---
title: "Amphenol printed its best quarter ever. The street's \\\"46% target cut\\\" was mostly a stock split."
description: "Sales rose 65% to $10.2 billion and orders hit a record $12.2 billion, yet Amphenol closed the AI selloff week about 12% under its high. The fight is over 41 times forward earnings for a connector maker whose growth is part bought, and management answered with a 20% dividend raise, a $4 billion buyback and $1.6 billion of non-data-center acquisitions."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Data Center"
published: 2026-10-31T13:15:06.063Z
modified: 2026-10-31T13:15:06.063Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/amphenol-printed-its-best-quarter-ever-the-street-s-46-target-cut-was-mostly-a-stock-split
language: en
keywords: "Amphenol, Earnings, Data Centers, AI Infrastructure, Analyst Ratings"
---

# Amphenol printed its best quarter ever. The street's \"46% target cut\" was mostly a stock split.

> Sales rose 65% to $10.2 billion and orders hit a record $12.2 billion, yet Amphenol closed the AI selloff week about 12% under its high. The fight is over 41 times forward earnings for a connector maker whose growth is part bought, and management answered with a 20% dividend raise, a $4 billion buyback and $1.6 billion of non-data-center acquisitions.

## A record quarter, sold off with the sector

[Amphenol](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amphenol), the Wallingford, Connecticut maker of the connectors and high-speed cable that carry data and power inside AI servers, [reported the strongest quarter in its history on October 28](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/amphenol-reports-record-third-quarter-120000910.html): sales of $10.2 billion, up 65% year over year, adjusted EPS of $0.80 against a $0.73 consensus, and record orders of $12.2 billion, a book-to-bill of 1.19:1 [1][2].

*Chart: **Amphenol's quarterly sales have more than doubled in nine quarters** Column chart of Amphenol's quarterly net sales from Q3 2024 to Q3 2026, rising from $4.0 billion to a record $10.2 billion, with the final bar highlighted.*

*Net sales as reported, calendar quarters. Q3 2026 from the October 28, 2026, release; earlier quarters from SEC filings. Sources: [9][1] [9][1]*

The stock still fell as much as 4.6% on Friday before closing at $79.30, about 12% below its October 6 high of $89.93 [2][3]. The selling came from the sector: [the Nasdaq dropped 2.9% on October 30, closing its worst month since March 2025](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/markets-news-oct-30-2026-tech-sell-off-sends-nasdaq-s-p-500-reeling-intel-stock-drops-30-bitcoin-slides-gold-hits-one-year-low/ar-AA2gpoxn), after [Intel](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/intel) fell 29% on a weak outlook and [Amazon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amazon) reported a free-cash-flow decline driven by AI spending [5].

## The 46% target cut is mostly the stock split

The sharpest headline of the week, Rothschild & Co Redburn's [October 30 move to $107 from $197](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/rothschild-co-redburn-adjusts-price-target-on-amphenol-to-107-from-197-ce785fdbda80f726), needs an asterisk [3][4][1]. [That $197 was set on July 30](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/rothschild-co-redburn-adjusts-price-145903317.html), five weeks before Amphenol's two-for-one split began trading on September 3; halved, it is $98.50, and the new target sits about 9% above it [3][4][1]. The genuine de-ratings are [Evercore](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/evercore) ISI's $90, the lowest target among 19 analysts, and the multiple itself: 41 times forward earnings for a component maker [3][2]. Consensus still sits at $105, a third above the close [3].

*Chart: **Even after the cut, the street's targets all sit above the $79.30 close** Bar chart of Amphenol analyst price targets against the October 30 close of $79.30, with the consensus target of $105 highlighted.*

*Price targets on a post-split basis; Rothschild & Co Redburn's July 30 target of $197 is shown halved to $98.50 after the two-for-one split began trading September 3. Evercore ISI is the lowest of 19 targets; the close is October 30, 2026. Sources: [3][4][2] [3][4][2]*

## Management answered with cash and non-AI customers

On October 27 the board raised the quarterly dividend 20% to $0.15, payable January 13 to holders of record December 22, and approved a three-year $4 billion buyback effective January 1, after the current $2 billion plan completes December 31 [1].

It also committed about $1.6 billion to four acquisitions: Empire Electronics, an automotive supplier with roughly $320 million of sales, closed in September; [AdvancedPCB, a defense and industrial circuit-board maker with about $270 million](https://pcdandf.com/pcdesign/index.php/editorial/menu-news/fab-news/19544-amphenol-signs-deal-to-acquire-advancedpcb); Dexgreen, European fiber at $90 million; and Humanetics Sensors at $70 million [1][7].

