Donaldson Filtration Q3 FY2026: Net Earnings Double to $118M as Dividend Rises 6.7% — HVAC Filtration Context

Donaldson Company Inc. (NYSE: DCI) of Minneapolis, a global leader in technology-led filtration products and solutions, reported third quarter fiscal 2026 GAAP net earnings of $118.1 million — compared with $57.8 million in Q3 fiscal 2025, more than doubling year-over-year. Earnings per share of $1.00 compared with $0.48 a year earlier. The company also declared a regular cash dividend of 32.0 cents per share, an increase of 6.7% from the prior quarterly dividend — marking the 30th consecutive year of annual dividend increases. The dividend is payable June 30, 2026 to shareholders of record on June 15.

Donaldson is not a pure HVAC company — its filtration portfolio spans industrial air and liquid filtration, exhaust and emissions systems, and aerospace and defence filtration alongside building and HVAC filtration. But its performance is directly relevant to the HVAC industry as one of the leading suppliers of commercial building air filtration, data centre filtration, and industrial process filtration that intersects with HVAC system performance.

The HVAC Filtration Connection

Donaldson's Building and Construction filtration segment serves the commercial HVAC market with high-efficiency air filtration products including HEPA and MERV-rated filters for commercial air handling units, hospital HVAC systems, clean rooms, and data centre cooling systems. The segment's performance reflects the same commercial building demand dynamic that is driving Trane's record backlog and Comfort Systems' record stock price.

Data centre filtration is a specific and growing Donaldson opportunity. As hyperscaler data centre construction accelerates — Carrier's 500% data centre order growth and Trane's 40% commercial HVAC booking growth both confirm the pace — the filtration systems protecting sensitive electronics in those facilities from particulate contamination represent a growing recurring revenue stream for filtration specialists like Donaldson.

• HEPA filtration for data centres: Server rooms and data centres require extremely clean air to protect sensitive electronics. HEPA-rated filtration systems — which Donaldson manufactures — capture 99.97% or more of particles 0.3 microns or larger, protecting equipment and extending its operational life.

• Hospital and healthcare HVAC filtration: The same healthcare construction wave driving commercial HVAC demand requires high-efficiency filtration for operating rooms, isolation rooms, and pharmaceutical manufacturing areas.

• Residential HVAC filtration: Donaldson also serves the residential market through commercial channels — the post-pandemic IAQ awareness that elevated consumer interest in higher-efficiency home air filtration is a sustained demand driver.

Donaldson Company's Q3 FY2026 results — $118.1 million in net earnings, more than double Q3 FY2025, with a 6.7% dividend increase marking 30 consecutive years of annual dividend growth — confirm robust filtration market demand that reflects the same commercial building, data centre, and healthcare HVAC demand driving record performance across the broader HVAC supply chain.

30 Consecutive Years of Dividend Increases

Donaldson's 30th consecutive year of annual dividend increases places it in the S&P High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index — a small group of companies that have raised dividends for 25 or more consecutive years. This consistency reflects a business with durable, recurring revenue from filtration replacement across its installed base — the same replacement dynamics that make HVAC service agreements valuable, applied to a global industrial and commercial filtration installed base.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Donaldson's Q3 FY2026 results?

Donaldson Company reported Q3 FY2026 GAAP net earnings of $118.1 million ($1.00 EPS) — more than double the $57.8 million ($0.48 EPS) of Q3 FY2025. The company declared a 6.7% dividend increase to 32.0 cents per share, payable June 30, 2026, marking the 30th consecutive year of annual dividend increases.

How does Donaldson relate to the HVAC industry?

Donaldson supplies high-efficiency air filtration products for commercial building HVAC systems, hospital air handling units, data centre cooling systems, and residential HVAC. Its Building and Construction segment benefits from the same commercial building, data centre, and healthcare demand driving record performance across the broader HVAC supply chain.