Why This Matters to Distributors: Rexel’s results show how demand for data centers, industrial automation and electrification is driving electrical distribution sales. Growth increasingly reflects customers buying more products, while a rising North American order backlog underscores both continued project demand and pressure on suppliers to deliver.
Rexel’s third-quarter sales rose 14.6% to €5.45 billion ($6.11 billion), led by surging U.S. data center demand, prompting the electrical distributor to raise its annual sales growth forecast for the second time this year.
Sales increased 11.4% after excluding acquisitions, business disposals, currency changes and differences in working days. Rexel said the quarter marked its fastest sales growth since 2022, with gains across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
For the first nine months of 2026, sales totaled €15.44 billion ($17.30 billion), up 6.2% from a year earlier. Growth reached 7.3% after the same adjustments. Rexel’s Oct. 22 sales release did not include quarterly or nine-month net income. PR – Q3 2026 sales(1)
“Rexel achieved its best quarterly sales performance since 2022, confirming the acceleration of our growth trajectory,” CEO Guillaume Texier said. He credited the United States, particularly data centers, with leading the improvement.
The results showed a stronger contribution from customers buying more products. Higher quantities sold accounted for 6.3 percentage points of third-quarter growth, compared with 5.1 percentage points from price increases. For the first nine months, higher quantities contributed 3.4 percentage points, while prices added 3.9 points.
Acquisitions also lifted sales, partly offset by the sale of Rexel’s Finnish operations. Currency changes boosted reported third-quarter growth but reduced growth for the first nine months. PR – Q3 2026 sales(1)
North America generated third-quarter sales of €2.76 billion ($3.09 billion), up 24.1% from a year earlier, and accounted for 51% of company sales. Excluding acquisitions, currency changes and differences in working days, sales increased 17.4%.
Nine-month North American sales reached €7.32 billion ($8.20 billion), up 9.9% as reported and 10.6% after those adjustments. Rexel said nonresidential customers and industrial automation were the region’s largest sources of growth.
U.S. quarterly sales totaled €2.32 billion ($2.60 billion), with adjusted growth of 18.2%. Through September, U.S. sales reached €6.08 billion ($6.81 billion), increasing 10.7% on the same basis.
Data center sales in the United States more than doubled and accounted for approximately 13% of U.S. quarterly sales. Growth was particularly strong in Rexel’s Mountain Plains, Southeast and Gulf operations, including its Mayer business in the Southeast.
U.S. industrial automation sales increased about 20%, supported by industrial projects and equipment manufacturers. Other nonresidential markets, notably aerospace, and residential markets grew in the mid-single digits. Rexel said its data center business faced longer delivery times and increasing supply-chain pressure.
North American orders awaiting fulfillment exceeded $3 billion at the end of September, up 42% from year-end 2025 and equivalent to approximately 3.4 months of sales. Canada also benefited from data center demand, posting adjusted sales growth of 13.4% in the quarter and 10% through September. PR – Q3 2026 sales(1)
In Europe, third-quarter sales rose 4% to €2.35 billion ($2.63 billion), or 4.5% after adjustments. Nine-month sales totaled €7.15 billion ($8.01 billion), up 1.4% as reported and 3.2% after adjustments.
European sales of heating, ventilation and air conditioning products, solar equipment and electric vehicle charging products increased about 13%. Those categories together represented more than 20% of regional sales.
France, Rexel’s largest European market, posted adjusted quarterly growth of 3.6%. Sales in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg collectively increased 7.5%, while the United Kingdom and Ireland were essentially flat.
Asia-Pacific quarterly sales increased 24.5% to €347.6 million ($389.5 million), with adjusted growth of 15.8%. Nine-month sales reached €974.2 million ($1.09 billion), up 18.4% as reported and 14.9% after adjustments. Rexel cited solar and industrial demand in Australia and industrial automation projects in China and India as contributors. PR – Q3 2026 sales(1)
Digital channels accounted for 36% of company sales in the quarter, up about 2.6 percentage points from a year earlier. In North America, that share reached 31%, an increase of approximately 6 percentage points, which Rexel attributed to greater adoption of digital and artificial intelligence tools.
Rexel now expects full-year sales growth of approximately 7%, compared with its previous forecast of about 5%, excluding acquisitions, disposals, currency changes and differences in working days. The company said demand from data centers and electrification projects, together with its large volume of unfilled orders, supported the higher forecast.
Rexel also expects to complete its planned acquisition of U.S. specialty infrastructure distributor GCG by year-end. The company described the transaction as its largest acquisition in more than 15 years and said it would further expand its business in growing markets.
Rexel operates 1,876 branches in 17 countries and employs 26,306 people.
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