HON · Earnings call · 2026Q3T · Full report

Industrial Automation Market Demand

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC · 2026-10-22 · Importance 37 · Surprise 32 · In source text

Industrial Automation’s recovery is being supported by improved on-time delivery, lower past dues, and new products gaining acceptance with channel partners and original-equipment customers. Management expects growth to progress from low-single digits toward mid-single digits in 2027, with sensing and measurement central to the recovery. Utility meter deployments were deferred as utilities conduct separate testing of Honeywell’s new gas-meter technology; the testing cycle could take six to nine months. Management expects completed tests to lead to major gas-meter rollouts beginning in 2027 and continuing for several years, while third-quarter core orders were up 15% and the segment entered the next year with its strongest backlog in over five years.

Key facts

• Honeywell expects utility testing of its new gas meters to take six to nine months, followed by major rollouts from 2027 onward for several years.
• Honeywell expects Industrial Automation to reach mid-single-digit growth in 2027 as new products gain penetration.
• Industrial Automation organic sales grew 4% in Q3 2026, led by double-digit solutions growth, principally in industrial measurement and utilities.
• Honeywell's low growth in metering is already included in its 2026 and potentially 2027 outlook; management expects adoption to become a tailwind later.
• Industrial Automation product sales were roughly flat in Q3 2026 as sensing and Industrial Measurement demand was offset by utility-sector meter deployment deferrals.
• Industrial Automation on-time delivery improved from just below 40% to 60%, and past dues declined 18%.
• Honeywell's new gas and water meter technologies were being tested by multiple utilities, with each utility conducting its own testing rather than using a common protocol.

Impact estimates