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Founded as a company of Chicago tool inventors in 1912, who were brought together through an ad in The Economist, ITW is now a global supplier of tools, parts, and equipment for manufacturers of everything from dishwashers to cars. Decades ago, the company was perhaps best known for inventing the self-drilling screw (the tip of which is shaped into a bit that digs into the surface it is being driven into—and is still commonly used in construction today). ITW prides itself on maintaining profitability even during the Great Depression. Today, the company operates through seven divisions: automotive, construction, food equipment, polymers and fluids, speciality products, testing and measurement products, and welding. Its longstanding motto, “You're never more than a few feet away from a product of ITW,” remains as true today as it was during the golden age of American manufacturing.

Q2 2026

Q1 2026

Q4 2025

Q2 2025

Q1 2025

Q4 2024

Illinois Tool Works (ITW): Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

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Illinois Tool Works

illinois tool works

Good morning. My name is Regina, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the ITW's fourth quarter and full year earnings conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, press star one a second time. For those participating in the Q&A, you will have the opportunity to ask one question, and if needed, one follow-up question. Thank you. Erin Linehan, Vice President of Investor Relations, you may begin the conference.

Thank you, Regina. Good morning, and welcome to our ITW fourth quarter 2025 conference call. I'm joined by our President and CEO, Chris O'Herlihy, and Senior Vice President and CFO, Michael Larsen. During today's call, we will discuss ITW's fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results and provide guidance for full year 2026. Slide two is a reminder that this presentation contains forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's 2024 Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the SEC for more detail about important risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. This presentation uses certain non-GAAP measures, and a reconciliation of those measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is contained in the press release.

Please turn to Slide 3, and it's now my pleasure to turn the call over to our President and CEO, Chris O'Herlihy. Chris?

Thank you, Erin, and good morning, everyone. As you saw in our press release this morning, ITW delivered a solid finish to the year. In the fourth quarter, we outperformed our underlying end markets with revenue growth of more than 4% and delivered a 7% increase in GAAP EPS to $2.72. Through disciplined operational execution, we expanded operating income and margins to record levels. Starting with the top line, organic growth of 1.3% marked our best quarterly performance of the year. Overall, Q4 demand improved, as reflected in higher than normal sequential improvement of 4% from Q3. In addition to market outperformance, the ITW team continued to execute at a high level, resulting in operating income of $1.1 billion, an increase of 5%.

Segment margins were 27.7%, up 120 basis points, with 140 basis point contribution from Enterprise Initiatives. Looking back on a challenging external environment in 2025, the ITW team delivered another year of robust financial performance. We consistently outperformed our markets, solidly improved profitability, and made meaningful progress on our next phase key strategic priorities. Throughout the year, we remained laser-focused on building above-market organic growth, fueled by Customer-Backed Innovation, or CBI, into a defining ITW strength. We are pleased to have achieved 2.4% CBI-fueled revenue growth in 2025, a 40 basis point improvement, as we track toward our 2030 goal of 3%+. Furthermore, I'm encouraged by a key leading indicator of CBI contribution, our patent filings, which increased by 9% last year, following an 18% increase in 2024.

Turning to guidance, we enter 2026 with solid momentum. Per our usual approach, our organic growth projection of 1%-3% reflects current demand levels adjusted for seasonality. We are well positioned to capitalize on any further improvement in the macro environment. Our EPS guidance midpoint of $11.20 represents 7% growth, and we expect operating margin expansion of about 100 basis points, powered by Enterprise Initiatives. Our 2026 forecast ensures we remain firmly on track to deliver on our 2030 performance goals. In closing, I want to sincerely thank our global ITW colleagues for their unwavering dedication to serving our customers and executing our strategy with excellence each and every day. With that, I'll turn the call over to Michael to provide more detail on the quarter and our guidance for 2026. Michael?

