Ferguson Plc

Ferguson Enterprises raised its full-year 2026 guidance following a second quarter in which sales rose 4.6 percent to 8.8 billion dollars and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 5.3 percent to 3.39 dollars. The company now expects mid-single-digit net sales growth for calendar 2026, up from its prior low-to-mid-single-digit outlook, and tightened its adjusted operating margin forecast to a range of 9.5 to 9.8 percent. During the quarter Ferguson completed five acquisitions and signed a definitive agreement to buy FWI Holdings, known as FloWorks, a distributor of technical valves and flow control solutions, with the deal expected to close in the third quarter. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of 89 cents and repurchased 202 million dollars of its shares, while net debt to adjusted EBITDA stood at 1.3 times.

Ferguson Enterprises Inc. was added to the S&P 500 and related indices in early August 2026, moving the stock more firmly into the large-cap universe and potentially increasing its visibility with institutions that track or benchmark against S&P indices. The company also announced a US$2,000 million increase in its share repurchase authorization, bringing the total to US$7,000 million. The S&P 500 inclusion mainly affects who owns the stock in the short term, while the key near-term swing factor remains demand in residential and large project end markets, with margin pressure from deflation staying the biggest risk. Ferguson's narrative projects US$37.6 billion revenue and US$2.5 billion earnings by 2029, requiring 6.6% yearly revenue growth and a US$0.5 billion earnings increase from US$2.0 billion today. More bullish analysts already expected Ferguson to reach about US$40.5 billion of revenue and US$2.7 billion of earnings.

Supernus Pharmaceuticals surged 20.7% in premarket trading after agreeing to an all-stock merger of equals with Indivior Pharmaceuticals. Under the deal, Supernus shareholders will receive 1.5401 Indivior shares for each share held, while Indivior shareholders will receive a one billion dollar special cash dividend before closing. The combined company will retain the Supernus name and continue trading under the SUPN ticker. Other notable movers included GameStop, which slipped six percent after announcing a debt-for-equity swap that will exchange approximately 1.4 billion dollars of convertible debt for newly issued Class A common stock, and Ferguson, which climbed 7.1 percent ahead of its inclusion in the S&P 500 on August fifth.

Several stocks made notable premarket moves on Monday. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba gained 4% after the company unveiled its new Qwen3.8-Max AI model, one of the most powerful in its portfolio, set for official release next week. Bristol-Myers Squibb jumped more than 5% while AstraZeneca fell more than 4% following a Financial Times report that the two pharmaceutical companies were in merger talks. eBay tumbled more than 3% after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight, citing that the acquisition of Depop will lead to weaker earnings in fiscal year 2027 and potentially increased marketing spend. Ferguson Enterprises rose nearly 8% on news it will join the S&P 500, replacing Electronic Arts before the opening bell on Wednesday. ArcelorMittal was up more than 2% after announcing a deepened technology partnership with Microsoft, whose Azure platform will modernize the steelmaker's systems. Memory stocks were broadly lower, with SanDisk and Micron Technology down more than 3% and Seagate Technology off 2.5%. Circle Internet Group declined 5% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stablecoin issuer to underweight, pointing to tactical and structural headwinds including a weaker outlook for USDC in circulation in 2027.

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Ferguson Enterprises Inc. will replace Electronic Arts Inc. in the S&P 500 effective prior to the opening of trading on Wednesday, August 5. The change follows the pending acquisition of Electronic Arts by an investor consortium comprising Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, expected to close soon pending final conditions. In a related move, ADI Global Distribution Inc. will join the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Tuesday, August 4, replacing Hertz Global Holdings Inc. effective prior to the opening of trading on Wednesday, August 5. ADI Global Distribution is being spun off from S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Resideo Technologies Inc. in a transaction to be completed August 4, while Hertz Global Holdings is being removed as it no longer represents the small-cap market space.

Ferguson Enterprises reported first-quarter sales of $7.5 billion, up 3.6% year over year, with U.S. non-residential revenue rising 8%. CFO Bill Brundage said data centers accounted for a little over half of the company's large capital project revenue, driving a 21% increase in commercial mechanical and a 14% increase in part of Waterworks. The distributor also completed two Waterworks acquisitions during the quarter: Technology Sales Associates and Chesapeake Environmental Equipment.