Why Did Stanley Black & Decker Stock Jump

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Shares of Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) rose 64.3% in the year to November 2, 2026, while the S&P 500 returned 11.5%. During that period, the maker of DEWALT and STANLEY tools agreed to sell its aerospace fasteners business on December 22, 2025, and news reports said the shares jumped that day. So how much did that sale change the company you own?

How Much Debt Has Stanley Black & Decker Cut?

Total debt at Stanley Black & Decker fell to $4.76 billion in early July 2026, down from $6.68 billion a year earlier. The aerospace sale to Howmet Aerospace closed on April 6, 2026, and brought in about $1.8 billion in cash, the company said.

On a July 29, 2026 call, management said it used those proceeds, alongside cash from operations, to pay down $1.7 billion of debt in the second quarter. The company also bought back $250 million of its shares in the same quarter, so not every dollar went to lenders.

Stanley Black & Decker Earns More On Each Sale

The operating margin for Stanley Black & Decker reached 9.2% over the twelve months to July 4, 2026, up from 6.7% a year earlier. The second quarter of fiscal 2026 alone showed an even bigger lift, rising to 9.0% against 4.9% in the same quarter the previous year.

Tariff refunds generated part of that quarter's profit. Management said the refunds added about $0.17 to adjusted earnings per share of $1.57, and contributed about 2.5 points to that quarter's adjusted gross margin. Executives expect the refunds to net out at about $0.05 a share for the full year. Even so, on the same call management raised its forecast for 2026 adjusted earnings per share to $5.20 to $5.80, and put growth at 18% at the midpoint.

Less debt and more profit on each dollar of sales: that is what the year changed at Stanley Black & Decker.

What Has Not Changed At Stanley Black & Decker

Sales at Stanley Black & Decker remain right where they were. Revenue totaled $15.2 billion over the twelve months to July 4, 2026, almost the same as in the twelve months before. Management expects total company revenue to be about flat in 2026, and organic revenue to grow by a low single-digit percentage.

The margin gain also leaves the company short of its own past. Its operating margin peaked at 17.4% in the twelve months to the second quarter of fiscal 2021.

At the November 2, 2026 close, the stock traded at 25.8 times its past twelve months of earnings, compared with 22.8 for the S&P 500. That price appears to assume the profit gains will hold on sales that are not growing.

Revenue growth, which stood at 0.6% over the past twelve months, is the number to watch when Stanley Black & Decker reports its fiscal third quarter in November 2026.

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