Thank you, Chris, and good morning, everyone. In Q4, the ITW team delivered a solid operational and financial finish to the year. Organic growth was 1.3%, foreign currency translation added 2.5%, and acquisitions contributed 0.3%, bringing total revenue growth to 4.1%. Notably, our 4% sequential revenue growth from Q3-Q4 significantly outperformed our historical sequential average of 2%. On a geographic basis, North America grew about 2%, Asia Pacific was up 3%, while Europe declined 2%. On the bottom line, we achieved a fourth quarter record operating margin of 26.5%, with Enterprise Initiatives contributing 140 basis points. As noted in our press release, segment operating margin was 27.7%, 120 basis point increase, with incremental margins of more than 50%.

All seven segments expanded operating margins driven by Enterprise Initiatives, which contributed between 80 and 210 basis points per segment. Free cash flow conversion to net income was 109% for the quarter. We repurchased $375 million of our shares, and our tax rate was 22.8%. Please turn to Slide 4, and as Chris mentioned, CBI is our most impactful driver for organic growth. We're pleased with our 2025 progress, reaching a 2.4% CBI contribution, a 40 basis point year-over-year improvement. We expect meaningful progress again in 2026 on this key strategic initiative as we track toward our longer-term goal. Now let's move to the fourth quarter segment results, starting with Automotive OEM, where revenue increased 6% and organic revenue increased 2%.

On a regional basis, North America was up 2%, while Europe was down 1% and China grew 5%. For the full year 2025, the segment outperformed relevant builds, and we expect our typical 200-300 basis points of outperformance in 2026. Full year margins are a prime, prime example of ITW's Do What We Say execution. In 2025, margins improved by 150 basis points to 21.1%, consistent with the goal established during our 2023 Investor Day. Driven by our culture of continuous improvement, we expect to further expand these margins in 2026. Turning to Slide 5, Food Equipment delivered revenue growth of 4% with organic growth of 1%, as equipment was flat, offset by 3% growth in service.

By region, North America was flat, with institutional end markets up in the high single digits, offset by restaurants down also in the high single digits. Retail was a bright spot, up nearly 5%, and the international business grew 2%, with Europe up 2%. Test and Measurement and Electronics had a solid quarter. Revenue up 6% and organic revenue up 2%. Test and Measurement was up 3%, and Electronics was flat against a tough comparison year over year. Notably, we began to see a positive pickup in semiconductor and electronics activity with our semi-related businesses up mid-single digits in the quarter. Operating margins improved by a hundred and ten basis points to 28.1%. Moving on to Slide 6, Welding revenue grew 3% with organic growth of 2% in the fourth quarter.

Equipment was up 4%, and while consumables were flat, filler metals were up in the high single digits. Regionally, North America was up 4%, while international declined 5% against a tough comparison of 9% last year. Notably, operating margin reached 33.3%, a 210 basis points improvement. Polymers and Fluids had a strong top-line quarter, with 5% organic growth, supported by new product launches in automotive aftermarket, which grew 5%. Polymers was up 4%, and Fluids grew 6%. On a geographic basis, North America was up 5%, and international grew 4%. Operating margin expanded a 110 basis points to 29%. Turning to Slide 7. In Construction Products, organic growth was down 4%.

Regionally, North America was down 4%, with residential renovation down 5%, while commercial construction was up 5%. Europe was down 5%, and Australia and New Zealand was flat. Despite the top-line challenge, the team successfully expanded margins by 100 basis points to 29%. Specialty Products revenue increased 4% and organic revenue was up 1%. Equipment growth was particularly strong, up 12%, and consumables were down 2% in the quarter. North America was flat and international grew 3%. Moving to Slide 8 and full year 2025 results. Our global teams continue to execute at a high level, enabling us to consistently outperform our end markets and expand margins to deliver solid financial results in a mixed macro environment.

Throughout 2025, we maintained our focus on maximizing ITW's growth and performance over the long term, as we invested close to $800 million in high-return internal projects to accelerate organic growth and sustain productivity in our highly profitable core businesses. At the same time, we increased our dividend for the 62nd consecutive year and returned a total of $3.3 billion to shareholders. Moving to Slide 9 and our guidance for full year 2026. ITW is well positioned to deliver meaningful progress on both the top and bottom lines in 2026. Per our usual process, our total revenue projection of 2%-4% and organic growth projection of 1%-3% is based on current levels of demand, adjusted for typical seasonality.

