HON Stock Gains Overnight: Will The Updated Outlook Revive Interest In The Automation Giant?

Honeywell revised 2026 guidance for its reverse stock split, as investors reassess its industrial automation business ahead of earnings.

• Honeywell’s 1-for-2 reverse stock split doubled adjusted EPS guidance to $7.90–$8.30 for the full year and $4.40–$4.70 for the second half.
• Honeywell kept its full-year sales outlook at $19.9 billion to $20.2 billion, with 2% to 3% organic growth.
• Following the spinoff of Honeywell Aerospace, Honeywell Technologies is now focused on Building, Industrial and Process Automation.

Honeywell Technologies (HON) stock gained overnight after the company updated its 2026 guidance to reflect its recently completed 1-for-2 reverse stock split, drawing renewed investor attention to its evolution into a pure-play industrial automation company following the spinoff of its aerospace business. 

HON’s Reverse Stock Split Lifts EPS Outlook 

Honeywell maintained its fiscal full-year sales forecast of $19.9 billion to $20.2 billion and continued to expect organic growth of 2% to 3%. Segment margin guidance also remained unchanged at 19.8% to 20.3%, with projected margin expansion of 220 to 270 basis points.

The reverse split doubled the adjusted earnings-per-share guidance because the number of shares outstanding was halved. Honeywell now expects fiscal full-year adjusted EPS of $7.90 to $8.30, compared with its earlier range of $3.95 to $4.15. For the second half of 2026, adjusted EPS is now projected at $4.40 to $4.70, replacing the previous forecast of $2.20 to $2.35.

The company updated its weighted average share count assumption to approximately 319 million shares from 639 million. Honeywell left its full-year operating cash flow target of about $2.1 billion and free cash flow outlook of roughly $2.0 billion unchanged. 

However, its second-half operating cash flow estimate was revised to approximately $1.7 billion from about $2.3 billion, while second-half free cash flow guidance remained near $1.5 billion.

Honeywell Technologies’ stock traded more than 1% higher overnight ahead of Thursday. 

Honeywell’s Business Transformation

Following the late June separation of Honeywell Aerospace (HONA), Honeywell Technologies now operates as a more focused industrial automation company. Under CEO Vimal Kapur, Honeywell has narrowed its focus to three high-margin businesses – Building Automation, Industrial Automation, and Process Automation. 

One week after Honeywell split into two companies, Honeywell Aerospace has been the stronger performer, rising about 5% over the past week. The business is seen as having stronger long-term growth potential due to its leadership in key aircraft systems. 

Honeywell Technologies, meanwhile, has fallen 1% since the separation. The weakness is believed to stem from investors selling the automation business after keeping the aerospace unit, which was considered the more valuable part of the former conglomerate. 

The company is scheduled to report its fiscal second-quarter (Q2) 2026 financial results on July 23. Analysts expect $5 billion in revenue and earnings of $1.81 per share, according to Fiscal AI data. 

HON Retail Traders View 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock remained ‘extremely bearish’ with a 500% increase in message volume in 24 hours. 

A user said, “The business outlook remains intact. Now the focus shifts to execution, margins, and whether Honeywell can turn steady guidance into stronger momentum.”

HON stock has gained over 7% year-to-date. 

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