Jabil’s fiscal 2026 results and its Sept. 30 strategy briefing will put a sharper focus on whether the manufacturer can convert rapid AI infrastructure growth into higher margins and sustained cash generation while component constraints and new factory costs remain elevated. The company expects AI-related revenue to reach about $13.6 billion in fiscal 2026, roughly 50% above the $9.0 billion reported for fiscal 2025.
The company will release fourth-quarter and full-year figures before the U.S. market opens, followed by an 8:30 a.m. ET call that Jabil has framed as its annual presentation of fiscal 2027 strategy and financial priorities. Its outlook for next year carries unusual weight after management said the percentage growth rate in AI-related revenue could be similar to fiscal 2026’s pace.
Jabil guided for fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $9.2 billion to $10.0 billion, with core diluted earnings per share of $3.80 to $4.20. Its GAAP diluted EPS forecast is $3.24 to $3.64. Analyst consensus cited in the market expects approximately $9.61 billion in quarterly revenue and $4.05 in EPS, placing estimates near the midpoint of management’s ranges.
AI revenue becomes central to the fiscal 2027 outlook
Jabil’s AI revenue category includes manufacturing and integration work for data-center infrastructure, including high-density server racks, liquid-cooling systems, power-management equipment and networking hardware. It is a company-defined measure rather than a standard accounting line item, but it has become the main gauge of Jabil’s attempt to move further into higher-value infrastructure production.
The company has guided for total fiscal 2026 revenue of about $35.0 billion, compared with approximately $29.8 billion in fiscal 2025. AI-related products would therefore account for a substantial share of the expected annual expansion, reducing Jabil’s reliance on its more mature manufacturing markets.
Management has also pointed to power and thermal systems as areas where its engineering and production capabilities can command more value than conventional electronics assembly. Those categories have become more prominent as AI servers consume more electricity and generate more heat, requiring denser equipment layouts, specialized cooling and more complex system integration.
The fiscal 2027 briefing should provide a clearer view of how much of the expected AI growth comes from existing customers, how quickly newer programs can scale, and whether the company can raise profitability as those volumes increase. Jabil has forecast core operating margin of 5.8% for fiscal 2026 and said it expects margin to exceed 6% in fiscal 2027.
Third-quarter results showed earnings growth outpacing sales
Jabil’s fiscal third-quarter performance offered an early indication of the operating leverage management expects from AI infrastructure programs. Revenue for the quarter ended May 31 rose 12% year over year to $8.751 billion from $7.828 billion, according to the company’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
GAAP operating income reached $445 million and GAAP diluted EPS was $2.59. On Jabil’s core, or adjusted, basis, operating income was $504 million and diluted EPS was $3.16, a 24% increase from a year earlier. The faster rise in adjusted earnings than revenue supported management’s case that new infrastructure production can lift profitability, though the fourth quarter will show whether that improvement continued through a period of capacity expansion.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2026, Jabil reported revenue of $25.338 billion, up from $21.550 billion in the comparable period a year earlier. Adjusted free cash flow rose to $991 million from $813 million. The company has forecast full-year core EPS of $12.70 and adjusted free cash flow above $1.4 billion.
Cash flow will be closely watched because Jabil is adding production capacity while trying to preserve its established capital-return program. The company has previously described capital expenditure at roughly 1.5% to 2% of revenue, a relatively restrained level for a manufacturer now building out facilities for data-center hardware.
Supply constraints raise execution pressure
The demand outlook has also exposed bottlenecks in the supply chain. Jabil reported inventory days of 84 during the fiscal third quarter, above its 55-to-60-day target range. Management cited constraints involving high-bandwidth memory and high-density circuit boards, two components that can limit the pace of AI server and rack deployments.
Higher inventory can help manufacturers secure scarce components and protect customer delivery schedules, but it also ties up working capital. Jabil’s ability to bring inventory closer to its target while expanding shipments would support its free-cash-flow target and reinforce the case for margin improvement.
The company is expanding its manufacturing footprint across several regions. A new North Carolina facility is expected to be completed in the fiscal fourth quarter, with a full production ramp targeted for January 2027. Jabil has also cited capacity work in Memphis, India and Mexico.
These projects give Jabil more room to serve customers seeking geographically diversified supply chains, yet they also create a near-term execution test. New facilities typically carry start-up costs before utilization rises enough to absorb them, making the timing of customer program ramps central to the fiscal 2027 margin outlook.
New hyperscale customer and India project extend the pipeline
During the third-quarter earnings call, Jabil said it had added a third hyperscale customer in data-center infrastructure. Management expects revenue from that customer to reach the hundreds of millions of dollars early in fiscal 2027 and potentially exceed $1 billion in fiscal 2028.
That customer ramp would diversify Jabil’s AI infrastructure base, though its larger contribution remains outside the coming fiscal year. The company has similarly described its planned Indian venture with Adani Enterprises as a fiscal 2028 event rather than a contributor to fiscal 2027 revenue.
Jabil and Adani announced their proposed strategic alliance on June 15, aiming to create an AI and data-center infrastructure manufacturing platform in India. The initiative is intended to support gigawatt-scale production of high-density AI racks. Adani Enterprises has separately outlined plans to invest $100 billion through 2035 in 5 gigawatts of green-energy-powered data centers.
Repurchases remain part of the financial agenda
Alongside factory spending and cash-flow targets, Jabil continues to return capital to shareholders. Its board authorized up to $1.5 billion in additional share repurchases on July 15.
Jabil’s May 31 quarterly filing showed that it had spent $891 million to repurchase 3.70 million shares under its previous authorization, leaving $109 million available at that time. Since 2016, the company has returned approximately $8.0 billion through repurchases of about 114 million shares at an average price of $65.66 per share.
Jabil shares closed at $310.13 on Sept. 24, after trading between $189.60 and $428.93 over the preceding 52 weeks. The stock has retreated from levels reached after a more than 10% post-earnings gain in June, even as several Wall Street firms retained constructive views. Goldman Sachs on Sept. 8 maintained a buy rating while cutting its price target to $375 from $482; UBS raised its rating to buy in August and set a $430 target.
Tuesday’s call will show whether Jabil can support those longer-term expectations with a fiscal 2027 plan that keeps AI revenue growing quickly while bringing inventory, factory ramp costs and capital allocation into tighter balance.
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