Of the quarter's 65 points of sales growth, 37 were organic, so acquisitions and currency supplied 28. [The Inference reported on October 5](https://theinference.org/article/amphenol-booked-10-7bn-in-orders-its-10-q-says-24-of-the-55-growth-points-were-bought) that the second quarter split nearly the same way, 24 bought of 55 [8].

*Chart: **Bought growth held near 43% of Amphenol's sales growth two quarters running** Column chart splitting Amphenol's year-over-year sales growth into organic and acquisition-plus-currency points for Q2 and Q3 2026, with the acquired-and-currency portion highlighted.*

*Year-over-year sales growth in percentage points, split organic versus acquisitions and currency, as disclosed in Amphenol's quarterly filings and its Q3 2026 release. Sources: [1][8] [1][8]*

## What decides it

IT datacom is now 48% of sales, and AI accounts for about three-quarters of that, roughly a third of company revenue [6]. CommScope, the fiber business bought this year, is running ahead of plan at $5.1 billion of 2026 sales, though communications networks sales fell 28% organically on broadband softness [1][6].

Total debt stands at $17.9 billion, 1.1 times net leverage [6]. The dates to watch are December 22, the dividend record date, January 1, when the buyback starts, and [the fourth-quarter guide of $10.3–10.5 billion in sales and $0.81–0.83 in adjusted EPS](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4659746-amphenol-forecasts-q4-2026-sales-of-10_3b-10_5b-and-adjusted-eps-of-0_81-0_83-backed-by-it) [1][2]. Amphenol is spending its AI cash on customers the AI cycle cannot take away; whether 41 times earnings was ever the right price for the ones it can is what the next two quarters have to decide [1][2].

## Takeaway

Record sales, orders, a 20% dividend raise and a $4 billion buyback could not beat a sector selloff; the famous 46% target cut is mostly a split artifact, and the real fight is over 41 times forward earnings.

## Sources

1. [Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, "Amphenol Reports Record Third Quarter 2026 Results and Announces Dividend Increase and New Stock Repurchase Program", 28 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/amphenol-reports-record-third-quarter-120000910.html)
2. [Weiss Ratings, "Amphenol Corporation (APH) Down 4.6%: Should I Bank What I Have Left?", 30 October 2026](https://weissratings.com/en/instant-news-alerts/amphenol-corporation-aph-down-4-6-should-i-bank-what-i-have-left)
3. [MT Newswires via MarketScreener, "Rothschild & Co Redburn Adjusts Price Target on Amphenol to $107 From $197", 30 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/rothschild-co-redburn-adjusts-price-target-on-amphenol-to-107-from-197-ce785fdbda80f726)
4. [MT Newswires via Yahoo Finance, "Rothschild & Co Redburn Adjusts Price Target on Amphenol to $197 From $172, Maintains Buy Rating", 30 July 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/rothschild-co-redburn-adjusts-price-145903317.html)
5. [Investopedia via MSN, "Markets news, Oct. 30, 2026: Tech sell-off sends Nasdaq, S&P 500 reeling; Intel stock drops 30%", 30 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/markets-news-oct-30-2026-tech-sell-off-sends-nasdaq-s-p-500-reeling-intel-stock-drops-30-bitcoin-slides-gold-hits-one-year-low/ar-AA2gpoxn)
6. [Seeking Alpha, "Amphenol forecasts Q4 2026 sales of $10.3B-$10.5B and adjusted EPS of $0.81-$0.83, backed by IT datacom demand", 28 October 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4659746-amphenol-forecasts-q4-2026-sales-of-10_3b-10_5b-and-adjusted-eps-of-0_81-0_83-backed-by-it)
7. [PCD&F, "Amphenol Signs Deal to Acquire AdvancedPCB", October 2026](https://pcdandf.com/pcdesign/index.php/editorial/menu-news/fab-news/19544-amphenol-signs-deal-to-acquire-advancedpcb)
8. [The Inference, "Amphenol booked $10.7bn in orders. Its 10-Q says 24 of the 55 growth points were bought.", 5 October 2026](/article/amphenol-booked-10-7bn-in-orders-its-10-q-says-24-of-the-55-growth-points-were-bought)
9. [Amphenol quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 31 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000820313)


---

Amphenol printed its best quarter ever. The street's \"46% target cut\" was mostly a stock split. — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/amphenol-printed-its-best-quarter-ever-the-street-s-46-target-cut-was-mostly-a-stock-split