Belden (BDC) Goldman Sachs Industrials and Materials Conference summary

Solution sales strategy and progress

• Solutions now account for just over 10% of revenue, with a target of 20% by 2028, driven by both automation and smart infrastructure segments.

• Solution sales are defined by customer engagement and integration of multiple products, services, or software, not just product bundling.

• Solution sales are more profitable due to higher-margin products and have improved profitability in the industrial business.

• Partnerships with AWS, Accenture, and others enhance solution capabilities, enabling efficient data integration and implementation.

• Recent acquisitions (Precision Optical, Voleatech) have expanded solution offerings and accelerated R&D, receiving positive customer feedback.

Product innovation and customer traction

• Belden Horizon, a data orchestration platform, is gaining traction across verticals, with a new AI-enabled version launching soon.

• Horizon is fully interoperable and has been successfully implemented in sectors like healthcare, enabling unified data management.

• The solutions pipeline grew 30% from January to September, reflecting strong customer interest and robust validation processes.

Market trends and regional performance

• Order growth has been sequentially positive for four quarters, with optimism for the second half of 2024 as destocking nears completion.

• Americas region is performing best, while Europe, especially Germany, faces challenges; Asia remains a smaller market.

• Reshoring and reindustrialization are driving medium-term optimism, with automation and digitization seen as key to capacity expansion.