CDW Corporation (CDW) - Company Research
Last Updated: 23 August 2026
CDW Corporation sits between technology vendors and roughly 250,000 customer organisations, selling hardware, software, cloud and services from more than 1,000 brands and wrapping them in configuration, integration and lifecycle support. Fiscal 2025 net sales were $22.42bn and the second quarter of 2026 delivered records on net sales, gross profit and non-GAAP earnings per share. Yet the shares have fallen 17.8% over twelve months and dropped hard after both of the last two results. The reason is not growth, it is mix: gross margin is compressing as low-margin hardware for AI-readiness projects displaces the netted-down software revenue that inflated the ratio between 2021 and 2024. This report sets out what the filings say, without opinions or price targets. Live price action is on our Live Charts page.
1. Company Snapshot
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker / exchange | CDW, Nasdaq Global Select Market |
| Sector / industry | Information Technology — IT solutions provider and value-added reseller |
| Headquarters | 200 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, Illinois, United States. Incorporated in Delaware |
| Founded | 1984, by Michael Krasny as MPK Computing |
| CEO / Leadership | Christine A. Leahy, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO since January 2019, Chair since January 2023). Albert J. Miralles, Chief Financial Officer, who announced on 5 August 2026 that he plans to retire in 2027 |
| Employees | Approximately 14,800 coworkers at 31 December 2025, of whom about 10,500 are customer-facing. Approximately 14,700 at 30 June 2026 |
| Revenue (FY2025 net sales) | $22,424.1m, up 6.8% year on year |
| Gross profit (FY2025) | $4,873.4m, a 21.7% gross margin |
| Net income (FY2025) | $1,066.6m GAAP; GAAP diluted EPS $8.08, non-GAAP diluted EPS $10.02 |
| Trailing twelve month net sales | $23,500.4m to 30 June 2026 |
| Share price | $137.25 at the close on 21 August 2026 |
| Market cap | Approximately $17.16bn (21 August 2026) |
| Dividend | $0.630 per quarter, $2.52 annualised, a 1.84% yield. Twelve consecutive years of increases |
| Fiscal year end | 31 December |
2. Bull and Bear Case
Bull Case
- Record operating performance at a modest multiple: second quarter 2026 net sales of $6.57bn and non-GAAP EPS of $2.91 were both all-time records and both ahead of consensus. At $137.25 the shares trade on roughly 16.5x trailing GAAP earnings, 13.1x trailing non-GAAP earnings and about 12.6x the implied FY2026 non-GAAP guidance, against 0.73x sales.
- Guidance has been raised twice this year: the full-year 2026 gross profit outlook moved from low-to-mid single-digit growth on 6 May 2026 to mid single-digit growth on 5 August 2026, with non-GAAP EPS growth taken to the high end of a high single-digit range. Management continues to target growth of 200 to 300 basis points above the US IT market.
- The insiders bought the dip: Chief Executive Christine Leahy purchased 4,830 shares on the open market at $103.395 on 18 May 2026, and director David Nelms bought 18,000 shares at $111.43 on 27 May 2026, roughly $2.5m combined, days after the post-first-quarter collapse. The board authorised an additional $1.0bn of buyback capacity on 13 May 2026.
- Scale and breadth are genuinely hard to replicate: more than 1,000 vendor partners, over 100,000 products and services, more than 250,000 customers, five US channels each above $1.7bn of net sales, and roughly 10,500 customer-facing coworkers. More than half of US net sales come from account managers with seven or more years of tenure at CDW.
Bear Case
- Gross margin is compressing and management says it will keep compressing: gross margin fell 60 basis points in the first quarter of 2026 and 70 basis points to 20.1% in the second. Guidance is for second-half 2026 gross margin below the second half of 2025 and full-year margin modestly below 2025's 21.7%. Both 2026 results reactions were negative despite revenue and earnings beats.
- The margin expansion of 2021 to 2024 was accounting mix, not pricing power: gross margin rose from 17.1% to 21.9% almost entirely because netted-down agent-basis software and cloud revenue grew as a share of the mix. Agent revenue was $1,723.2m or 7.7% of fiscal 2025 net sales but a far larger share of gross profit. When hardware volume returns, the ratio mechanically falls.
