Material handling equipment manufacturer Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ: CMCO) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales up 77.3% year on year to $437.8 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.24 per share was 33.9% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

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"Fiscal 2026 was a defining year marked by meaningful strategic progress and disciplined execution across our operational, commercial, and customer experience priorities," said David J. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Company Overview

With 19 different brands across the globe, Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ: CMCO) offers material handling equipment for the construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul. Thankfully, Columbus McKinnon’s 12.9% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was excellent. Its growth beat 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. Columbus McKinnon’s annualized revenue growth of 8.5% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results were respectable.

This quarter, Columbus McKinnon reported magnificent year-on-year revenue growth of 77.3%, and its $437.8 million of revenue beat Wall Street’s estimates by 4.8%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 74.7% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is eye-popping and indicates its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance.

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Operating Margin

Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.

Columbus McKinnon was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average operating margin of 3.9% was weak for an industrials business. This result is surprising given its high gross margin as a starting point.

Looking at the trend in its profitability, Columbus McKinnon’s operating margin decreased by 19.1 percentage points over the last five years. This raises questions about the company’s expense base because its revenue growth should have given it leverage on its fixed costs, resulting in better economies of scale and profitability. Columbus McKinnon’s performance was poor no matter how you look at it - it shows that costs were rising and it couldn’t pass them onto its customers.

In Q1, Columbus McKinnon generated an operating margin profit margin of negative 35%, down 26.8 percentage points year on year. Since Columbus McKinnon’s operating margin decreased more than its gross margin, we can assume it was less efficient because expenses such as marketing, R&D, and administrative overhead increased.

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.

Columbus McKinnon’s solid 11.1% annual EPS growth over the last five years aligns with its revenue performance. This tells us it maintained its per-share profitability as it expanded.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business.

Columbus McKinnon’s two-year annual EPS declines of 16.9% were bad and lower than its 8.5% two-year revenue growth.

Diving into the nuances of Columbus McKinnon’s earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. Columbus McKinnon’s operating margin has declined over the last two years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don’t tell us as much about a company’s fundamentals.

In Q1, Columbus McKinnon reported adjusted EPS of $0.24, down from $0.60 in the same quarter last year. This print missed analysts’ estimates, but we care more about long-term adjusted EPS growth than short-term movements. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Columbus McKinnon’s full-year EPS to shrink by 9.6% from $1.98 to $1.79.

Key Takeaways from Columbus McKinnon’s Q1 Results

We were impressed by how significantly Columbus McKinnon blew past analysts’ EBITDA expectations this quarter. We were also excited its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates by a wide margin. On the other hand, its EPS fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was still a decent quarter. The stock traded up 2.1% to $15.84 immediately after reporting.

Big picture, is Columbus McKinnon a buy here and now? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).