At ITW, growth is high quality, meaning it is delivered at attractive incremental margins in the mid to high forties for 2026. In terms of overall profitability, we expect operating margin to improve by approximately 100 basis points to a range of 26.5%-27.5%. This includes 100 basis points contribution from our Enterprise Initiatives, which provides margin expansion that is largely independent of volume. We're projecting a GAAP EPS range of $11-$11.40, representing 7% growth at the $11.20 midpoint. Regarding the cadence for the year, we expect a first half, second half EPS split of approximately 47%-53%, consistent with 2025. Factoring in typical seasonality, Q1 EPS should contribute roughly 23% of the full year total.

Lastly, we expect free cash flow conversion to net income of greater than 100%, and plan to buy back approximately $1.5 billion of our shares in 2026. Turning to our final Slide, Slide 10. All seven segments are projecting high-quality organic growth based on current run rates, adjusted for seasonality, and every segment is well-positioned to outperform its respective end markets again in 2026. Consistent with ITW's continuous improvement, never satisfied mindset, all segments are also projecting margin improvement, supported by another year of solid contributions from our Enterprise Initiatives. In summary, all seven segments are heading into 2026 well-positioned to deliver solid organic growth with industry-leading profitability and incremental margins. With that, Erin, I'll turn it back to you.

Thank you, Michael. Regina, I think we're ready to open the queue for questions, please.

At this time, I would like to remind everyone, to ask a question, press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. You'll have the opportunity to ask one question, and if needed, one follow-up question. Our first question will come from the line of Andy Kaplowitz with Citigroup. Please go ahead.

Chris or Michael, so Test and Measurement within the segment looks like it did improve meaningfully in Q4. You called out the commentary on semicon. It's been improving for you again, which is good to hear. You've had a couple of maybe, call it, head fakes in semicon. So are you seeing more definitive turn now, and are you seeing a bit more of an unlock of your CapEx businesses in general, in terms of growth?

Yeah. So I say, in general, as you said, Test and Measurement had a pretty, pretty solid quarter. You know, after what was a, a pretty challenging year. You might remember, you know, mid of the year, we had pretty much a CapEx freeze related to the, the China shipments for two quarters. And so we certainly saw an improvement in, in bookings in general industrial, here in Q4. As Michael mentioned, we also saw an improvement in demand for, for semi and electronics. Just to context that, I mean, semi is about 15% of Test and Measurement. So just to give you a perspective.

You know, I would say that the semi at this point, you know, it seems sustainable based on what we see right now, but, you know, as you said, you know, we had an uptick in Q2, came back down in Q3, but we've seen a recovery in Q4. And I think, you know, this is a part of the market. We've a very strong competitive advantages, particularly as it relates to semi manufacturing, testing equipment. So whatever happens, we're well positioned. We're particularly well positioned to take share as the end markets continue to improve in semi.

Yeah, I maybe just add beyond that, Andy, you know, the, the general industrial orders are also improving in Test and Measurement, as well as, you've seen the improvement in revenues and our growth rates on the equipment side in Welding. So all of that suggests that we are certainly seeing, I would say, a little bit more than green shoots at this point, and with, you know, meaningful improvement, not just in sales, but also orders and, and backlog is looking pretty good at this point. And so we've got some pretty good momentum going into 2026, as reflected in the guidance that we gave for those two segments.

Yeah, that's great to hear, guys. And then when we think about margin expansion across your businesses in 2026, I know you expect it in all segments. Normally, I would think we just model higher incrementals where you're modeling higher growth. But you, for instance, had really good margin performance in construction again in Q4. And there is, you know, metals inflation out there. So any more advice on how to think about margin performance across the segments?