- Cash conversion has deteriorated sharply: adjusted free cash flow was $278.4m in the first half of 2026 against $458.9m a year earlier, and the second quarter alone produced negative free cash flow of $82.6m on a roughly $400m inventory build. The cash conversion cycle widened to 21 days at 30 June 2026 from 16 days at year-end. Management conceded conversion ran below its 80% to 90% rule of thumb.
- Leverage and a thin equity base: total debt was $5,817.0m at 30 June 2026 against $361.8m of cash and $2,442.1m of stockholders' equity, with net leverage at 2.5x inside a 2.0x to 3.0x target. Goodwill of $4,652.1m and other intangibles of $1,095.7m mean tangible book value is negative, so the balance sheet provides no valuation floor.
- Structural channel risk from hyperscaler marketplaces: the FY2025 Form 10-K explicitly warns that AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft marketplaces plus evolving partner authorisation and incentive models "could change the role of traditional resellers, which may limit access to offerings, pressure margins, and restrict participation in certain channels", alongside OEMs selling direct.
3. Revenue Segments
The table below shows fiscal 2025 as reported. Note that CDW realigned its segments effective 1 January 2026, replacing Corporate, Small Business and Public with Commercial, Government and Education, with CDW UK and CDW Canada remaining in Other. Recast reporting began with the quarter ended 31 March 2026.
| Segment | % of revenue | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate | 42.1% ($9,442.4m, up 6.8%) | Medium and large US commercial customers. Gross profit $2,201.9m at a 23.3% segment gross margin, the highest of any channel |
| Education | 13.9% ($3,109.6m, down 1.8%) | K-12 and higher education institutions. The weakest channel in FY2025 and up only 0.7% in Q2 2026, with higher education operating under constrained funding |
| Healthcare | 12.6% ($2,836.1m, up 13.3%) | Hospital systems, providers and payers. The fastest-growing US public channel in FY2025 |
| Other (CDW UK and CDW Canada) | 12.1% ($2,719.8m, up 9.7%) | International operations. Grew 22.9% year on year in Q2 2026, a record quarter in Canada |
| Government | 11.5% ($2,589.5m, up 4.1%) | US federal, state and local agencies. Grew 13.6% year on year in Q2 2026 |
| Small Business | 7.7% ($1,726.7m, up 13.3%) | Small US commercial customers. Folded into the Commercial channels under the 2026 realignment |
By product mix in fiscal 2025: total hardware $16,070.6m or 71.6% of net sales, software $4,203.0m or 18.7%, services $2,035.7m or 9.1%, and other items such as delivery charges $114.8m or 0.6%. Within hardware, notebooks and mobile devices were $5,638.0m or 25.1% of net sales, the single largest category. Geographically, the United States accounted for $19,621.2m or 87.5% of net sales.
4. Business Model and Moat
How it makes money. CDW buys from original equipment manufacturers, software publishers, cloud providers and two large wholesale distributors, then resells with selection, configuration, financing, integration and lifecycle services attached. It takes principal treatment on hardware, recognising the gross amount as net sales, and agent treatment on a large slice of software and cloud, recognising only the net commission. In fiscal 2025, principal point-in-time revenue was $19,096.6m, agent point-in-time revenue was $1,723.2m and principal over-time revenue was $1,604.3m. Roughly 51% of North American net sales were drop-shipped directly by suppliers rather than passing through CDW's warehouses.
Why gross margin, not revenue, is the number that matters. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales moved 17.14% in FY2021, 19.73% in FY2022, 21.76% in FY2023, 21.92% in FY2024 and 21.73% in FY2025, before falling to 20.1% in the second quarter of 2026. Almost all of that 460 basis point expansion was mix into netted-down software and cloud, where a small reported revenue figure carries near-total gross margin. This is precisely why management guides to gross profit growth rather than net sales growth: the two can move in opposite directions.
