stockrowWhat it does
Timken designs and makes engineered bearings and industrial motion products, and provides related services. Its products help machinery move, transmit power and operate in environments ranging from factories and mines to aircraft and wind turbines. Founded in 1899, the company is headquartered in North Canton, Ohio. Lucian Boldea is its president and chief executive officer.
A bearing carries a load while allowing a machine shaft to rotate, reducing friction between moving parts. Timken makes several types, including tapered, spherical, cylindrical and ball bearings. Customers use them in equipment such as trucks, trains, aircraft, industrial gear drives and wind turbines. Bearings are selected and developed for particular applications and reliability requirements.
The Industrial Motion business makes components and systems that control movement or transmit power. These include gear drives, linear motion systems, automatic lubrication systems, chains, couplings, seals, clutches and brakes. Its customers include manufacturers of industrial equipment, automation systems and transportation products, as well as equipment owners and operators.
Timken also repairs and upgrades industrial drivetrain equipment and remanufactures used bearings, including other manufacturers’ products. It sells through its own sales organizations and through authorized distributors or agents. The company completed the divestiture of its belts business near the end of the third quarter of 2026.
How it makes money
Timken earns revenue by selling engineered bearings, industrial motion products and related services to equipment manufacturers, distributors and end users. It works with manufacturers on equipment design and also sells replacement products through aftermarket channels. Repairs and remanufacturing provide another way to serve equipment already in use.
In FY2025, Engineered Bearings generated $3.0 billion in revenue, or 65.9% of company revenue. Its products include roller, plain, ball and mounted bearings. They serve applications with different load, speed and environmental requirements, from aerospace and rail to mining and wind energy. Timken’s sales engineers assist customers during product development and implementation and provide ongoing support.
Industrial Motion generated $1.6 billion in FY2025 revenue, or 34.1% of company revenue. It sells industrial and precision drives, linear motion products, lubrication systems and other components. The segment also provides industrial drivetrain services. Some products are custom-engineered to meet user specifications; automatic lubrication systems can also be added to equipment already in service.
FY2025 sales were $4.6 billion; third-quarter 2026 revenue was $1.21 billion.
Timken differentiates products through application engineering, performance, quality and customer service. Some customer contracts run for one or more years and can include a customer commitment to buy a designated share of its requirements when prices are fixed beyond current shipments. Some bearing contracts use surcharges to recover part of commodity cost increases. Timken also uses pricing actions: third-quarter 2026 organic sales rose 2.8% from a year earlier, with higher Industrial Motion volumes and positive pricing across both segments.
| Segment | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineered Bearings | $3.0 billion | 65.9% | −0.53% |
| Industrial Motion | $1.6 billion | 34.1% | 1.62% |
Customers and how it sells
Timken serves original-equipment manufacturers, industrial distributors and equipment owners across markets including renewable energy, automation, agriculture, construction, rail, aerospace, mining and marine. It also sells into automotive and truck markets, although the company is exiting automotive original-equipment business. Timken says no single customer accounted for more than 5% of total net sales in 2025.
Products are sold principally through Timken’s internal sales organizations, with some sales through authorized distributors or agents. Sales engineers work close to customers, helping with product development and implementation and providing continuing service. Aftermarket replacement sales are made largely through independent channels. The company also repairs equipment and bearings for customers that operate machinery already in the field.
Timken operated in 44 countries at the end of 2025. The United States accounted for 45.3% of FY2025 revenue, and Asia-Pacific for 20.0%. Timken also sells in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the Americas outside the United States. Timken has manufacturing, engineering and distribution facilities across its international footprint.
| Region | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNITED STATES | $2.1 billion | 45.3% | −0.03% |
| Europe / Middle East / Africa | $1.1 billion | 24.6% | 0.65% |
| Asia-Pacific | $917.6 million | 20.0% | 3.05% |
| Americas excluding United States | $460.8 million | 10.1% | −5.15% |
Suppliers and costs
Special bar quality steel and steel components are the principal raw materials for Timken’s engineered bearings. It buys steel as bar, tube and wire, and buys components including forgings and semi-finished or finished parts. Suppliers produce these materials around the world. Timken says it is generally not dependent on any single source, although bearing-quality tubing has relatively limited availability.
Industrial Motion uses materials and components including other steel, aluminum, synthetic rubber, fabrics, castings and plastics. Timken sources them from suppliers in the global market. At the end of 2025, its footprint included 116 manufacturing facilities and service centers, along with engineering and distribution locations.
