Identification solutions manufacturer Brady (NYSE: BRC) reported Q2 CY2026 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 10% year on year to $436.9 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.48 per share was 1% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Is now the time to buy Brady? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.

“The results of the fourth quarter and full year 2026 are a clear indication of the momentum we are achieving at Brady Corporation,” said Vineet Nargolwala, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our strong organic growth, with additional contributions from acquisitions and foreign currency translation, drove 10% sales growth for the quarter and the year. Organic sales growth and expanding margins drove a 15% increase in adjusted earnings per share in 2026 versus 2025.”

Company Overview

Founded in 1914 and evolving through more than a century of industrial innovation, Brady (NYSE: BRC) manufactures and supplies identification solutions and workplace safety products that help companies identify and protect their premises, products, and people.

Revenue Growth

Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years.

With $1.66 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Brady is a mid-sized business services company, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better economies of scale. On the bright side, it can still flex high growth rates because it’s working from a smaller revenue base.

As you can see below, Brady’s 7.7% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was solid. This is a good starting point for our analysis because it shows Brady’s demand was higher than many business services companies.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within business services, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. Brady’s annualized revenue growth of 11.3% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was strong and recently accelerated.

This quarter, Brady reported year-on-year revenue growth of 10%, and its $436.9 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 2.1%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 70.6% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is eye-popping and suggests its newer products and services will catalyze better top-line performance.

ONE MORE THING: 3 Hidden Platforms Growing 3X Faster than Amazon, Google, and PayPal. Amazon, Google, and Meta all followed the same playbook: Dominate an ignored market. Build an unbeatable moat. Scale until you’re unstoppable.

These three platforms are running that exact playbook right now. The early investors in Amazon made fortunes. The early investors in these could do the same. Get All 3 Stocks Here for FREE.

Adjusted Operating Margin

Brady has been an efficient company over the last five years. It was one of the more profitable businesses in the business services sector, boasting an average adjusted operating margin of 17.2%.

Looking at the trend in its profitability, Brady’s adjusted operating margin rose by 2.1 percentage points over the last five years, as its sales growth gave it operating leverage.

This quarter, Brady generated an adjusted operating margin profit margin of 16.3%, down 2.2 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Brady’s EPS grew at 14.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, higher than its 7.7% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

Diving into Brady’s quality of earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Brady’s adjusted operating margin declined this quarter but expanded by 2.1 percentage points over the last five years. Its share count also shrank by 9.3%, and these factors together are positive signs for shareholders because improving profitability and share buybacks turbocharge EPS growth relative to revenue growth.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.

For Brady, its two-year annual EPS growth of 12% was lower than its five-year trend. This wasn’t great, but at least the company was successful in other measures of financial health.

In Q2, Brady reported adjusted EPS of $1.48, up from $1.26 in the same quarter last year. This print beat analysts’ estimates by 1%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Brady’s full-year EPS to grow 24.1% from $5.28 to $6.56.

Key Takeaways from Brady’s Q2 Results

It was encouraging to see Brady beat analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its full-year EPS guidance slightly missed. Zooming out, we think this was a mixed quarter. The stock remained flat at $90.18 immediately after reporting.

Is Brady an attractive investment opportunity right now? We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).