Where the durability comes from. CDW holds the highest-level certifications from Broadcom, Cisco, Dell Technologies, HPE, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, NetApp, Nutanix, Palo Alto Networks and Samsung. It runs two North American distribution centres and one in the UK totalling more than one million square feet, shipping roughly 22 million units a year. The moat is relationship density and breadth of authorisation rather than proprietary technology, which is exactly why the hyperscaler marketplace risk in the risk factors is worth taking seriously.
Capital returns. CDW has returned approximately $8.4bn to shareholders since its June 2013 relisting. The quarterly dividend has been raised for twelve consecutive years, most recently by 1% in November 2025, and targets roughly 25% of non-GAAP net income. Buybacks were $344m in the second quarter of 2026, leaving over $1.1bn of authorised capacity at 30 June 2026.
5. Financial Health
All figures below are taken from CDW's Form 10-K filings, quarterly earnings press releases and SEC XBRL company facts. Dividend per share figures are on a cash-paid basis.
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($m) | YoY % | GAAP EPS | Adjusted EPS | Dividend/share | Long-term debt (YE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | 20,820.8 | +12.7% | $7.04 | $7.97 | $1.700 | $6,755.8m |
| FY2022 | 23,748.7 | +14.1% | $8.13 | $9.79 | $2.090 | $5,866.4m |
| FY2023 | 21,376.0 | -10.0% | $8.10 | $9.88 | $2.390 | $5,031.8m |
| FY2024 | 20,998.7 | -1.8% | $7.97 | $9.52 | $2.485 | $5,607.0m |
| FY2025 | 22,424.1 | +6.8% | $8.08 | $10.02 | $2.505 | $4,622.3m |
Long-term debt above is the non-current balance. Current maturities were $102.7m at the end of FY2021, $56.3m at FY2022, $613.1m at FY2023, $235.8m at FY2024 and $1,007.5m at FY2025. Gross profit over the same five years was $3,568.5m, $4,686.6m, $4,652.4m, $4,602.4m and $4,873.4m. Adjusted EPS is CDW's own non-GAAP diluted EPS.
| Quarter / Half | Revenue ($m) | Adjusted EPS | GAAP EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 (ended 30 Jun 2026) | 6,572.2 | $2.91 | $2.15 |
| Q1 2026 | 5,679.8 | $2.28 | $1.82 |
| Q4 2025 | 5,511.0 | $2.57 | $2.14 |
| Q3 2025 | 5,737.4 | $2.71 | $2.21 |
| Q2 2025 | 5,976.6 | $2.60 | $2.05 |
| Q1 2025 | 5,199.1 | $2.15 | $1.69 |
| FY2025 total | 22,424.1 | $10.02 | $8.08 |
The second quarter of 2026 carried 64 selling days. Gross profit was $1,319.8m, up 6.3%, GAAP operating income was $428.6m, up 2.0%, and non-GAAP operating income was $556.0m, up 7.0%, at an 8.5% margin.
Cash flow and balance sheet, fiscal 2025. Net cash from operating activities was $1,205.2m against capital expenditure of $117.1m, giving free cash flow of $1,088.1m and adjusted free cash flow of $1,085.5m. Total depreciation and amortisation in the cash flow statement was $295.6m, of which amortisation of acquisition-related intangibles, the figure added back in the non-GAAP reconciliation, was $169.8m. GAAP operating income was $1,655.6m, a 7.4% margin, against non-GAAP operating income of $1,996.7m at 8.9%. Cash and equivalents were $618.7m with no short-term investments, against $1,007.5m of current maturities and $4,622.3m of non-current long-term debt, giving company-defined total debt including finance leases of $5,629.8m.
Position at 30 June 2026. Cash of $361.8m, total debt of $5,817.0m, net debt of $5,455.2m, net leverage of 2.5x, stockholders' equity of $2,442.1m and goodwill of $4,652.1m. Accounts receivable had risen to $7,343.7m and inventory to $981.8m. Shares outstanding were 125,017,426 as at 31 July 2026, down from 128,993,588 in February.
