Jabil forecasts US$44.5B fiscal 2027 revenue across end markets
Jabil expects US$17.55 core EPS and a 6.1 per cent core operating margin in fiscal 2027 after quarterly revenue rose year on year.
Julian Okafor
A US$44.5 billion fiscal 2027 revenue forecast covers a contract manufacturer's full business, with expected growth in AI infrastructure and other end markets, according to a Sept. 30 earnings release. Jabil Inc. NYSEJBL, the Florida contract manufacturer of electronics for data centres and other industries, also guided to US$17.55 in core earnings per share and a 6.1 per cent core operating margin for that year.
Jabil shares closed at US$286.86 on the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 30, according to NYSEJBL at 4:05 p.m. EDT. The same NYSEJBL page showed a 10.03 per cent fall as of 4:05 p.m. EDT on Sept. 30. The quote records the decline but does not identify what caused it.
Preliminary, unaudited fourth-quarter revenue rose to US$10.616 billion for the period ended Aug. 31 from US$8.252 billion a year earlier, Jabil's Sept. 30 investor presentation showed. For those same quarters, GAAP net income increased to US$398 million from US$218 million. Core diluted earnings rose to US$4.40 a share from US$3.29, while GAAP diluted earnings reached US$3.76 a share.
The Sept. 30 release guided to first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of US$10.6 billion to US$11.4 billion. It also forecast core earnings of US$3.80 to US$4.20 a share for that quarter, which ends Nov. 30.
Intelligent Infrastructure Grew 56 Per Cent
Jabil's Intelligent Infrastructure division accounted for 55 per cent of fourth-quarter revenue and grew 56 per cent from the year-earlier quarter, according to the Sept. 30 presentation. Its core operating margin was 6.5 per cent. The division includes more than AI equipment, so its reported growth cannot be treated as an AI-only sales figure.
The presentation puts full-year fiscal 2026 sales at US$35.954 billion, up from US$29.802 billion in fiscal 2025. Core earnings per share reached US$13.09, compared with US$9.75 a year earlier. Jabil's June 17 results had forecast US$35 billion of fiscal 2026 revenue and US$12.70 in core earnings per share, putting the preliminary August year-end figures above its earlier targets.
"Our fiscal 2027 outlook reflects the strength of Jabil's diversified portfolio, with accelerating AI demand complemented by solid growth in automotive, healthcare, energy infrastructure, defense and aerospace, and warehouse and retail automation," Jabil chief executive Mike Dastoor said in the Sept. 30 release.
The breadth Dastoor described has a concentration test in chief financial officer Greg Hebard's Sept. 30 segment presentation: Intelligent Infrastructure supplied 55 per cent of quarterly revenue. Jabil's release also lists dependence on a limited number of customers and suppliers of critical components among the risks to its forecasts. It does not assign a disclosed customer order value to the fiscal 2027 AI expectation.
Cash Flow Forecast Rises With Revenue
Jabil reported US$1.532 billion in adjusted free cash flow for fiscal 2026, according to the Sept. 30 presentation. Operating cash flow of US$2.002 billion less US$470 million of net capital spending produced that adjusted figure. The same presentation set a fiscal 2027 adjusted free cash flow target of about US$1.6 billion. The adjusted measure subtracts net capital spending from operating cash flow and is not GAAP net income.
The presentation also showed US$1.7 billion of cash and US$3.4 billion of balance-sheet debt as of Aug. 31. Jabil repurchased US$1.060 billion of shares during fiscal 2026 and announced a new US$1.5 billion repurchase authorization. An authorization is permission to buy shares, rather than a schedule or commitment to spend that sum.
Jabil's Sept. 30 release forecasts a fiscal 2027 core operating margin of 6.1 per cent. That is 30 basis points above the roughly 5.8 per cent achieved in fiscal 2026. The same outlook calls for sales to rise 24 per cent, leaving both production volume and profitability to test.
Data Centre Spending Reaches Different Suppliers
Legrand SA EPALR, the French maker of electrical and digital building infrastructure, said in its Sept. 28 release that it aims for 6 to 8 per cent annual organic growth. The target covers 2027 through 2030, and data centres supplied 32 per cent of first-half 2026 sales. The Sept. 30 Mugglehead report on Legrand's targets covered that data centre share, a narrower measure than Jabil's companywide revenue forecast.
Read more: Legrand SA lifts organic growth target to 6 to 8 per cent on data centres
AIB Data Centers Inc. NYSEAMERICANAIB, a U.S. developer of AI hosting facilities, announced on Sept. 30 a binding customer agreement for 50 megawatts of critical IT capacity in two planned halls. Mugglehead's report on the capacity agreement noted that its release gave no opening date or contract value. The AIB agreement records a customer commitment to planned capacity, while Jabil's full-year outlook remains a company forecast across several end markets.
Read more: AIB Data Centers signs 50 MW Nebius contract in the Southeast
The quarter ending Nov. 30 will show whether Jabil reaches its first-quarter revenue range of US$10.6 billion to US$11.4 billion. That result will be the first reported checkpoint against the US$44.5 billion fiscal 2027 sales target. Jabil's Sept. 30 release gives no date for the next earnings announcement.