Yeah, I would just say, I'll go back to kind of our prepared remarks here, Andy. We expect, based on bottoms-up planning with our segments, based on having a chance to review the enterprise initiative savings, the actual projects for 2026, we expect every segment to improve their operating margins in 2026. And the biggest driver, as I think you pointed out, will be the Enterprise Initiatives again. So about 100 basis points from initiatives. And then, you know, also there is some positive operating leverage at incremental margins that at this point are quite a bit higher than what we put up historically, as I said, kind of in that mid- to high forties.

So maybe that's a way to think about the, the margin improvement for each one of the segments in 2026. Now, I will say this, we do have three segments now that are above 30%, and so maybe you'll see a little bit less of, improvement in those segments relative to, the ones like auto, that have been putting up, some meaningful, operating margin improvement, Test and Measurement as well, that still have a ways to go to get to, you know, Test and Measurement to that high 20s, 30% level.

Yes. Improved CBI is the other driver of increased margins.

Yeah. As you know, as we talk about the CBI progress is really encouraging, obviously, not just as a contributor to growth, but all of these new products that are coming in are coming in at higher margins. And so that's really the key to unlocking margin improvement on a go-forward basis, particularly in places like Automotive OEM.

Our next question will come from the line of Joe Ritchie with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

... Hey, can we just, can we touch on the price cost dynamics? So I think, I think in the Slides, you had mentioned that, price cost is expected to be positive in 2026. Can you elaborate on that a little bit? And then also, seeing that resin prices have continued to come down, at this point, you know, what percentage of your COGS is resin?

Well, let me start with the first part. I think on price costs, we've been talking about this for a while in terms of, you know, this having kind of normalized after the wave of tariff related increases we saw last year. So, you know, at this point, we're back to kind of where we used to be around price cost, which is slightly favorable for a full year, 2026, but not a big driver of the margin improvement. Really, the efforts, particularly the tariffs, have really been centered around not just price, but also supply chain and making sure we do everything we can to mitigate some of these increases, so we don't have to pass them on to our customers.

So that's maybe one way to think about price cost. I'm not sure I have the resin number right in front of me. It's pretty small. I think here again, I'm not quite sure where you were going with the question, but to the extent that there are increases or decreases in the resin cost, those will be reflected in the pricing actions that are taking, again, at the division level, where this is more of a meaningful driver of their material costs.

Yeah. No, appreciate the comments, Michael. I guess I was thinking back, like, back in the, I don't know, call it 2016 timeframe, when you guys saw some deflation in resin. And I remember it being like 10%-15% of your COGS back then. Obviously, that's a long time ago. But there were areas like Poly Fluids, areas in like auto, like injection molding and like, you know, gas caps, like plastic fasteners, where you guys did see a benefit. So I was just really trying to think back at that time frame where you had some deflation in your cost structure, but then you had these, like, longer-term contracts in, like, the auto business, where you can get some pricing.

I was just trying to understand whether that was gonna be potentially a meaningful mover to the 2026 bridge.

Yes. So Joe, I'd say the longer term dynamic—long-term contract dynamic is still there, but the percentage is less than, considerably less than, I think what it was 10-15 back then, I would say, which is-

It's a lot less. Yeah. And we have a very small portion of our business in specialty products that index to resin costs, and automotive, you know, there typically aren't adjustments made, you know, on the way up or on the way down, as you're well aware. So not something that's on our radar here in a meaningful way, just because it's not gonna be material to the overall performance of the company this year as we sit here today, so.

Okay, great. Thank, thank you. I'll get back in queue. Appreciate it.

Our next question comes from the line of Julian Mitchell with Barclays. Please go ahead.

Good morning. Maybe just wondered, first off, if you could flesh out any sense of kind of seasonality for this year, anything unusual or untoward? And maybe remind us what we should expect typically for the first quarter, please.

Sure, Julian. So I'd say there's really nothing unusual going on this year. We expect the year to unfold in line with typical seasonality. It looks a lot like last year in terms of the quarterly splits. We kind of laid out the first half, second half, EPS split, 47, 53. That's what we did last year. As you know, Q1 always starts out down a few points of sequential revenue drop from Q4-Q1. Like last year, that's about $100 million in revenue from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026. Margins also drop a little bit in Q1, and we typically end up around 23% of the full year EPS here in the first quarter.