Guidance. On 5 August 2026 management raised the full-year 2026 outlook for the second time. Customer spend is guided to US IT addressable market growth plus a premium of roughly 200 to 300 basis points on a constant-currency basis, with the US IT market itself lifted to mid single-digit growth. Gross profit is guided to mid single-digit growth, gross margin modestly below fiscal 2025, and non-GAAP diluted EPS growth at the high end of a high single-digit range. Modelling guidance for the year includes depreciation and amortisation of approximately $300m, interest expense of $235m to $240m, a non-GAAP tax rate of 25.5% to 26.5%, capital expenditure of $110m to $120m and adjusted free cash flow at 80% to 90% of non-GAAP net income.
6. Valuation Metrics
Raw metrics, August 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market cap | Approximately $17.16bn (125.02m shares outstanding at 31 July 2026, at the $137.25 close on 21 August 2026) |
| Enterprise value | Approximately $22.61bn (market cap $17.16bn plus total debt $5.82bn less cash $0.36bn, per the 30 June 2026 balance sheet). Including operating lease liabilities the figure rises to roughly $23.2bn |
| Trailing P/E (GAAP) | 16.5x on trailing twelve month GAAP diluted EPS of $8.32 (FY2025 $8.08 less first-half 2025 $3.73 plus first-half 2026 $3.97). On the equivalent trailing non-GAAP EPS of $10.46 the multiple is approximately 13.1x |
| P/E (forward) | Approximately 12.6x. FY2026 non-GAAP EPS implied by guidance of high-end high single-digit growth on FY2025's $10.02 is roughly $10.85 to $10.95 |
| P/S (TTM) | 0.73x (market cap $17.16bn over trailing twelve month net sales of $23,500.4m) |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | Approximately 11.4x (EV $22.61bn over EBITDA of $1,976.2m; EBITDA = trailing twelve month GAAP operating income of $1,678.6m plus trailing depreciation and amortisation of $297.6m, using the wider cash-flow-statement figure rather than the $169.8m acquisition-intangible add-back) |
| P/FCF | Approximately 19.9x (market cap $17.16bn over free cash flow of $860.2m; FCF = trailing twelve month operating cash flow $981.8m less capital expenditure $121.6m). Note this is depressed by the first-half 2026 working capital build; on fiscal 2025 free cash flow of $1,088.1m the multiple would be 15.8x |
| Price/book | Approximately 7.0x on stockholders' equity of $2,442.1m at 30 June 2026. Tangible book value is negative given $4,652.1m of goodwill and $1,095.7m of other intangibles |
| 52-week high | $171.55, reached 11 September 2025 |
| 52-week low | $97.12, reached 12 May 2026 |
| Short interest (% of float) | 6.58% of a 124.5m share float, on 8.20m shares short at the 31 July 2026 settlement date, down from 9.78m a month earlier. Yahoo Finance quotes 7.60% on a narrower float base |
| Days to cover | 4.52 days at the 31 July 2026 settlement |
| Dividend yield | 1.84% on an annualised rate of $2.52 per share, a payout of roughly 30% of GAAP earnings and 24% of non-GAAP earnings |
For scheduled macro releases that shape enterprise IT budgets, see our Economic Calendar.
7. What Are They Building
AI services rather than AI products. CDW does not report a research and development line; it invests through services capability, platforms and acquisitions. The AI 360 Framework is its proprietary service model spanning AI strategy, governance, infrastructure, security, data and application development. On the 5 August 2026 earnings call management described a multi-year, multi-million dollar engagement with a western US state technology office built on the framework, now being productised for state and local government nationally to generate recurring services revenue.
Security and automation. CDW highlighted an AI-driven automated vulnerability identification and remediation programme, delivered as a multi-million dollar engagement with a large financial services customer, on the same call. Security top line and gross profit both grew double digits in the second quarter of 2026.
Internal AI tooling. CDW Assist Super Agent is an internal sales tool covering account planning, opportunity identification, customer engagement and workflow automation, discussed on the Q2 2026 call. Separately, the Geared for Growth operational efficiency programme targets annual run-rate savings of $100m to $200m by 2027 to 2028, with benefits beginning to accrue in the second half of 2026.
