The industrial sector likely saw strong demand in the first quarter, despite concerns around the impact of the Iran war, Truist Securities said in a note on Friday.
The broader momentum is attributable to improved demand in machinery markets and growth across data centers, aerospace, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, according to the note.
"Rising input costs tied to the Iran war are manageable in the short term," Truist analysts, including Jamie Cook, said.
While there are worries tied to tariffs, "we would be more concerned about a prolonged war with Iran and the potential macro repercussions," Cook said.
Oil prices plunged on Friday after Iran opened the Strait of Hormuz following a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Energy prices have surged following the US-Israel war with Tehran. US President Donald Trump has expressed optimism over the prospects of a deal with Iran ahead of the expiration of a two-week ceasefire between the two sides.
"We see a positive setup for first-quarter prints across machinery, multi-industry and infrastructure services," Cook wrote.
Within the machinery industry, the brokerage maintained 2026 estimates for Deere (DE), AGCO (AGCO) and CNH Industrial (CNH) amid order momentum. Caterpillar (CAT) is expected to deliver another strong quarter, Cook said.
Infrastructure service companies AECOM (ACM) and Jacobs (J) must convince investors with sustainable organic growth and margin improvement, though Jacobs is seen posting a solid quarter.
Multi industry player Parker-Hannifin (PH) is on track for continued earnings beats and raises, with signs that industrial organic growth is improving, Cook said. AMETEK (AME) is recovering and holds capacity for more deals, according to the research note.
AMETEK completed its acquisition of Faro Technologies in 2025.