Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) is a company that develops and manufactures power systems and electric switchgear systems. These systems are crucial for managing electricity flow in large facilities. The company operates in a market with significant demand from sectors like electric utilities, oil and gas, and now, increasingly, from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
On May 6, 2026, Roth Capital analyst Chip Moore raised the price target for Powell Industries to $333.00 from $285.00. This new target suggests a potential upside of about 5.04% from the stock's price of $317.01 at the time. This analyst update reflects growing confidence in the company's future stock market performance, driven by recent developments.
This optimism follows a major stock rally, where shares gained 11.10%. The surge was fueled by news of a "mega order" for an AI data center, as highlighted by The Motley Fool. This single order was not only the largest in Powell Industries' history but also exceeded its entire revenue from the previous quarter, signaling a new growth driver.
Despite the excitement, the company's second-quarter results were mixed. As reported by Zacks, adjusted earnings of $1.25 per share missed analyst estimates and fell 1.00% from the prior year. Total revenues of $297.00 million also slightly missed expectations, even though they represented a 6.00% year-over-year increase.
However, strong forward-looking indicators overshadowed the earnings miss. New orders grew an impressive 97.00% to $490.00 million. This pushed the company's backlog, which is the value of work yet to be completed, to a record $1.80 billion. This backlog provides a clear view of strong revenue in the coming months.