Cloud practice. Mission Cloud Services, acquired on 27 November 2024 for a base price of $330m, is now CDW's dedicated AWS practice alongside CDW Digital Velocity, which covers cloud, data, AI and software platform engineering. CDW holds AWS Premier Tier Partner status with 17 AWS competencies. No acquisitions have been announced in 2025 or 2026 to date; fiscal 2025 acquisition spend was just $21.5m against $323.9m in 2024.
Organisational build. Hang Tan joined on 27 April 2026 as Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, coming from HPE where he was Chief Operating Officer of Hybrid Cloud and previously Chief Strategy Officer. He owns enterprise strategy, the transformation office and corporate development.
8. Competitive Landscape
CDW does not publish a market share figure and no reliable current US value-added reseller share estimate is available. The usable comparison is scale: CDW's US net sales of $19.62bn in fiscal 2025 dwarf Insight's total $8.25bn and Connection's $2.87bn, with privately held SHI International reporting more than $16bn of rolling twelve-month gross sales as at 14 October 2025.
| Peer | Market cap (August 2026) | Key 2025 metric |
|---|---|---|
| TD SYNNEX (SNX) | $20.00bn at the $250.14 close, 21 August 2026 | FY2025 revenue $62.51bn for the year ended 30 November 2025. A distributor rather than a reseller, and one of CDW's two largest suppliers |
| Arrow Electronics (ARW) | $10.73bn at the $210.85 close, 21 August 2026 | FY2025 revenue $30.85bn. Component and enterprise computing distribution |
| Insight Enterprises (NSIT) | $4.33bn at the $147.39 close, 21 August 2026 | FY2025 net sales $8.25bn, down 5.2% on $8.70bn in FY2024. The closest listed comparable to CDW |
| Connection (CNXN) | $1.97bn at the $77.93 close, 21 August 2026 | FY2025 net sales $2.87bn, up 2.5% on $2.80bn |
| Accenture (ACN) | $113.38bn as at August 2026 | FY2025 revenue $69.67bn for the year ended 31 August 2025. Competes on the services and integration side rather than product resale |
| SHI International | Private, no market capitalisation | More than $16bn of rolling twelve-month gross sales reported on 14 October 2025, with over 7,000 staff and more than 15,000 customer organisations |
9. Insider Activity
Chief Executive Christine A. Leahy remains the central figure here, and unusually for a large-cap technology name the recent signal from CDW insiders has been buying rather than selling. Leahy purchased shares on the open market on 18 May 2026, six days after the stock hit its 52-week low, and director David W. Nelms followed nine days later with a larger purchase. The only meaningful disposal in the period followed an option exercise.
| Name | Date | Type | Shares | Price | Value | Plan Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mukesh Kumar (Chief Services and Solutions Officer) | 17 Aug 2026 | Shares withheld for tax | 1,147 | $139.42 | $0.16m | RSU settlement withholding, code F |
| Elizabeth H. Connelly (Chief Commercial Officer) | 07 Aug 2026 | Sale after option exercise | 26,695 | $137.62 weighted average | $3.67m | Open market, no 10b5-1 plan indicated |
| David W. Nelms (Director) | 27 May 2026 | Purchase | 18,000 | $111.43 | $2.01m | Open market purchase |
| Christine A. Leahy (Chair, President and CEO) | 18 May 2026 | Purchase | 4,830 | $103.395 | $0.50m | Open market purchase |
| Hang Tan (Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer) | 11 May 2026 | Grant | 33,802 | Nil | Not applicable | New-hire equity award, code A |
| Katherine E. Sanderson (Officer) | 16 Mar 2026 | Shares withheld for tax | 2,205 | $116.16 | $0.26m | RSU settlement withholding, code F |
| Christine A. Leahy (Chair, President and CEO) | 12 Mar 2026 | Shares withheld for tax | 4,873 | $118.91 | $0.58m | RSU settlement withholding, code F |
Connelly's August disposal followed exercises of 11,795 options at $95.57 and 14,900 at $98.21, and reduced her holding by 44% to 34,215 shares. None of the transactions above is filed under a disclosed Rule 10b5-1 plan.
