CMI · 10-Q · 2026Q3 · Full report

Operating Expense Trends

CUMMINS INC · 2026-11-05 · Importance 13 · Surprise 6

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $79 million in the third quarter and $267 million in the first nine months of 2026, primarily because of higher compensation expenses; nine-month costs also reflected increased consulting costs. SG&A was 9.2% of quarterly sales, down 0.3 percentage points as sales grew faster than expense, but rose 0.2 points to 9.5% of nine-month sales. Research, development and engineering expense increased $55 million for the quarter and $97 million for the nine months, driven by compensation, prototypes and consulting; it was 4.2% of sales for both nine-month periods. The nine-month R&D increase was 9% year over year.

Key facts

• Cummins' selling, general and administrative expenses increased $267 million and 0.2 percentage points as a share of net sales in the nine months ended September 30, 2026, primarily due to higher compensation expenses and consulting costs. source
• Cummins' selling, general and administrative expenses increased $79 million in the three months ended September 30, 2026, while declining 0.3 percentage points as a share of net sales, primarily due to higher compensation expenses and sales growing faster than expenses. source
• Cummins' research, development and engineering expenses increased $55 million and 0.1 percentage points as a share of net sales in the three months ended September 30, 2026, due primarily to prototype spending, consulting and compensation expenses. source
• Cummins' research, development and engineering expenses increased $97 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2026, primarily due to higher compensation expenses and prototype spending, while remaining flat as a percentage of sales. source