WESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE TECHNOLOGIES CORP has recently released its 10-Q report. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, or Wabtec, supplies locomotives, rail equipment, systems and services to freight rail and passenger transit customers, along with products for mining, marine and industrial markets. The company operates in two segments, Freight and Transit, and sells both equipment and services worldwide; it was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In Item 2, management said Wabtec operates in more than 50 countries and sells into more than 100 countries, with about half of first-half 2026 net sales coming from customers outside the United States. The company said total multi-year backlog rose $3.5 billion in the first six months of 2026 to a record $30.9 billion at June 30, 2026. Among the largest Freight orders were a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar mining contract for drive systems and aftermarket parts, a $1.0 billion Australian order covering locomotives, components, digital solutions and multi-year services, a $210 million U.S. locomotive modernization order, a $184 million positive train control order and a $52 million mining drive systems order in Asia-Pacific. Transit orders in the period included $109 million in brakes, couplers and platform doors. Wabtec also said it closed the Dellner Couplers acquisition on Feb. 10, 2026 for about $1.053 billion, adding it to the Transit segment.
For the second quarter, net sales increased 17.5% to $3.179 billion from $2.706 billion a year earlier. Sales of goods rose to $2.670 billion from $2.226 billion, while sales of services increased to $509 million from $480 million. Gross profit increased to $1.161 billion from $938 million, and income from operations rose to $600 million from $472 million.
The Freight segment posted second-quarter net sales of $2.243 billion, up 16.9% from $1.919 billion. Freight sales of goods increased to $1.735 billion from $1.440 billion, and sales of services rose to $508 million from $479 million. Freight income from operations increased to $504 million from $415 million, while operating margin improved to 22.5% from 21.6%.
The Transit segment reported second-quarter net sales of $936 million, up 18.9% from $787 million. Transit income from operations rose to $146 million from $109 million, with operating margin increasing to 15.6% from 13.9%.
For the first six months of 2026, net sales increased 15.3% to $6.129 billion from $5.316 billion. Gross profit rose to $2.222 billion from $1.838 billion, and income from operations increased to $1.117 billion from $946 million. Net income attributable to Wabtec shareholders was $757 million, up from $658 million.
In the first half, Freight segment net sales increased to $4.358 billion from $3.820 billion, while Transit segment net sales rose to $1.771 billion from $1.496 billion. Wabtec said first-half sales growth reflected $457 million from acquisitions, $92 million from foreign exchange and $289 million from organic growth.
Operating expenses rose in the second quarter to $561 million from $466 million, including SG&A of $400 million versus $347 million, engineering expense of $70 million versus $50 million and amortization expense of $91 million versus $69 million. Interest expense, net, increased to $80 million from $46 million. The effective tax rate was 23.4%, down from 24.8%.
For the first six months, operating expenses climbed to $1.105 billion from $892 million. SG&A increased to $801 million from $654 million, engineering expense to $126 million from $96 million and amortization expense to $178 million from $142 million. Interest expense, net, rose to $151 million from $92 million.
Wabtec said restructuring costs were $5 million in the first half of 2026, down from $15 million a year earlier, and transaction costs tied to acquisitions were $14 million versus $35 million. The company also said tariff costs increased and hurt operating results and cash from operations in the first half, although it does not expect a material impact on 2026 results because of mitigation efforts. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares 10.23% to a price of $290.495. Check out the company's full 10-Q submission here.
