WESCO Int'l (NYSE: WCC) reported Q3 EPS of $1.41, $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of $1.36. Revenue for the quarter came in at $2.1 billion versus the consensus estimate of $2.1 billion.

Mr. John J. Engel, WESCO's Chairman, President and CEO, commented, "We had another strong quarter and are pleased with our return to profitable growth in 2018. This is the third consecutive quarter that we delivered double-digit growth in operating profit and EPS. Organic sales growth was within our expected range for the quarter, with all end markets contributing. Operating margin expanded sequentially and year-over-year, reflecting the success of our value selling and margin improvement initiatives. Free cash flow generation was also very strong in the quarter, driven by effective working capital management. In addition, we have increased our current share repurchase authorization from $300 million to $400 million. After returning $25 million to shareholders in the third quarter via a share repurchase, we now plan on accelerating the pace of our share buyback program. The free cash flow generation capability of our business supports continued investment in our differentiated, services-oriented business model and One WESCO growth initiatives, including acquisitions, while providing us with the ability to return capital to our shareholders."

Mr. Engel continued, "We remain steadfast in our continued commitment to deliver profitable growth in 2018 and beyond. Based on our year-to-date results and our positive view of the end markets, we have narrowed the ranges for our full-year expectations for sales, operating margin and EPS and increased our expectations for free cash flow generation to be approximately 100% of net income."

Mr. Engel added, "As outlined last quarter, we are providing our first end market outlook for 2019 today. We expect all of our end markets to remain healthy and to continue to provide excellent profitable growth opportunities for WESCO. Our outlook includes above-market sales results, execution of our profitable growth initiatives, investments in our people and processes, and maintaining our cost and cash management discipline. As a result, we expect sales growth in the range of 3% to 6% for next year and will provide the balance of our 2019 outlook during our fourth quarter earnings call in January. Customers are seeking continuous improvement and supply chain stability in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. Our talented team of associates and our robust portfolio of products and value-added services continue to differentiate WESCO in providing our customers with complete solutions for their MRO, OEM and capital project needs."

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