Now, I will say this, that, every quarter. Then in Q2, we see a pickup again in margins from Q1-Q2. Revenues pick back up again. Every quarter this year, if you, if you model this on a run rate basis, you'll see, pretty meaningful revenue growth on a year-over-year basis, in line with, the guidance that we're giving in that, 2%-4% revenue growth. Every quarter is projected to have margin improvement on a year-over-year basis, including, in Q1, maybe a little bit more modest in Q1, but then it picks up as we go through the year in Q2, Q3, and Q4. Earnings per share grows in line with kind of the guidance range we're giving you here, which 7% at the midpoint.

And so that's, that's kind of how it typically plays out. Free cash flow tends to improve as we go through the year. So that's maybe as much as, as I can give you here.

That's extremely helpful. Thank you, Michael. Maybe my follow-up, just to understand, you know, you talked about CBI, I think, a 2.4% contribution to sales in 2025.

And that was 40 basis points better than the prior year. Maybe sort of flesh out a little bit the progress there in 2026.... what we should expect, and any thoughts on the product lifecycle management side. Sorry, the Product Line Simplification side. Thank you.

Yeah, so on CBI, as you mentioned, Julian, strong momentum here in 2025, encouraged by the progress that we're making across the company, and particularly encouraged, I think, by the strength, the increased strength of our pipeline of new products. And, you know, it's really one of the reasons we believe we're outperforming our end markets. A lot of successful product launches this year, across the company. I would say most particularly in Welding, Test and Measurement, Food Equipment, Automotive. Good progress, 40 basis points of improvement, in 2025, with continued incremental improvement here in 2026. Well on the path to get to three plus by 2030. Particularly encouraged, I think, by patent filings.

I mean, patent filings were up 18% in 2024, up another 9% in 2025. And why that's particularly important is because at ITW, this is really a leading indicator of progress on CBI. Where often our patent filings are more often than not protecting customer solutions, and so an increase in patent activity is often pretty well correlated with future revenue growth. So, so really encouraged by everything we're seeing, more progress in 2026. It can be a bit lumpy. You know, you can get ups and downs on this, but the trajectory is certainly on its way up, and we're very, very confident at this point that the 3% plus target is well within our reach. You know, I would not make the...

I think PLS is, to me, a different kind of a conversation. I don't really see a correlation between them. The only overlap between PLS and CBI is that they're both focused on differentiation. PLS is about ensuring that we properly improve around differentiation, and CBI, of course, is pursuing differentiation in a product development context. But, you know, PLS for us in 2026, we see as more of a maintenance level, you know, 30-50 basis points. That's lower than 2025, but it's very much a bottom-up number. It's really decided on at the divisional level. As we've said before, it's a fundamental part of 80/20 Front-to-Back and the ongoing strategic review portfolio pruning that goes on in our divisions, and we have, obviously, a very highly developed methodology around this.

But we get a lot of benefit from PLS implementation when we do it. You know, we get benefit in terms of growth from the standpoint of strategic clarity, ensuring that we're executing on our most important customers and products, and then effectively deploying resources on the back of that. And then, of course, from a margin improvement standpoint, the cost savings from PLS are a meaningful contributor to the Enterprise Initiatives that we, you know, generate every year. And a lot of these projects have a payback of less than a year. So I think I would not really connect them that much. They're both very active in the company. PLS is a little lower this year, but full steam ahead on CBI.

Yeah, so, so PLS a little bit lower year-over-year, and CBI contribution to revenue a little bit higher on a year-over-year basis. So, that's what's supporting the top-line guidance that we're giving you today.

Our next question will come from the line of Scott Davis with Melius Research. Please go ahead.

Congrats on turning the corner here on the top line. I have to ask, the buyback is great, but I have to ask because you didn't mention M&A at all on the prepared remarks, and is that kind of off the table for 2026, or you didn't mention it just because it's more opportunistic?

