Genuine Parts narrows 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to a per-share $7.50 to $7.75 as sales rise 4.2% from a year earlier

Genuine Parts Co. reported third-quarter 2026 net sales of $6.5 billion, up 4.2% from a year earlier, and narrowed its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to a per-share range of $7.50 to $7.75, from a per-share $7.50 to $8.00. Reported net income slipped 0.76% to $224 million, or $1.62 per diluted share, while adjusted net income rose 3.76% to $286 million, or $2.07 per diluted share, up 4.55% from $1.98 a year earlier.

Genuine Parts filed the quarter as a current report carrying Item 2.02 results of operations and Item 9.01 financial statements and exhibits. Most of the top-line growth came from existing operations, and the earnings bridge shows what the planned split of the company costs shareholders on a reported basis.

Comparable sales carried a 4.2% advance

The 4.2% sales increase was driven by volume at existing counters: 2.9% from comparable sales, 0.9% from acquisitions and a net 0.4% from foreign currency and other, according to the change-in-sales table. Industrial led with 6.1% growth, of which 5.5% was comparable sales. International Automotive rose 4.5% year over year on 1.7% from acquisitions, 1.7% from currency and 1.1% comparable growth, and North America Automotive added 2.2% on 1.7% comparable sales and 1.1% from acquisitions, trimmed by 0.6% of currency and other. Gross profit rose faster than sales, lifting gross margin to 38.09% of net sales from 37.40% a year earlier, computed from the condensed consolidated statements of income.

Industrial earns the margin, North America carries the sales

Segment profitability separated cleanly in the release's segment table. Industrial segment EBITDA reached $317 million, up 11.2% from a year earlier, for a 13.2% margin that was 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. According to the segment table, North America Automotive generated $194 million of segment EBITDA, down 2.9% year over year, with its margin slipping 40 basis points to 7.6%. International Automotive contributed $141 million, up 4.7%, at a 9.0% margin that was flat year over year. North America is the biggest sales segment at $2.5 billion, and its 7.6% margin is the thinnest of the three.

Separation costs separate reported from adjusted profit

The distance between the two profit lines is the company's own adjustment schedule. Reported diluted EPS of $1.62 sits $0.45 below adjusted EPS of $2.07; that $0.63 of adjustments per share is made up of $0.47 of restructuring and other costs, $0.15 of separation costs and $0.01 of acquisition and integration costs, reduced by $0.18 of tax. The separation charge is new: the prior-year quarter carried none, and the release attributes it primarily to legal and professional services and executive incentive plan costs tied to the split announced February 17, 2026. Measured in dollars, separation costs were $21.2 million in the quarter. Adjusted net income of $286 million compared with reported net income of $224 million, a difference the company explains as $61 million of after-tax adjustments. Sequentially, adjusted EPS of $2.07 per diluted share was 3.72% below the $2.15 per diluted share reported for the second quarter of 2026.

A narrowed range leaves the sales forecast alone

The outlook moved on the earnings lines but not the revenue lines. Adjusted diluted EPS guidance narrowed to $7.50 to $7.75 from $7.50 to $8.00, and GAAP diluted EPS guidance moved to $5.60 to $5.85 from $5.90 to $6.40. Total sales growth of 3% to 5.5%, the roughly 24% effective tax rate and free cash flow of $550 million to $700 million were all left where the second-quarter release put them. Chief Executive Will Stengel tied the quarter to the corporate restructuring rather than to demand alone: "We also achieved important milestones in our separation process and remain on track to launch GPC and Motion as two independent, leading companies in the first quarter of 2027." The release says the separation remains targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2027.

Interest expense climbs 13.95% from a year earlier

Below the operating line, net interest expense rose 13.95% year over year, while net cash provided by operating activities for the nine months reached $817 million, against capital spending of $314 million and free cash flow of $502 million in the company's reconciliation. Financing activities list dividends paid of $434 million and no share repurchases. The release schedules a conference call for 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today to discuss the results and says a supplemental earnings deck will be available on the company's investor relations website.