Westcon-Comstor lifts sales & profit on software shift
Wed, 27th May 2026 (Today)
Westcon-Comstor reported higher sales and profit for FY26, driven by a continued shift towards software and services.
Gross sales rose 9.6% year on year to USD $5.74 billion, while gross profit increased 13.1% to USD $499.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 15% to USD $172.4 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin widened to 8.9% from 8.0%.
Gross margin improved to 25.8% from 23.5% a year earlier, as non-hardware and recurring revenue made up a larger share of the business.
Software and services represented 71% of total gross sales, up from 68% in the previous year. Recurring gross sales increased 12.8% to USD $3.89 billion, taking recurring business to 68% of total gross sales from 66% a year earlier.
The cybersecurity unit remained the largest contributor to sales. Gross sales in that business rose 12.4% to USD $3.02 billion and accounted for 52% of total gross sales, up from 51% in FY25.
Westcon-Comstor operates across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific, with a focus on cybersecurity, networking and hybrid cloud. Demand for multivendor security products, along with support for channel partners in increasingly complex customer environments, helped drive growth in the cybersecurity business.
Business mix
The latest figures show how far the distributor has moved away from heavier reliance on hardware transactions, where pricing can be more volatile. A larger share of sales now comes from areas that recur more regularly and can offer better margins.
That shift is also changing the role of distributors across the wider technology channel. Vendors and partners increasingly want help with lifecycle selling and building services-led revenue streams, rather than relying mainly on one-off product deals.
Chief Executive Officer David Grant said the results reflected progress on both financial and strategic targets.
"FY26 was another year of strong execution, with progress across our key financial and strategic priorities," Grant said.
He also highlighted the effect of the changing sales mix on the business's resilience.
"We have delivered sustained growth in gross sales while significantly increasing profitability and expanding margins. Our continued shift towards lifecycle selling, software and services is strengthening the resilience of our business and aligning us to areas of the market with more predictable demand. Distribution can play a central role in helping partners navigate the volatility we're seeing in hardware pricing, providing the insight, intelligence and agility to manage risk and maintain momentum. Looking to the future we see huge opportunities in AI and automation, along with platform and marketplace-led motions, as we enable partners to turn capability into packaged, scalable offerings that drive repeatable revenue," Grant said.
Profit growth
Profitability grew faster than the top line over the year. Gross profit growth of 13.1% outpaced the 9.6% rise in gross sales, while adjusted EBITDA also grew faster than revenue.
That suggests the changing composition of the business, alongside tighter execution, is feeding through to margins. A 2.3-percentage-point increase in gross margin accompanied the rise in non-hardware and recurring sales.
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Callum McGregor said the performance came despite difficult trading conditions.
"Our performance in FY26 demonstrates the continued success and resilience of our business, and our ability to sustain growth despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop," McGregor said.
He said profit benefited from improved mix and operating discipline.
"Profitability has grown ahead of gross sales, supported by improved mix and disciplined execution. At the same time, we have further increased the proportion of recurring and non-hardware gross sales, strengthening predictability and positioning us for continued growth. With strong fundamentals, a healthy pipeline and a future-ready business model, we are well placed to build on this momentum in FY27 and beyond," McGregor said.
Westcon-Comstor has a presence in more than 50 countries and goes to market through Westcon, Comstor and Rebura.