Computacenter raises 2026 profit outlook after record first half

Record growth leads to another guidance upgrade

Computacenter has delivered a record first half and raised its full-year outlook, with booming demand for digital infrastructure driving rapid growth in North America and the UK.

The FTSE 100 technology and services provider now expects adjusted profit before tax for 2026 to be significantly ahead of market expectations and no less than £380 million.

That compares with company-compiled analyst consensus of £340.9 million, giving investors a meaningful upgrade rather than a marginal change in wording.

The headline numbers are impressive. Revenue increased by 71.6% to £6.85 billion, gross profit rose 30.5% to £657.9 million and adjusted operating profit climbed 86.5% to £153.1 million.

Investors can read the original company announcement for the complete financial statements.

Computacenter's key first-half figures

Metric	H1 2026	H1 2025	Change
Gross invoiced income	£8.93 billion	£5.67 billion	57.6%
Revenue	£6.85 billion	£3.99 billion	71.6%
Gross profit	£657.9 million	£504.2 million	30.5%
Adjusted operating profit	£153.1 million	£82.1 million	86.5%
Adjusted profit before tax	£152.4 million	£81.5 million	87.0%
Adjusted diluted EPS	101.9p	52.5p	94.1%
Interim dividend	27.1p	23.6p	14.8%
Adjusted net funds	£308.7 million	£278.0 million	11.0%

Statutory profit before tax increased by 94.8% to £142.6 million, while diluted earnings per share more than doubled to 94.7p.

For existing followers of Computacenter PLC, the result extends the strong momentum already visible in its previous updates.

North America is doing the heavy lifting

North America was the standout region, accounting for 62% of group adjusted operating profit before central costs, up from 44% a year earlier.

Regional revenue increased by 90.9% in constant currency to £3.84 billion, while adjusted operating profit rose 148.4% to £118.5 million on the same basis.

Growth came from hyperscale customers, neocloud providers and traditional enterprises investing in data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Neocloud businesses provide cloud computing capacity, often with a particular focus on AI workloads.

Computacenter says its ability to design, source, integrate and deploy infrastructure quickly is helping it win customers and take market share. The North American committed product order backlog reached £6.94 billion at the end of June, up 414.1% year on year in constant currency.

This builds on the North American momentum highlighted in Computacenter's strong 2025 results.

The reliance on one region is still worth watching. North America has become the main profit engine, making execution and demand trends there increasingly important to the group result.

The UK has accelerated sharply

The UK also produced a much stronger performance. Revenue increased by 136.4% to £1.51 billion and adjusted operating profit rose 52.6% to £26.4 million.

Technology Sourcing revenue more than tripled, helped by AI-related infrastructure projects and growth among enterprise and public sector customers. Technology Sourcing covers the selection, procurement, configuration and deployment of customers' hardware and software.

The UK committed product order backlog was £1.38 billion, up 207.9% year on year, although it was broadly unchanged from the end of 2025.

Germany was less exciting. Revenue rose 17.0% in constant currency, but adjusted operating profit fell 13.3% to £43.0 million. The business faced subdued public sector Professional Services activity and brought forward costs intended to improve efficiency.

Western Europe remained loss-making, although its adjusted operating loss narrowed from £8.9 million to £4.9 million.

The backlog supports the upgraded outlook

The group finished June with a record committed product order backlog of £9.3 billion. This was 323.2% higher year on year and 29.5% above the year-end level in constant currency.

Management also reported a further increase since June, particularly in North America, alongside a strong start to the second half.

That visibility is central to the new guidance. Computacenter expects full-year adjusted profit before tax to be at least £380 million, which is £39.1 million above the previous analyst consensus figure.

A large backlog does not remove execution risk, but it gives the company a substantial body of committed orders to work through. The key question is how efficiently those orders convert into gross profit, cash and ultimately earnings.

Rapid growth is pulling the margin lower

The main qualification is the decline in gross margin from 12.6% to 9.6%, a reduction of 303 basis points. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

This does not mean gross profit fell. It increased by 30.5%. Instead, Computacenter is processing much larger volumes of lower-margin Technology Sourcing business, particularly for hyperscale and neocloud customers.

The model can still produce attractive profit growth if gross profit expands faster than operating costs, as it did in the first half. Adjusted administrative expenses increased by 19.6%, well below the 30.5% increase in gross profit, creating strong operating leverage.

Even so, investors should monitor whether competitive pressure or an unfavourable sales mix causes margins to weaken further. Revenue growth alone is less useful if each pound of revenue contributes progressively less profit.

Services and contract performance remain mixed

Services revenue increased by 13.9% in constant currency and by 9.0% organically, excluding acquisitions and similar effects.

Professional Services performed well, with organic revenue growth of 23.9%. Managed Services revenue, however, fell by 4.5% in constant currency.

Computacenter also increased customer contract provisions from £14.8 million at the end of 2025 to £24.8 million. Management said a small number of contracts were not meeting original expectations, while a previously highlighted underperforming UK contract continued to have a negative effect.

This is not large enough to overshadow the group result, but it is a clear watchpoint. Services contracts can provide recurring revenue, although poor pricing or execution can make problems expensive to correct.

Acquisitions broaden the opportunity

Computacenter completed two North American acquisitions during the period, involving total cash payments of £124.2 million.

AgreeYa was acquired at an enterprise value of US$120 million, expanding Professional Services capabilities in North America and India. GAI was acquired for an enterprise value of up to US$92 million, giving Computacenter access to the US federal government market.

Management says both integrations are progressing as planned. Acquisitions contributed to growth, so future reporting will need to show how much momentum remains organic and whether the new businesses deliver the expected returns.

Cash conversion deserves attention

Despite strong profits, Computacenter recorded an £82.6 million net operating cash outflow and a £138.9 million free cash outflow.

The main factor was working capital. Inventory reached £1.26 billion, compared with £482.8 million at the end of 2025, as large projects progressed in North America and the UK.

Management says this inventory is almost entirely linked to committed customer orders rather than speculative stock. That distinction is reassuring, but investors will want to see the working capital unwind and cash conversion improve as projects are completed.

The balance sheet remains solid, with adjusted net funds of £308.7 million after acquisitions. The Board increased the interim dividend by 14.8% to 27.1p per share, reflecting confidence in the first-half performance.

What matters from here

Computacenter has entered the second half with record orders, accelerating UK momentum and a North American operation delivering exceptional growth. The minimum £380 million adjusted profit before tax target gives investors a clear benchmark for 2026.

The next test is quality rather than quantity. Investors should watch gross margin, cash conversion, Managed Services performance and the integration of AgreeYa and GAI.

For now, the strength of the backlog and upgraded guidance indicate that demand remains robust. Sustaining this progress will depend on converting record volumes into cash and profit without allowing lower-margin sourcing activity or underperforming contracts to dilute the benefits.