Steel availability and prices depend on supply and demand and on inputs such as scrap, ore, energy, transport fuel and labor. Some customer surcharges allow partial recovery of commodity cost increases. In 2025, the cost of products sold increased partly because of $65 million in incremental tariff costs, while material and logistics costs were favorable by $19 million. In the third quarter of 2026, manufacturing costs rose from a year earlier, primarily reflecting labor and other cost inflation, including aerospace and defense investments.
- Revenue$4.6B
- Cost of revenue−$3.2B
- Selling, general and administrative−$748.3M
- Other operating costs−$104.4M
- Operating income$540.6M
Competitive position
The bearing and industrial motion industries are highly competitive. In anti-friction bearings, Timken names SKF Group and Schaeffler Group among the domestic and foreign manufacturers it competes against. It also competes with a range of manufacturers in industrial motion products. Competition can put pressure on prices, revenue and profitability.
Timken competes on product design and performance, application engineering, quality, price, delivery times and technical sales and service support. Bearing selection and development for demanding applications require engineering and analytical work. Timken’s sales engineers help customers during product development and continue to support them after implementation. Its bearing repair service can remanufacture other manufacturers’ products as well as its own.
Our reading: Application engineering and customer support are a meaningful potential source of differentiation because products must meet specific operating and reliability requirements, although competitors also offer bearings and price remains a factor.
Timken sells replacement products through independent aftermarket channels and provides equipment repair and upgrade services. Its engineering and manufacturing network serves customers in multiple regions. The company owns patents, trademarks and licenses, but does not consider its business or either segment materially dependent on any one item or group of intellectual property.
Our reading: Aftermarket access and service capabilities can support continuing customer relationships, but the available evidence does not establish how difficult they are for competitors to replicate.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| SKF Group | Anti-friction bearings | High |
| Schaeffler Group | Anti-friction bearings | High |
Growth opportunities
Timken intends to expand in new and existing markets using its materials, friction-management and power-transmission capabilities. It targets applications with aftermarket demand as well as equipment manufacturers, and seeks acquisitions that add products or capabilities in engineered bearings, industrial motion and related services.
The company has identified automation and robotics, aerospace and defense among its focus areas. In the third quarter of 2026, automation and robotics delivered double-digit growth. Cone Drive and Spinea also combined technologies to develop an integrated actuator solution for the commercial space industry. Timken made a minority investment in an early-stage manufacturer of electroadhesive technology to support its automation and robotics growth.
The acquisition of Bijur Delimon added to Timken’s lubrication platform. Timken is integrating that platform and expanding beyond its largely European base. It also completed the belts divestiture near the end of the third quarter of 2026 and is exiting automotive original-equipment business.
Third-quarter 2026 organic revenue grew 2.8% from a year earlier. Timken expects full-year 2026 total revenue to increase approximately 5.5% and organic revenue to rise 3.5% at the midpoint. It expects mid-single-digit organic sales growth in 2027, driven by its strategic initiatives and continued momentum in industrial markets. Its outlook for China wind assumes a further sales decline in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- $4.1BFY2021
- $4.5BFY2022
- $4.8BFY2023
- $4.6BFY2024
- $4.6BFY2025
Structural risks
- Competition and pricing: The bearing and industrial motion industries are highly competitive. Pricing pressure could affect Timken’s revenues and profitability, even as it seeks to differentiate products through engineering and service.
- Cyclical demand: Weak economic conditions or weakness in customers’ industries and regions can reduce demand and margins. Timken expects China wind sales to decline again in the fourth quarter of 2026, both sequentially and year over year.
- Trade and global operations: Changes in tariffs, sanctions, geopolitical relations or supply-chain logistics can increase costs or restrict operations. Timken incurred $65 million in incremental tariff costs in 2025.
- Materials and capacity: Bearing-quality tubing has relatively limited availability, while steel prices vary with commodity, energy, transport and labor costs. In aerospace, Timken’s additional bearings revenue has depended on its ability to produce more because capacity was limited.
- Regulation and technology: Environmental and safety requirements impose costs and operational limitations that could be greater than expected. Timken is also exposed to risks involving information technology systems, including cybersecurity incidents.
- Debt and financing: Higher debt, the corresponding effect on financial covenants or failure to maintain credit ratings could limit Timken’s ability to invest in its business.
Bottom line
Our reading
Timken is an industrial component manufacturer whose business combines application-specific engineering with replacement sales and repair services. Our reading: Those customer relationships and its product range can support repeat business, but they do not eliminate pricing competition or cyclical demand. Its growth plans depend in part on executing portfolio changes and expanding in markets such as automation and aerospace, while tariffs, materials and production capacity remain exposures.