10. Key Risks
- Gross margin compression is confirmed, not speculative: margin fell 60 basis points in Q1 2026 and 70 basis points to 20.1% in Q2 2026, and management guides to further compression in the second half. The mechanism is large, low-margin hardware deals for enterprise AI-readiness projects diluting a ratio that had been inflated by netted-down software. Both 2026 earnings reactions were sharply negative despite revenue and earnings beats.
- Cyclical IT spending and demand pull-forward: fiscal 2023 net sales fell 10.0% and fiscal 2024 fell 1.8%. Management repeatedly describes customer behaviour as cautious and deliberate, and flags the possibility that customers who acted with urgency on hardware procurement have pulled demand forward from later periods.
- Tariffs and component cost inflation: the FY2025 Form 10-K names additional duties, tariffs and retaliatory tariffs as a risk factor, with Asian manufacturing concentration highlighted. Memory price inflation was called out on the Q2 2026 call as raising device average selling prices and pushing some customers toward cloud rather than hardware. CDW's cost-plus pricing passes tariff cost through, which mechanically dilutes the gross margin percentage.
- Government and education budget exposure: Government was 11.5% and Education 13.9% of fiscal 2025 net sales, a combined 25.4%, rising to 38.1% if Healthcare is included in the old Public segment definition. Education fell 1.8% in FY2025 and grew only 0.7% in Q2 2026. The risk factors specifically name adverse changes in government spending and funding policies, federal procurement policies and US government shutdowns.
- Vendor and distributor concentration: in 2025 CDW generated over $2.0bn of net sales from each of its three largest vendor partners. The 10-K states that a significant portion of sales derives from products made by Apple, Cisco, Dell Technologies, HP Inc., Lenovo and Microsoft, and that purchases from two wholesale distributors, Ingram Micro and TD SYNNEX, represent over 25% of total purchases. Individual vendor percentages are not disclosed. A change in terms or incentive structure at any one of these would hit supply, cost and vendor incentive income directly.
- Channel disintermediation by hyperscalers and direct OEM sales: the risk factors call out AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft marketplaces plus evolving partner authorisation and incentive models as a threat to the role of the traditional reseller, alongside OEMs selling direct and expanding services through acquisition.
- Leadership transition risk at a difficult moment: the Chief Financial Officer announced his intention to retire in 2027, the Chief Growth and Innovation Officer retired at the end of 2025, and a new Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer only started in April 2026. Three C-suite changes inside twelve months, coinciding with a margin transition, is a genuine execution risk.
11. Recent Developments
- 04 Feb 2026 — CDW reports fourth quarter and full-year 2025 results and the shares rise 9.4%. Fourth quarter net sales of $5,511.0m, up 6.3%, gross margin of 22.8% and non-GAAP EPS of $2.57. Full-year net sales of $22,424.1m and non-GAAP EPS of $10.02, up 5.2%. A $0.630 quarterly dividend was declared the same day.
- 20 Feb 2026 — FY2025 Form 10-K filed, confirming the segment realignment effective 1 January 2026. Corporate, Small Business and Public become Commercial, Government and Education, with recast history from the first quarter of 2026. The filing also discloses more than $2.0bn of net sales from each of the three largest vendor partners.
- 23 Apr 2026 — CDW names Hang Tan Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, effective 27 April 2026, reporting to Christine Leahy and owning enterprise strategy, the transformation office and corporate development.
- 06 May 2026 — First quarter 2026 results and a 20.3% share price collapse. Net sales of $5,679.8m, up 9.2%, and non-GAAP EPS of $2.28, up 6.3%, but non-GAAP operating income missed expectations and gross margin fell about 60 basis points on a lower mix of netted-down revenue. The full-year gross profit outlook was nevertheless raised.
- 12 May 2026 — the shares reach a 52-week low of $97.12, six days after the first quarter report, having traded at $136.80 immediately before it.
- 13 May 2026 — the board authorises a $1.0bn increase to the share repurchase programme, on top of roughly $484m remaining at 31 March 2026. CDW has returned approximately $8.4bn to shareholders since the June 2013 relisting.
