $206.61 | -35.3% | Aug 3, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $187 | $204.9 | -36.6% | Aug 3, 2022 |
| Jefferies | Stephen Volkmann | $195 | $193.4 | -33.9% | Jul 26, 2022 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $167 | $185.64 | -43.4% | Jul 8, 2022 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $185 | $182.99 | -37.3% | Jun 29, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $182 | $204.12 | -38.3% | May 31, 2022 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $180 | $199.78 | -39.0% | May 24, 2022 |
| UBS | Steven Fuller | $243 | $201.77 | -17.7% | May 21, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $187 | $209.05 | -36.6% | May 4, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $261 | $208.85 | -11.6% | May 4, 2022 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $192 | $204.2 | -35.0% | May 4, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Nicole DeBlase | $226 | $199.7 | -23.4% | May 2, 2022 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Nathan Jones | $202 | $203.35 | -31.6% | Apr 23, 2022 |
| Barclays | Julian Mitchell | $200 | $206.43 | -32.2% | Apr 5, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Jamie Cook | $284 | $245.63 | -3.8% | Jan 13, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Joel Tiss | $235 | $232.65 | -20.4% | Dec 2, 2021 |
| Jefferies | Stephen Volkmann | $260 | $224.16 | -11.9% | Oct 28, 2021 |
| UBS | Steven Fisher | $253 | $223.32 | -14.3% | Aug 5, 2021 |
| Wolfe Research | Nigel Coe | $243 | $223.8 | -17.7% | Jul 12, 2021 |
| Argus Research | John Eade | $260 | $230.68 | -11.9% | May 5, 2021 |
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What changed
Q1 2026 marked sequential improvement from Q4 2025. Revenue growth accelerated from 4% to 5% and EPS growth jumped from 7% to 12%. Operating margin continued its expansion, up 60 bps to 25.4%. Management raised full-year GAAP EPS guidance from the prior $11–$11.20 range to an $11.30 midpoint, while reaffirming roughly 100 bps of operating margin expansion and the $1.5B share repurchase program. The company repurchased $375M of shares in Q1. Patent filings continued their strong trajectory, up 18% in 2024 and 9% in 2025, reinforcing the Customer-Backed Innovation pipeline. A recent bolt-on acquisition in the semiconductor space contributed 0.3% to Q1 revenue. Guidance sentiment shifted from 'maintained' in Q4 2025 to 'raised' in Q1 2026.
Guidance delta
Full-year GAAP EPS guidance was raised from the prior $11–$11.20 range (established with Q4 2025 results) to an $11.30 midpoint. Operating margin expansion target remains at roughly 100 bps. All seven segments are expected to post positive organic growth. The $1.5B share repurchase plan was reaffirmed, with $375M already executed in Q1. Free cash flow conversion target remains above 100%. The company maintains a 48/52 first-half/second-half EPS split assumption. Guidance sentiment moved from 'maintained' to 'raised'.
Key takeaways
- EPS of $2.66 beat the $2.57 consensus estimate by 3.5%; revenue of $4.016B edged past the $4.010B estimate.
- Operating margin expanded 60 bps to 25.4%, driven by Enterprise Initiatives and Customer-Backed Innovation.
- Full-year GAAP EPS guidance raised to $11.30 midpoint; all seven segments expected to deliver positive organic growth.
- CapEx-related segments (Welding, Test & Measurement) are leading growth, while consumer-facing segments face modest headwinds.
- $375M of shares repurchased in Q1, on track for $1.5B for the year; free cash flow conversion above 100%.
- Patent filings up 18% in 2024 and 9% in 2025, underscoring CBI pipeline strength.
Management priorities
- Drive Customer-Backed Innovation (CBI) toward >3% revenue contribution by 2030.
- Target 30% operating margin by 2030 through Enterprise Initiatives.
- Execute $1.5B share repurchase program and maintain FCF conversion above 100%.
- Launch new products across Welding, Test & Measurement, Food Equipment, and Automotive.
- Pursue selective bolt-on acquisitions in semiconductor and related markets.
- Maintain 48/52 EPS split across the fiscal year.
Related earnings events
IndustrialsSources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-29T08:31:52.323712+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-29T08:31:52.320928+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.