It's the latter, Scott. It's certainly on the table for, you know, for the right companies. So as we've often said, we're focused on high quality acquisitions that really will extend our long-term growth potential, while being able to leverage the business model to improve margins. And you know, we review opportunities all the time on an ongoing basis. We're pretty selective, given that we genuinely believe we have a pretty compelling organic growth opportunity. But we're also pretty active in terms of reviewing opportunities, and to the extent that we find the right opportunities, while acknowledging, I think, the challenging valuation trends that we're seeing right now, then we'll be appropriately aggressive in pursuing them. You know, we obviously did the MTS deal three or four years ago.

It turned out to be a great acquisition, met all of our kind of criteria. Similarly, in the quarter just passed, you know, we had one bolt-on acquisition in the semi-manufacturing space, which is all the high quality growth attributes that we look for, and we're certainly very open to doing more deals like this. And I would say we're actively prospecting around these deals, but, we've got to find them. When we find them, we will do them.

Yeah, I would just add, I agree with everything Chris said. I think it's not necessarily an easy time to be a disciplined acquirer, and often the challenge is really around valuation. And we're not gonna do deals that don't make sense to ITW, which means we're not gonna do deals where we can't generate a reasonable risk-adjusted rate of return for our shareholders. And so that's kind of been our long-term positioning here, and that part of it is not gonna change on a go-forward basis. And we agree with you that the buyback is a great way to allocate surplus capital to our shareholders. Also contributes, frankly, $0.20 a share, or 2% EPS growth on an annual basis.

That will remain an active share repurchase program will remain an important part of our capital allocation strategy on a go-forward basis.

That's a good answer. Guys, I don't want to beat a dead horse. The CBI stuff is pretty interesting. And what does it take to get to 3%? Is it spending more or getting more out of what you have? And the reason why I ask that question is that you know, up 18% and even up 9% patents are, that's a pretty big growth. Do you have to spend more to get to that 3%? Kinda what's the gaining factor of bridging that gap?

Yeah, it's not spending more, Scott. I think we've been, you know, meaningfully investing in a very focused way now for a number of years, you know, to build up the muscle around this. And really, what's moving the needle and is very much a similar approach that we took on 80/20 front to back, you know, 10 years ago, and we saw the results that accrued from that. But really, it's about a much higher level of leadership, time, and focus. It's certainly continuing to invest and build capabilities we had been doing for the last four or five years. And on that basis, we've seen innovation contribution more than double over the last 5 years. The capability that build that we're doing is at the segment level, but also in our divisions.

You know, we have lots of great innovation practice around the company, and as we've mentioned on prior calls, we really codify this into a very effective and holistic innovation framework, and we launched that framework in the second half of 2024. Again, this is the exact approach that we took in 80/20 Front-to-Back. So, all that's certainly taken root. We see it in the patent filings, we see it in the yield. You know, we're well on track here to do the 3% plus. But, I think all the pieces are in place, and it's now a question of just building momentum and ensuring we get that consistently high quality of practice in every part of the company, and that will get us to more than three, for sure.

Yeah. And I might just add that we've added the CBI metric as one of the key elements in our incentive plans on a go-forward basis. So if you look at the long-term incentive plans here at ITW, and in addition to margins, returns, EPS growth, we've added, or the board has added, CBI yield, just in alignment with the overall strategic importance of this metric and this initiative on a go-forward basis.

Hmm. Helpful. Interesting. Thank you, guys. Best of luck this year. Pass it on.

Our next question comes from the line of Tami Zakaria with J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

So the auto segment growth in China was, I think, about 5%. I think, granted, builds were also slower in the fourth quarter in China, but anything else to call out there, and how are you thinking about growth in, in autos in China as you, as you look into 2026?

Yeah. So we see strong growth in China, in auto in 2026, largely on the basis of the satisfactory work that we've done on really penetrating the EV space. You know, electric vehicles for us are very much a source of innovation and growth from what we're seeing from our customers. And we've been generally leveraging that EV growth through new product innovation. We made significant investments over the last number of years, targeting and building up our presence in EV. You know, China still represents about 65% of worldwide EV builds, and we're growing very nicely there. We're in a very strong position with Chinese OEMs, which is now over 70% of the market. So really well positioned.

