RBC Bearings reported fiscal fourth-quarter net sales of $518.0 million, up 18.3% from $437.7 million a year earlier, as growth in aerospace and defense and a newly acquired business lifted results.
Aerospace and defense sales rose 41.2% in the quarter, while industrial sales increased 5.5%. The company said $30.0 million of quarterly sales came from Vacco, which it acquired on July 18, 2025.
Gross margin in the quarter was $230.0 million, compared with $193.4 million in the prior-year period. Gross margin as a percentage of sales edged up to 44.4% from 44.2%, while adjusted gross margin improved to 45.3% from 44.2%.
Operating income for the quarter was $119.1 million, up from $100.7 million a year ago. SG&A rose to $86.9 million from $72.1 million, and as a percentage of sales ticked up to 16.8% from 16.5%. Other operating expenses increased to $24.0 million from $20.6 million.
Net income attributable to common stockholders climbed to $91.7 million from $72.7 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $2.89 from $2.30. Net income as a percentage of sales improved to 17.7% from 16.6%.
Interest expense fell to $11.2 million from $12.8 million, reflecting debt reduction efforts. Income tax expense increased to $17.2 million from $15.2 million, while the effective tax rate declined to 15.8% from 17.4%.
For the full fiscal year, net sales increased 14.3% to $1.8709 billion from $1.6363 billion. Aerospace and defense sales rose 32.9%, and industrial sales rose 3.8%.
Full-year gross margin was $830.2 million, up from $726.1 million, while gross margin percentage held at 44.4%. Operating income increased to $421.0 million from $369.9 million. SG&A and other operating expenses were not broken out in the summary table, but operating margin narrowed slightly to 22.5% from 22.6%.
Full-year net income attributable to common stockholders rose to $287.6 million from $233.8 million, and diluted EPS increased to $9.09 from $7.70. Net income attributable to common stockholders as a percentage of sales improved to 15.4% from 14.3%.
Backlog at March 28, 2026, was $2.3 billion, up from $2.1 billion at December 27, 2025 and $0.9 billion a year earlier.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, RBC said it expects net sales of $500.0 million to $510.0 million, versus $436.0 million in the prior-year quarter. Excluding $28.0 million of expected Vacco sales, growth would be 8.3% to 10.6%. Adjusted gross margin is expected to be 45.25% to 45.5%, and SG&A is expected to run at 16.50% to 16.75% of sales. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares 0.33% to a price of $613.96. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
