Company Description
AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAON) is a manufacturing company focused on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment for commercial, industrial and data center indoor environments. The company is described in its public communications as a world or global leader in HVAC solutions, emphasizing high-performance, energy-efficient systems that are engineered to deliver long-term value for customers and owners.
Founded in 1988, AAON is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company highlights its approach to designing and manufacturing highly configurable and custom-made equipment that can be tailored to meet exact project requirements. This configurability is positioned as a way to enhance efficiency, performance and ownership experience over the life of the equipment.
Business segments and brands
According to company and market descriptions, AAON operates through three primary segments: AAON Oklahoma, AAON Coil Products and BASX. These segments support the engineering and production of semi-custom and custom HVAC systems, the design and manufacture of control solutions, and the sale of retail parts through physical locations and online channels.
AAON’s highly engineered equipment is sold under the AAON and BASX brands. The BASX business is closely associated with data center applications, including data center cooling equipment and liquid cooling products, which the company notes are experiencing strong demand. AAON-branded equipment serves a broad range of commercial and industrial indoor environments and is produced across multiple U.S. manufacturing facilities referenced in company news.
Products and HVAC focus
In third-party and company descriptions, AAON is identified as a manufacturer of air-conditioning and heating equipment within the broader manufacturing sector. Its product portfolio includes rooftop units, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air-handling units, makeup air units, energy-recovery units, condensing units, geothermal heat pumps, self-contained units and coils. The company also engineers semi-custom and custom HVAC systems and associated control solutions.
AAON has publicly highlighted its development of Alpha Class air-source heat pumps, including cold climate rooftop units that meet performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Commercial Building HVAC Technology Challenge. The company states that these heat pumps have been lab-tested and installed in the field, and that they are designed to operate reliably in low ambient temperatures. AAON positions this technology as part of its focus on energy efficiency, reliability and sustainable HVAC solutions for commercial buildings.
Innovation and testing capabilities
AAON repeatedly calls attention to its innovation center and testing laboratory in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company describes this facility, known as the Norman Asbjornson Innovation Center (NAIC), as an HVAC laboratory capable of testing both thermal and acoustic performance under a wide range of environmental conditions. AAON uses this lab to validate product performance, including for large-capacity equipment and cold climate applications, and to support ongoing product development.
Through this innovation and testing infrastructure, AAON presents itself as continuously working to advance HVAC technology, particularly in areas such as cold-climate heat pumps, data center cooling and high-efficiency, configurable systems for complex indoor environments.
Operations and manufacturing footprint
AAON’s public communications reference five strategic manufacturing facilities across the United States, including locations in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Longview, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Redmond, Oregon; and Memphis, Tennessee. These facilities support production for the AAON and BASX businesses, including data center cooling equipment and other HVAC systems.
Within its segment reporting, AAON Oklahoma engineers, manufactures and sells semi-custom and custom HVAC systems, designs and manufactures control solutions, and sells retail parts. AAON Coil Products is associated with coils and, as described in company results, also supports BASX-branded liquid cooling product sales. The BASX segment focuses on equipment for data center and related applications, including air-side and liquid cooling solutions.
Market focus and demand drivers
In its earnings communications, AAON notes demand across both AAON and BASX brands, with particular strength in data center applications and national account activity. The company has reported strong bookings trends and significant backlog growth for both AAON-branded and BASX-branded equipment. It attributes a meaningful portion of BASX backlog to data center projects, while AAON-branded backlog growth is discussed in the context of nonresidential construction markets and national accounts.
AAON emphasizes that customers prioritize high-performance, efficient and reliable infrastructure, and that its backlog and order activity indicate it is capturing market share in these areas. The company also references its participation in the DOE Commercial Building HVAC Technology Challenge as a way to demonstrate performance of its cold climate heat pumps.
Capital structure and growth investments
AAON has disclosed the use of revolving credit facilities to support its operations and growth plans. In its public news, the company announced a revolving credit facility and later the exercise of an accordion feature on that facility, increasing available borrowing capacity. The company describes this as providing additional financial flexibility to fund working capital, capital expenditures and strategic projects aligned with long-term growth objectives.
AAON has also referenced capital expenditure plans and investments in new facilities, such as its Memphis, Tennessee plant, and in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to support future growth and operational efficiency. These investments are discussed alongside temporary operational challenges related to ERP implementation and supply constraints, as well as efforts to improve throughput and margins at key facilities.
Dividends and shareholder returns
AAON’s Board of Directors has declared regular quarterly cash dividends, as disclosed in multiple press releases and corresponding Form 8-K filings. These dividends are characterized as regular quarterly cash dividends per share, with announcements specifying record and payment dates for shareholders. The recurring nature of these declarations indicates that AAON uses cash dividends as one component of its approach to returning capital to shareholders.
Corporate governance and leadership updates
The company periodically reports leadership and governance developments through news releases and Form 8-K filings. Examples include the promotion of an executive vice president and general manager for the AAON business unit, the appointment of a senior vice president of operations responsible for multiple manufacturing facilities, and the planned resignation of a principal accounting officer with interim responsibilities assumed by the chief financial officer. These disclosures illustrate AAON’s practice of communicating significant management changes and governance matters through regulatory and public channels.
Regulatory reporting and transparency
AAON files reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under its Nevada incorporation and NASDAQ listing. Recent Form 8-K filings cover topics such as quarterly financial results, conference participation, dividend declarations and leadership changes. The company also references its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for more detailed discussions of risk factors, financial performance and forward-looking statements.
Through these filings and accompanying press releases, AAON provides investors with information on segment performance, backlog, margins, capital structure and operational initiatives. Conference calls and webcasts are used to discuss quarterly results and outlook, with replays made available through the company’s investor channels.
Position within the manufacturing sector
Within the manufacturing sector, AAON is classified in the air-conditioning and warm air heating equipment and commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment manufacturing industry. Its focus on configurable and custom HVAC systems for commercial, industrial and data center environments, combined with its testing capabilities and segment structure, defines its role in this specialized area of manufacturing.