Electrical supplies distributor Wesco reported its 2025 first quarter results on May 1, which showed a near-6% organic growth year-over-year, sparked by a 70% growth in data center sales.

The Pittsburgh-based company posted total 1Q sales of $5.34 million, down 0.1% year-over-year, with organic sales at 5.6%. Wesco said the organic sales increase reflects the data center market growth, as well as growth in the Broadband and OEM businesses.

“Our first quarter sales growth was partially offset by continued weakness in our utility business, as expected. With that said, our positive momentum is building to start the second quarter with preliminary April sales per workday up 7% versus prior year. Our opportunity pipeline continues at a record level, bid activity levels remain very strong, and backlog is growing,” Wesco Chairman, President and CEO John Engel said in an earnings report.

Wesco’s 1Q gross margin of 21.1% was down 20 basis points year-over-year due to a decrease in Communications & Security Solutions (CSS) and Electrical & Electronic Solution (EES) margins, partially offset by the impact of the 2024 divestiture of the Wesco Integrated Supply business.

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Adjusted EBITDA decreased 8.7% YoY to $310.7 million, reflecting an $6.9 million increase in SG&A expenses, primarily driven by higher facilities and transportation costs partially offset by lower payroll expense, a $6.3 million decrease in net sales and a $6.0 million increase in cost of goods sold related to increased large project sales to customers.

“Against a backdrop of increased uncertainty and volatility, we remain sharply focused on what we can control – our cross-selling activities, our enterprise-wide margin improvement program, and operational improvements resulting from our tech-enabled business transformation,” Engel said. “We recognize that current economic uncertainty is impacting our customers and are committed to providing the products, services, and solutions that they need for their operations and supply chains. I remain confident that Wesco will outperform our markets this year as the secular growth trends of AI-driven data centers, increased power generation, electrification, automation, and reshoring endure.”

By Wesco business unit in 1Q:

• Electrical & Electronic Solution (EES) sales of $2.1 billion remained flat year-over-year, with organic sales up by 3.4%
• Communications & Security Solutions (CSS) sales of $2.0 billion increased 17.3% year-over-year, with organic sales up 18.1%.  In 1Q, a portion of the EES reportable segment was moved to the CSS reportable segment as a result of operational realignment.
• Utility & Broadband Solutions (UBS) sales of $1.28 billion decreased 19.2% year-over-year, while organic sales increased 4.9%

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Wesco was No. 1 on MDM’s Top Distributors List for Electrical/Data/Security Supplies, and was designated an 2025 MDM Industry Titan for ranking in the top three of MDM’s annual Top Distributors list for the past five consecutive years.