Johnson Controls International Plc (NYSE:JCI) stock slid on Wednesday after the company delivered fiscal second-quarter 2026 results.

The company reported a quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $1.19, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.12.

Quarterly revenue came in at $6.142 billion, topping the Street's $6.076 billion forecast.

The company said its backlog of $20 billion increased 26% organically year-over-year.

• Johnson Controls Intl stock is showing weakness. What’s pulling JCI shares down?

Quarterly Metrics

Orders grew 40% in the quarter, excluding M&A and foreign currency. Quarterly sales increased 7%, with organic sales up 7% as well.

The gross profit in the quarter under review rose 9.3% to $2.26 billion. The gross margin expanded to 36.83% from 36.45% in the year-ago period.

Sales Across Geographies

Americas: Quarterly sales of $4.12 billion increased 7% Y/Y. Organic sales also increased 7%, led by continued strength across Applied HVAC and double-digit growth in Services.

Excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency, orders increased 40% Y/Y, and backlog of $14.9 billion increased 32% Y/Y primarily due to demand led by customers' accelerated investments in data center projects.

Segment EBITA margin was 19.5%, up by 100 bps Y/Y.

EMEA: Sales in the quarter of $1.28 billion increased 7% over the prior year.

Organic sales grew 1% versus the prior year, as Products and Systems growth offset disruptions caused by the Middle East conflicts and lower non-recurring Services volumes.

Excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency, orders increased 11% Y/Y, and the backlog of $3.2 billion increased 13% Y/Y. 

Segment EBITA margin of 14.9% expanded 370 bps Y/Y, primarily driven by productivity improvements and improved leverage on higher revenue.

APAC: Sales in the quarter of $739 million grew 16% versus the prior year. Organic sales also rose 13% versus the prior year, led by over 20% growth in Applied HVAC.  

Excluding M&A and foreign currency, orders increased 4%, and the backlog increased 14% Y/Y to $1.9 billion.

Segment EBITA margin of 19.8% increased 350 bps Y/Y, driven by increased volumes and productivity improvements.

The company exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $698 million.

Johnson Controls generated $672 million in operating cash flow for the quarter, up from $550 million a year ago. It generated $604 million in free cash flow for the quarter, up from $456 million a year ago.

Executive Commentary

Johnson Controls CEO Joakim Weidemanis said the company continues to benefit from strong demand across products, solutions, and services, led by data centers, where customers need high-performance, energy-efficient cooling. He said the company's proprietary business system is improving execution, customer focus and problem-solving across the organization.

Weidemanis highlighted Johnson Controls' new AI factory reference design guide for air-cooled chiller architectures, which follows its earlier water-cooled guide and supports customers planning gigawatt-scale AI factories.

CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck said Johnson Controls delivered solid second-quarter execution, with organic revenue up 6%, adjusted EPS up 45%, and record backlog reaching $20 billion. He said strong demand, operational discipline, and commercial focus are translating more consistently into results.

Weidemanis also pointed to the Alloy Enterprises acquisition as a way to add proprietary thermal management capabilities in materials science and manufacturing, with potential applications across chillers, CDUs, and cold plates.

Outlook

Johnson Controls raised its full-year outlook. Vandiepenbeeck said the company now expects about 6% organic sales growth, roughly 50% operating leverage.

Johnson Controls expects third-quarter adjusted EPS of ~$1.28, in line with the analyst estimate.

JCI Price Action: Johnson Controls Intl shares were down 2.93% at $140.62 at the time of publication on Wednesday. The stock is approaching its 52-week high of $147.32, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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