Oshkosh Corporation (OSK) Business Profile

What it does

Oshkosh Corporation designs and manufactures specialized vehicles and equipment for construction, emergency response, airports, waste collection, defense and delivery. Founded in 1917 and headquartered in Oshkosh, the company is led by President and Chief Executive Officer John C. Pfeifer.

Its Access business makes aerial work platforms that lift people to work at height, as well as telehandlers, which lift and move materials. Customers include equipment rental companies, contractors and home improvement centers. The business also makes towing and recovery vehicles.

The Vocational business makes fire trucks, airport ground equipment, refuse and recycling vehicles, field service vehicles and concrete mixers. It also provides airport services, including maintenance and operation of baggage and other facility systems. Its customers range from municipal fire departments and waste haulers to airlines and airports.

The Transport business makes tactical vehicles for the U.S. military and approved international customers. It also builds the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, or NGDV, for the U.S. Postal Service. Beyond manufacturing, Oshkosh supplies parts, maintenance and other support for vehicles and equipment already in use.

Oshkosh operates through dealers, distributors, rental companies and direct sales teams, depending on the product and customer. At December 31, 2025, it had approximately 18,400 employees.

How it makes money

Consolidated sales were $10.4 billion in 2025 and $2.8 billion in the third quarter of 2026.

Oshkosh earns revenue principally by making and selling vehicles and equipment. Access products include JLG aerial work platforms and telehandlers, SkyTrak material-handling equipment, and Jerr-Dan towing and recovery vehicles. Rental companies and distributors purchase JLG equipment and then rent or sell it to end users. Access also sells parts and accessories and offers technical support, training and reconditioning.

Vocational sells products such as Pierce and Maxi-Metal fire apparatus, McNeilus refuse trucks and Oshkosh AeroTech airport equipment. It also earns revenue from services: AeroTech maintains and operates airport systems, while McNeilus provides parts and aftermarket support. Fire apparatus can be customized to customer requirements and sold through independent dealers.

Transport manufactures military vehicles and postal delivery vehicles, and provides defense parts and sustainment services. Much of its defense work is performed under multi-year contracts. The Postal Service contract permits purchases of up to 165,000 vehicles over ten years; through December 2025, the Postal Service had ordered 51,500 NGDVs. Oshkosh recognizes revenue on substantially all Transport performance obligations over time, using costs incurred relative to estimated total costs to measure progress.

Prices depend on the product and contract. Most defense contracts are multi-year, firm fixed-price agreements, although some contracts include economic price adjustments. In 2025, improved pricing contributed to higher Vocational sales, while higher sales discounts reduced Access results. Parts, service and vehicle sustainment create revenue after the initial equipment sale, but Oshkosh does not disclose their share of sales in these figures.

Customers and how it sells

Oshkosh sells to both commercial and government customers. Access buyers include equipment rental companies, construction contractors and home improvement centers. Vocational customers include municipal fire departments, airports, airlines, waste haulers and ready-mix concrete businesses. Transport serves the U.S. Department of Defense, approved foreign customers and the U.S. Postal Service.

Sales to the U.S. government accounted for approximately 20% of net sales in 2025, with a substantial majority under multi-year defense vehicle contracts and programs. No other single customer accounted for more than 10% of net sales that year. The United States accounted for 82.2% of revenue in FY2025; Europe, Africa and the Middle East accounted for 10.7%.

The route to market differs by business. JLG sells through rental companies and distributors that provide service as well as rent or resell equipment. Pierce uses independent dealers to reach fire departments and municipalities and to provide local parts and service. Oshkosh Defense sells much of its domestic defense production directly to the Department of Defense and also uses U.S. government channels, dealers and representatives for international sales.

In the third quarter of 2026, Access orders included early annual purchase orders for 2027 from select national rental companies. The company also received a follow-on order for tractors and trailers from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.

Suppliers and costs

Oshkosh buys raw materials and components domestically and internationally and purchases complete truck chassis for some Access and Vocational products. Components generally are available from numerous suppliers, but replacing some sole-source components would take additional time. The company monitors supplier capacity, financial health, cybersecurity and other factors that could interrupt production or logistics.

The company manufactures products at 37 manufacturing facilities. Its production costs include materials, labor and overhead; it also incurs warranty, engineering and selling and administrative expenses. Lower production can leave fixed costs spread across fewer units. In 2025, higher labor and overhead costs contributed to a decline in consolidated gross margin, and tariffs enacted in the United States cost the company $35 million.

