Key Points
AAON's Q1 revenue of $497 million beat Wall Street's $381 million estimate by a wide margin.
The company's order backlog hit $2.1 billion, more than double the year-ago figure.
Data center cooling demand is driving AAON's growth as AI infrastructure buildouts accelerate.
- 10 stocks we like better than Aaon ›
Shares of AAON (NASDAQ: AAON) soared as much as 51.6% on Thursday morning thanks to a stellar earnings report. The industrial air conditioning, heating, and cooling expert's stock had chilled slightly to a 40.4% gain as of 12:30 p.m. ET. Either way, the stock is trading at an all-time high today.
Image source: Getty Images.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
AAON's quarter was too hot to handle
Wall Street expected a decent quarter from AAON. What it got was a blowout.
Revenue of $497 million crushed the $381 million consensus. That's a 54% year-over-year jump. Earnings rose 37% to $0.48 per diluted share. Here, the average analyst had expected roughly $0.45 per share.
So far, pretty great. But the real story was the backlog of unfilled orders.
AAON now has a $2.1 billion order book. That's more than double the backlog seen a year ago, and it's full of data center contracts.
Keeping AI cool is heating up AAON's business
Margins dipped as AAON scrambled to expand its manufacturing capacity, but with that kind of demand pipeline, investors voted with their wallets in favor of some heavy spending.
Here's something the AI hype cycle doesn't always mention: Data centers housing AI infrastructure generate enormous amounts of heat and require specialized cooling solutions. AAON has been retooling its manufacturing facilities to meet this demand. Management now expects the Basics segment (which focuses on data center cooling systems) to generate roughly $1 billion in revenue for 2026. The long-term capacity target now stands north of $2 billion.
"As we progress through 2026, our priorities are clear and unchanged," CEO Matt Tobolski said in a prepared statement. "Drive throughput, convert backlog, and deliver disciplined margin progression over time."
Sounds like a high-growth plan to me, and to many AAON investors. Today, the stock is trading at a lofty 105 times trailing earnings.
Should you buy stock in Aaon right now?
Before you buy stock in Aaon, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Aaon wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $476,034!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,274,109!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 975% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 7, 2026.
Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Aaon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