- 27 May 2026 — director David Nelms buys 18,000 shares at $111.43, following Chief Executive Christine Leahy's own open-market purchase of 4,830 shares at $103.395 on 18 May 2026. The two purchases total roughly $2.5m.
- 05 Aug 2026 — Second quarter 2026 results, a guidance raise and the CFO retirement announcement, with the shares falling 9.0%. Record net sales of $6,572.2m, up 10.0%, and record non-GAAP EPS of $2.91, up 11.9%, both ahead of consensus. Gross margin fell 70 basis points to 20.1%, free cash flow was negative $82.6m on a roughly $400m inventory build, and CFO Albert Miralles announced he plans to retire in 2027. Full-year gross profit guidance was raised to mid single-digit growth.
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12. Key Dates to Watch
- 25 Aug 2026 — record date and ex-dividend date for the $0.630 quarterly dividend declared on 5 August 2026
- 10 Sep 2026 — payment date for that $0.630 quarterly dividend
- Expected October 2026 — announcement of the confirmed third quarter 2026 reporting date. CDW issued the equivalent notice on 21 October in 2025
- Expected early November 2026 — third quarter 2026 results, released before market open with a call at 08:30 Eastern, together with the fourth quarter dividend declaration and the company's annual dividend review. Q3 2025 was reported on 4 November 2025, and the last dividend increase was announced on 4 November 2025
- Expected February 2027 — fourth quarter and full-year 2026 results with the initial FY2027 outlook. FY2025 results were released on 4 February 2026
- Expected during 2027 — completion of the Chief Financial Officer succession and the retirement of Albert Miralles, who remains in post until a successor is appointed and will then move to an advisory role
- Expected May 2027 — 2027 annual meeting of stockholders. The 2026 meeting was held on 21 May 2026
No investor day has been announced for 2026. CDW presented at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference in February 2026 and the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications conference in May 2026.
Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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13. Thesis Verdict
The central thesis. CDW Corporation is a multi-brand IT solutions provider that buys from more than 1,000 vendors and resells to over 250,000 customer organisations with configuration, integration and lifecycle services attached, taking principal treatment on hardware and agent treatment on a large slice of software and cloud. Fiscal 2025 net sales were $22,424.1m, up 6.8%, with gross profit of $4,873.4m at a 21.7% margin, GAAP diluted EPS of $8.08 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $10.02. The second quarter of 2026 set records for net sales at $6,572.2m and non-GAAP EPS at $2.91, and on 5 August 2026 management raised the full-year outlook for a second time, to mid single-digit gross profit growth and non-GAAP EPS growth at the high end of a high single-digit range. The near-term catalyst is the Geared for Growth efficiency programme, targeting $100m to $200m of annual run-rate savings by 2027 to 2028 with benefits starting in the second half of 2026.
What would confirm or break it. Gross margin stabilising nearer the 21.7% fiscal 2025 level, cash conversion returning to the stated 80% to 90% of non-GAAP net income after the first-half working capital build, and continued Government, Healthcare and international momentum would confirm that 2026 is a mix transition rather than a structural derating. The thesis breaks if gross margin keeps compressing as it did in both 2026 quarters while hardware mix rises, if the education and government channels weaken further from a combined 25.4% of net sales, if hyperscaler marketplaces and direct OEM selling erode the reseller's role as the Form 10-K risk factors warn, or if net leverage drifts above the 2.0x to 3.0x target against stockholders' equity of only $2,442.1m and negative tangible book value.
Watchpoints
- ConfirmsSubsequent earnings and filings reinforcing the figures presented in this report.
- ConfirmsEvidence supporting the "Record operating performance at a modest multiple:" thesis continuing to build across subsequent filings.
- InvalidatesMaterialisation of the "Gross margin compression is confirmed, not speculative:" risk, or any disclosure that fundamentally alters the capital-return or growth profile stated by management.
Diagnostic grid
Generated by ChartsView research tooling. Thesis strength measures how well the evidence in this report supports the company's stated thesis — it is NOT a buy/sell rating or price target. ChartsView is not authorised by the FCA to provide regulated investment advice. Generated 23 Aug 2026.