Oshkosh seeks firm prices from suppliers for significant defense components when it enters fixed-price contracts. Some government contracts also include economic price adjustment clauses. In the third quarter of 2026, key suppliers continued to constrain the NGDV production ramp. Oshkosh is adding supply buffers and expects them to help normalize production by the middle of 2027.

Competitive position

Oshkosh competes with both specialized manufacturers and larger producers. In aerial work platforms, JLG faces Genie, a Terex subsidiary, as well as Skyjack, Haulotte, XCMG and others. Telehandler competitors include J C Bamford Excavators and Manitou. Competition involves price, product performance, availability, service and brand awareness.

In fire apparatus, Pierce and Maxi-Metal compete with Rosenbauer and REV Group, a Terex subsidiary. In refuse vehicles, competitors include Terex’s Environmental Solutions Group and Federal Signal’s New Way Trucks. Defense competitors include AM General, BAE Systems and General Dynamics; Rivian is among the competitors for delivery vehicles.

Oshkosh has dealer and service networks, an installed base of equipment and sole-source positions on several key Department of Defense vehicle platforms. It also develops proprietary components and shares technology across product lines. Some competitors have greater financial, manufacturing, distribution or other resources, and Oshkosh faces import-related pricing pressure, particularly in Access.

Our reading: The dealer and parts networks provide a meaningful competitive advantage because customers need local support throughout a vehicle’s life, particularly for fire apparatus. Our reading: Specialized engineering and existing defense platforms also help Oshkosh compete, but their protection is limited by competitive bidding and government efforts to obtain vehicle design rights.

Growth opportunities

Oshkosh seeks to expand into adjacent products, markets and geographies while adding technology and lifecycle services. Its product development work includes connected equipment, electrification and autonomy. The company has also used acquisitions to add product categories, including AUSA’s wheeled dumpers, rough-terrain forklifts and telehandlers.

Backlog was $14.2 billion at December 31, 2025, including $6.6 billion in Vocational and $6.2 billion in Transport. Oshkosh cautions that backlog can be canceled or changed and may not indicate future results. Approximately 53% of its year-end backlog was not expected to be filled in 2026.

Access demand improved in the third quarter of 2026, with orders of $2 billion and backlog of $2.7 billion at quarter-end. Oshkosh said large infrastructure investments and data-center projects were supporting demand. It also made a strategic investment in Nextera Robotics, whose technology it believes complements JLG’s connected equipment.

In Vocational, Oshkosh is changing fire truck production to higher-flow lines and expects the program to support 25%-30% growth through 2028. Production and deliveries fell in the third quarter of 2026 as the routing of internally fabricated parts created greater variability than expected. In Transport, the company is ramping up NGDV production and expects a follow-on Postal Service order.

For 2026, Oshkosh expects consolidated revenue of approximately $11 billion and has provided an adjusted earnings per share range. The lower end of that range reflects the possibility of the next NGDV order arriving after year-end.

Structural risks

• Cyclicality and pricing: Oshkosh’s markets are highly cyclical. Access sales fell in 2025 amid softer market conditions and higher discounts, and the company faces pricing pressure from imported equipment.

• Government contracts: Defense sales depend on contract awards, orders and funding. Federal budget pressures can delay, reduce or terminate programs, while competition can result in contracts going to another manufacturer or being awarded at lower prices and margins.

• Production and suppliers: Some components are sole-sourced and take time to replace. In the third quarter of 2026, fire truck parts routing disrupted production and deliveries, while key suppliers constrained the postal vehicle ramp.

• Costs and contract estimates: Fixed-price defense contracts can expose Oshkosh to higher costs. Transport also estimates costs and progress over the life of contracts; changes in those estimates can produce cumulative adjustments to operating income.

• Acquisitions and technology: Acquired businesses may be difficult to integrate or fail to achieve expected performance and efficiencies. Cybersecurity threats also pose risks to Oshkosh’s systems, operations, products and services.

Bottom line

Our reading

Oshkosh combines specialized vehicle manufacturing with parts and service businesses, selling to rental companies, municipalities and government agencies. [item1] Its dealer networks and established vehicle platforms support its competitive position, but government contract competition and cyclical equipment demand limit their protection. [item1] Recent fire truck disruption and supplier constraints on postal vehicles show that converting demand and backlog into deliveries depends on production execution. [item7] [call_prepared]