We see the growth in China in auto as being very sustainable, really on the back of the work we've done on EV, in particular, around CBI related to EV.

... you know, China has been a great, growth story for, ITW over the years, you know, driven primarily by the auto OEM business, which, as you said, grew 5% in Q4, but 12% for the full year. The expectation remains the same in terms of, outgrowing builds, in China, fueled by CBI and continued growth with the Chinese OEMs, as Chris said. So, we'd expect, growth in China, auto OEM in that mid to high single digits. I'd just make a comment overall on China. You know, up 9% for the full year. Again, strong growth in China, with the auto business, but also Test and Measurement of high single digits, welding up mid-teens.

And so the expectation for this year, 2026, is that, you know, China, which is now about a $1.2 billion, 8% of our revenues, will grow in the mid, maybe even in the high single digits, based on what we're seeing, for 2026. And I might just add, lastly, that margins in China, as you know, are the same as everywhere else around the world. And as Chris said, we'll continue to invest in China and repatriate cash efficiently to the U.S., as we've done over many years.

That is fantastic to hear. Thank you. Staying on the same topic, thanks for all, all the color on China. How are you thinking about growth in the U.S. or Americas versus Europe as it relates to the 1%-3% organic growth outlook for the year?

Yeah. So I think, one of the things that was certainly encouraging here in the fourth quarter was the organic growth rate in North America. You know, up, you know, 2% plus. And we expect about the same, you know, maybe a little bit better than that, based on run rates in 2026. Europe, certainly a little bit more challenging. We don't expect much improvement in Europe. And then, you know, Asia Pacific was up 6% last year, primarily China, and we expect, like you said, another kinda meaningful contribution from Asia Pacific and China in the mid-single-digit range. So North America, really, I'd say pretty encouraging. Europe stays about the same, and Asia Pacific up kind of in the mid-single digits.

China up in the mid, maybe high single digits. And so that's how you get to that 1%-3% organic growth. And like we said earlier, again, more contribution from CBI, less of a headwind to top line from PLS, and you get to that 1%-3% organic, 2%-4% revenue for the full year.

Our next question will come from the line of Jamie Cook with Truist Securities. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning. Two questions. I guess just my first one, the sequential revenue growth in the quarter, the 4% relative to normally 2%. Just color around that, do you think that's more ITW specific, i.e., CBI is getting more traction? Or would you, you know, say it's probably more just industrial markets getting better with PMI readings starting to get better above 50 last month? And then, my second question, Michael, just on the incremental margins for 2026, obviously implied very strong. You said mid- to high 40s. That's above your 35%-40% medium-term target on okay organic growth. So I'm just wondering if there's an underappreciated, you know, margin story or incremental margins can be structurally higher.

Maybe it's CBI, but just, just trying to piece that above average incremental margins versus your target on 1.5% organic growth. I don't know.

Let me talk about incrementals for... I'm glad you asked, by the way. So I, you know, I think historically, we've been in that 35%-40% range. That's what our kind of our long-term TSR algorithm is based on 35%-40%. If you look at kind of what we've been putting up over the last few quarters with limited growth, frankly, starting to improve, and when we look at kind of the plan for 2026, that's where we get to the mid- to high 40s. We can't really think of a reason why this wouldn't be sustainable over the long term. I mean, we've done a lot of work around the portfolio, you know, over a decade of Enterprise Initiatives.

So the margin profile, variable margin, gross margin, all of those things, the quality of the portfolio has never been better than it is today. And then you add on top of that, accelerating contribution from new products that all are coming in at higher margins. And then maybe most importantly, as Chris said, and I mentioned in my remarks, we are doing all of this while we are investing in ITW to kind of maximize the long-term performance from a growth and profitability standpoint. So about $800 million this year in our organic growth initiatives, in our kind of productivity initiatives, the Enterprise Initiatives. And so it's not like we're holding back on investments.

Illinois Tool Works Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript | Fortune

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Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

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