Rockwell Automation delivered a profit beat in its fiscal fourth quarter, but its shares fell sharply on Thursday after sales came in short of forecasts and its first outlook for fiscal 2027 landed below Wall Street expectations, the company said in its results release.

Adjusted earnings per share rose 16% to $3.88, from $3.34 a year earlier, topping the $3.69 consensus estimate. Sales edged up 1% to $2.332 billion, below the roughly $2.41 billion analysts had expected. Net income rose to $346 million, or $3.11 per share, from $138 million, or $1.23 per share, a year earlier.

For the full fiscal year ended 30 September, sales rose 8% to $8.989 billion and adjusted earnings per share climbed 27% to $13.42. The enterprise operating margin widened to 22.2%, and free cash flow reached $1.701 billion, up 25%.

The Milwaukee-based company is the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation. Looking ahead, Rockwell guided to organic sales growth of 6% to 9% in fiscal 2027 and adjusted earnings per share of $14.50 to $15.50. Chief executive Blake Moret said the company entered the new fiscal year with healthy customer demand and significant new product releases. Shares fell by more than 7% on Thursday as investors focused on the softer outlook.