nVent Electric

NVent announced it's buying Maverick Power for $1.75 billion, with additional consideration of $550 million in cash based on certain performance metrics in 2027 and 2028. It expects to close the acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Why it matters: Maverick strengthens nVent's position in the high-growth data center market, especially in power distribution. Maverick's equipment mostly complements nVent's solutions, so we like the strategic rationale. The purchase price is also attractive. Most of Maverick's equipment focuses on low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear, along with power distribution units, while much of nVent's portfolio is focused on liquid cooling, rack power, cable management, and grounding (safety wiring). Put simply, nVent mostly sells equipment at the front end of the supply chain (structures housing electrical equipment), and the back end of the supply chain (everything in and around the server rack); Maverick focuses on the middle part of the supply chain, from our initial take.

The bottom line: We raise our fair value estimate for narrow-moat-rated nVent to $136 from $131. We have little visibility into Maverick Power, but we estimate that it's worth roughly 20 times forward EBITDA, just below where Powell Industries, another switchgear supplier, trades. NVent is paying 11.5 times relative to 2026 adjusted EBITDA, or 10.5 times when adjusted for the present value of expected tax benefits. From what we gather, peers on PitchBook trade on nearly 21 times forward EBITDA, so nVent is buying Maverick at a deep relative discount. Management didn’t provide forward sales growth estimates; we've read that Maverick has grown by triple-digit percentages over the past couple of years, having only started operations in 2020. Even with revenue deceleration, we think the purchase creates $700 million in value.

We lift our fair value estimate for narrow-moat rated nVent to $136 from $131 previously. We have little visibility into Maverick Power, but we estimate that it's worth roughly 20 times forward EBITDA, just below where Powell Industries, another switchgear supplier, trades. nVent is paying 11.5 times relative to 2026 adjusted EBITDA, so nVent is buying Maverick at a deep relative discount. Even though we assume revenue deceleration from its astronomic triple-digit-percentage sales growth, we think the purchase creates $700 million in value.

Excluding the impact of Maverick, we're still modeling over 38% sales growth in 2026, including M&A. Long-term, we've now modeled a near-15 % organic revenue CAGR with a mid-20s incremental margin entitlement. Even so, we remain low relative to analyst price targets. Like much of the industrial supply chain tied to data centers, we think nVent is priced high relative to fundamentals.

The two largest valuation drivers for nVent are revenue growth and operating profit margins for the two segments. We expect compound annual revenue growth of nearly 14% over our five-year forecast period. We expect the strongest growth in the systems protection segment, with slower growth in the electrical connections segment.

We forecast modest margin improvements following significant margin expansion in 2023. We expect electrical connections to remain the segment with the highest margin, reaching 31% at our midcycle assumption.

We expect modest margin improvement in systems protection, with segment margins rising to above 22% by 2028. We anticipate a segment income margin of approximately 22% in 2028, about even with 2023. We expect favorable productivity dynamics, as well as additional operating leverage, to drive the margin expansion.

We believe nVent has a narrow moat based primarily on switching costs and intangible assets. The majority of nVent’s product portfolio, such as enclosures or fasteners, could be considered rather generic. However, we think the company has carved out a leading market share in electrical connections and protection.

NVent’s product portfolio deals with mission-critical electrical systems, which creates a high cost of failure for end customers, but these products typically account for a small fraction of the overall product cost. We believe this makes customers hesitant to switch to a competitor.

NVent’s systems protection segment has a narrow moat. The enclosures market is global and encompasses a wide array of use cases. We estimate nVent is the second-largest enclosures provider globally but first in the US. This fails to capture nVent’s large share within its core market: large electrical distributors.

The majority of the segment’s revenue is through electrical distribution. We estimate nVent has more than a 50% share in enclosures among the largest five to 10 electrical distributors. We attribute this partially to the breadth of the company's product portfolio, which often offers the widest selection of enclosures through leading US electrical distributors. For example, nVent offers almost more than 4 times the number of enclosures on Graybar’s (a large electric distributor) website versus the next-highest brand.

The systems protection segment's moat is primarily supported by switching costs. Enclosures often protect critical components but account for a small percentage of the total value of the end product. A typical enclosure may cost $500-$1,000, but the components within the enclosure may be worth many multiples of that. In addition, there are often technical specifications required, given the electronic components inside. Enclosures’ narrow moat is further supported by intangible assets, including relationships with top distributors, brand recognition (associated with its Hoffman brand), and a degree of customization depending on the use case.

In addition to standard enclosures, nVent’s enclosures business includes products for data centers, such as its liquid cooling offerings. These offerings are fast-growing, but we don’t believe they support a moat at this stage. The market for data center cooling infrastructure is in the early stages and still rapidly evolving.

While nVent has a first-mover advantage in this area, there remains considerable uncertainty related to the competitive landscape and which technology will be preferred long-term. Revenue associated with these offerings accounts for less than 20% of segment revenue, resulting in a limited impact on our segment moat rating overall. In addition, many of these sales are direct to the customer, which often places a greater emphasis on price than sales through distributors.

NVent’s electrical connections segment warrants a narrow moat rating, supported by switching costs and intangible assets. Similar to enclosures, the electrical and fastening market contains many niche markets. We believe nVent has the leading market share in the US. Some of the company’s products compete with offerings from other industrial electrical equipment companies, such as Eaton’s B-Line offerings.

Similar to enclosures, nVent’s fastener portfolio consists of products that are mission-critical but typically a small percentage of the overall project cost. For example, its standard J-hook from its Caddy portfolio typically sells for less than $5, limiting customers’ inclination to switch. Similar to its systems protection segment, much of electrical connections' sales are through distributors, with the end customer being an electrical contractor.

We think the electrical connections segment, and specifically its Caddy line of products, benefits from a strong brand with end contractors. Contractors are price-agnostic toward fastening solutions, given the small share of total project cost. Much of nVent’s fastener portfolio focuses on ease of installation, which we believe is a bigger factor for contractors than price.

Increasing electrification and digitalization of the economy bode well for nVent. More than 70% of the company's portfolio is exposed to secular growth trends.

NVent has exposure to the fast-growing data center market with its liquid cooling solutions.

NVent boasts a robust financial profile with approximately 20% operating margins and low capital intensity.

Despite long histories, many of nVent’s products are simple, such as its core enclosure and fastener solutions.

The data center liquid cooling market is likely to experience new competitive threats and faces greater technological uncertainty than nVent’s core portfolio.

NVent’s acquisitive nature creates the risk of poor deals.