Clayton-based Belden is turning the AI infrastructure boom into a very profitable wiring job, reporting record quarterly revenue and orders as demand for data center connectivity accelerates. The company posted $750.2 million in revenue for its fiscal second quarter and said orders reached a record $836 million. Revenue was up 12% from the same quarter last year.
The results, reported Thursday and covering the quarter that ended June 28, show Belden’s AI bet is beginning to show up in hard numbers. The St. Louis Business Journal reported that President and CEO Ashish Chand pointed to rising investment in AI data centers as a key driver behind the performance.
Belden Is Selling More Than Cables To AI Builders
Belden’s pitch to data center operators goes well beyond traditional fiber and copper connectivity. The company’s data-center strategy includes racks, power distribution, cooling controls, automation, cybersecurity and network infrastructure designed for high-density AI workloads.
That broader product mix matters because AI facilities require more power, cooling and networking capacity than conventional data centers. Belden says its solutions are aimed at helping operators deploy capacity faster while managing the infrastructure demands created by increasingly dense computing systems.
Record Quarter Came In At Top Of Earlier Forecast
The latest revenue figure also landed at the high end of the company’s previous expectations. In its first-quarter release, Belden forecast second-quarter revenue of $735 million to $750 million and said customers were continuing to invest in digitization, automation and the convergence of information technology with operational technology.
Belden’s first-quarter revenue was $696 million, meaning the company added more than $54 million sequentially. The jump suggests demand remained strong even as Belden warned earlier in the year that macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions could make near-term visibility less predictable.
RUCKUS Deal Broadens Belden’s Networking Ambitions
The Clayton company is also trying to build a larger networking platform around that demand. Belden announced in April that it planned to buy RUCKUS Networks for approximately $1.85 billion, a deal the company says would add Wi-Fi, enterprise switching and an AI-driven cloud networking platform to its portfolio, according to its RUCKUS acquisition announcement.
The acquisition is expected to close during the second half of 2026, subject to customary conditions. Taken together with the data center push, it shows Belden pursuing a broader strategy: sell the physical infrastructure, industrial networking and enterprise technology that keep increasingly data-hungry businesses online.
AI Demand Is Adding Fuel To An Already Strong Business
Belden’s second-quarter revenue was $672 million a year earlier, according to the company’s 2025 earnings release. The latest record therefore represents another step up for a company that already entered 2026 after reporting record full-year revenue in 2025.
For St. Louis, the headline is a local manufacturer benefiting from a global technology buildout that shows little sign of slowing. Belden’s latest numbers suggest AI is no longer just an ambitious theme in corporate presentations; for the company, it is becoming a meaningful source of orders.
