Celestica, Inc. (CLS)

Celestica reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $5.83 billion on 26 October, up 83 percent from $3.19 billion a year earlier 3.

The company said revenue beat the top of its own guidance range because of higher customer demand and strong operational execution 3.

Its Connectivity and Cloud Solutions segment, which makes data center networking, server and storage products, grew 102 percent to $4.87 billion 3. Its Advanced Technology Solutions segment grew 23 percent to $0.96 billion 3.

In August 2026 it completed a public offering that brought gross proceeds of $3.45 billion 23.

At its Investor and Analyst Day on 27 October 2026, the company gave an initial 2027 outlook of $40.0 billion in revenue, up 90 percent 310.

Customer concentration is the open question: three customers each made up 10 percent or more of 2025 revenue, at 32, 14 and 12 percent 1.

Celestica began as an IBM manufacturing unit that made products for IBM for more than 75 years, and in 1993 it began serving customers other than IBM 1.

In the 1980s IBM planned to close its Toronto plant, and the plant's head, Eugene Polistuk, kept it open by focusing on circuit boards 5. Celestica Inc. was incorporated in January 1994 as an IBM Canada subsidiary 9.

In October 1996 an investor group led by Onex Corporation bought it from IBM, and the Globe and Mail reported a price of $750 million 15.

Onex then bought plants in Britain, Ireland and the United States, so that Celestica ran 20 plants by the end of 1998 5. It listed its shares in 1998 1.

Revenue reached $9.8 billion in 2000, helped by a run of acquisitions that reached its twentieth in just three years 9.

The telecom and technology bust then cut revenue 17 percent to $8.3 billion in 2002 and 19 percent to $6.7 billion in 2003 9.

The Globe and Mail counted six straight years of losses and five unsuccessful restructurings before Onex put turnaround veteran Craig Muhlhauser in the top job 5. Circuits Assembly said Muhlhauser led Celestica from 2006 7.

Under Muhlhauser, automotive, semiconductor, defense, aerospace and medical products grew to 29 percent of sales from 19 percent, and Celestica managed the loss of the BlackBerry business, once its largest customer 6.

Rob Mionis, from aerospace and private equity, became chief executive on 1 August 2015 7.

In 2023 Onex sold about 18.8 million shares in two secondary offerings after converting its multiple voting shares, and it is no longer the controlling shareholder 1.

Revenue rose 21 percent to $9.6 billion in 2024 and 28 percent to $12.4 billion in 2025 1. The driver was hyperscaler networking: the Communications end market grew 81 percent in 2025 on data center networking demand 1.

In the third quarter of 2025 revenue rose 28 percent to $3.19 billion, led by the CCS segment as customers ramped AI data center investment 8.

In April 2024 it bought NCS Global Services, an IT infrastructure and asset management business, for $39.6 million 1.

Connectivity and Cloud Solutions

This segment makes networking switches, optical systems, data center racks, servers and storage for cloud and AI service providers 1. Its revenue was $9.19 billion in 2025, up 42 percent 1.

Its Hardware Platform Solutions offering, where Celestica helps design the product, was 41 percent of 2025 company revenue 1. In the third quarter of 2026 it was about $2.3 billion, up 70 percent 3.

Enterprise revenue fell 19 percent in 2025 because of a technology transition in an AI compute program at one hyperscaler 1. From the third quarter of 2026 the two end markets are called Networking, and Compute & Storage 3.

Customers it names include Amazon Fulfillment Services, Meta Platforms, Google, Ciena, Dell Technologies, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and IBM 1.

Advanced Technology Solutions

This segment serves aerospace and defense, industrial, health technology and capital equipment customers, as a contract manufacturer rather than a co-designer 1. Its 2025 revenue was $3,202.4 million, up 1 percent 1.

Named customers include Applied Materials, LAM Research and Honeywell 1. Third-quarter 2026 segment margin was 6.6 percent 3.

Plants and people

The 10-K lists about 8.0 million square feet of capacity, the largest sites being in Thailand and Malaysia 1. It employed 29,591 people at the end of 2025, 20,392 of them in Asia 1.

Rob Mionis is Chair of the Board and chief executive 3.

Rivals

Contract-manufacturing rivals include Benchmark Electronics, Flex, Hon Hai, Jabil, Plexus and Sanmina 1. Design-manufacturing rivals include Quanta, Wiwynn and Accton, and in data center switching Arista and Cisco 1.

Risks and open matters

The top 10 customers made up 79 percent of 2025 revenue 1. The company says no pending legal matter should have a material adverse effect 1.

The umbrella, in words

Celestica Inc. is an Ontario corporation headquartered in Toronto, listed on the NYSE and the TSX under CLS 1.

Exhibit 21 names its significant subsidiaries: Celestica Cayman Holdings 1 Limited, Celestica LLC, Celestica (Thailand) Limited, Celestica (USA) Inc. and Celestica Holdings Pte Limited 4. Smaller ones are omitted 4.

It owns NCS Global Services LLC, bought in April 2024 1. No multiple voting shares have been outstanding since August 2023, and Onex is no longer its controlling shareholder 1.

For the fourth quarter of 2026 the company guides to revenue of $6.275 to $6.575 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $3.37 to $3.57 3.

It raised its 2026 outlook to revenue of $21.0 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $11.55, and cut its free cash flow outlook to $460 million from $600 million for working capital investments 3.

For 2027 it expects revenue of $40.0 billion, an adjusted operating margin of 9.0 percent, adjusted earnings per share of $21.50 and capital spending of $1.5 to $2.0 billion 3.

It says customer demand forecasts for 2028 are meaningfully higher than its 2027 revenue outlook 3. It expects a net use of cash in 2027 from higher working capital and capital spending 2.

It intends to file for a new normal course issuer bid in the fourth quarter of 2026, after the current one expires on 2 November 2026, covering up to 2.5 percent of the public float 3.