‘Our Biggest Business Is 45 Percent Bigger Than It Was Two Years Ago’: Softcat CEO On ‘Exceptional’ FY26

Graham Charlton speaks to CRN on why AI is accelerating infrastructure demand, why customer growth matters more than ever and how its recent acquisition of GDT could transform Softcat’s future.

Softcat has capped off a bumper FY26 with preliminary results today showing gross invoiced income (GII) climbing 30.5 percent to £4.72 billion ($6.2 billion) as the U.K.’s largest reseller continues to post double-digit growth.

Gross profit rose 24.7 percent to £616.3 million ($810 million), while underlying operating profit increased 19.4 percent to £215.1 million ($282.8 million).

The results come after an already strong FY25 and extend a run that CEO Graham Charlton believes is among the best in Softcat’s history.

“We’ve very consciously described these results as exceptional because, in all my years at Softcat, which is 12 now, this is probably the strongest year of growth we’ve had,” Charlton told CRN Wednesday.

“Our biggest business on the bottom line is about 45 percent bigger than it was two years ago because we did 18 percent growth last year as well.”

While parts of the U.K. channel continue to report cautious customer spending and tougher trading conditions, Charlton said Softcat’s growth came from across both its customer base and technology portfolio.

“The growth is broad-based. It’s coming from all customer segments and all technology areas,” he says.

“I think it’s the continued effectiveness of the two sources of advantage we have. The main one being our culture and the customer service that brings.

“But over the years we’ve built the broadest, deepest infrastructure offering in the market.”

Softcat FY26: Customer Growth Stands Out

One figure Charlton repeatedly returned to was customer growth.

Softcat’s customer base increased from 10,200 to 10,500 during FY26, while gross profit per customer rose from £48,500 ($63,800) to £58,500 ($77,000).

“The one bit in the results that I was really pleased to see was the acceleration in the growth of customer numbers.

“To grow the customer base by three-and-a-half percent, which I think is the fastest rate of growth in our customer base for probably five or six years, was really good to see.”

That increase came despite Softcat continuing to expand its business with existing customers.

AI Spending Still In Early Innings

AI featured heavily throughout Softcat’s results announcement, but Charlton believes most customers are only just beginning their investment journeys.

“AI is making application software much more data hungry, much more compute hungry,” he says.

“The processing power and the data storage needed now is rising by orders of magnitude.”

According to Charlton, the impact is being felt right across infrastructure.

“The evolution of IT infrastructure is happening at a faster pace than ever,” he says.

“What hasn’t really built yet is the software and the use cases in the organizations that are going to start to really leverage this.

“That’s just starting to come through now.”

While much of the industry attention remains focused on hyperscalers and AI model builders, Charlton believes the larger opportunity for the channel still lies ahead.

“The customers we deal with in the public sector and private enterprise space are just starting to get going with their AI investments now.”

The company cited strong demand across data center infrastructure, networking, security, workplace technologies and services during FY26.

GDT Acquisition Already Opening Doors

The results are Softcat’s first since announcing its blockbuster $1.05 billion (£785 million) acquisition of U.S.-based GDT.

Last month, Charlton told CRN it had screened around 100 potential M&A targets before landing on GDT.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 FY27 and represents the biggest acquisition in the reseller’s history.

Charlton said customers have already responded positively.

“Our customers have been asking us to do more and more work internationally for many years now, and the main market they want us to be working in is the U.S.,” he said.

“This immediately makes Softcat much more capable for that.”

Charlton says the deal has featured prominently in customer discussions since it was announced.

“I’ve had four customer calls since we announced the acquisition, and GDT was a very positive factor in three of those,” he revealed.

“And I know for a fact that our U.K. business has won new business as a result of having that capability coming online already.”

Charlton also pointed to GDT’s networking and data center expertise as a key attraction.

“The carrier-grade staging, integration and deployment skills that GDT have at the heart of networking and data center infrastructure are really important for many customers.”

Supply Pressures Aren’t Going Away

Despite the strong results, Charlton said partners and customers continue to face a range of challenges.

“Supply constraints and price rises have been a major issue.

“And there’s lots of procurement scrutiny in our customers.”

In response, Charlton says partners are increasingly being asked to help customers navigate rising costs and justify technology investments.

“Being able to help customers understand price movements and work with their procurement teams to get them the right solutions at the right price is needed. And we have to stay on top of the skills and capabilities needed ahead.”

He also argues that channel firms need to focus on transforming their own operations as AI reshapes the industry.

“I think what we’re all going to have to do is make sure that we’re using technology to transform our own business models as well,” he said.

“The way we provide value to customers and vendors is going to change very rapidly over the next two or three years.”

The Channel Has ‘The Biggest Opportunity In Our History’

Earlier this year, for the VAR’s H1, Charlton told CRN that the channel has entered a “golden era.”

Seven months on, he has not changed his view.

“The importance of technology to societies and organizations continues to grow, and we are sitting right at the heart of the systems and infrastructure that enables that.

“I think the IT channel has the biggest opportunity ahead of it than at any point in its history.”

But he also offered a warning to partners comfortable with the status quo.

“If you’re not investing in your own technology and challenging and transforming your own processes and ways of working, then I think you’ll get left behind as well,” Charlton adds.

“The opportunities are vast, but the amount of innovation the channel is going to have to put through its own operations is really significant as well.”

Looking ahead, Softcat said it expects high single-digit growth in underlying operating profit during FY27, excluding any contribution from GDT.

For Charlton, however, the bigger picture remains unchanged.

“The sky is the limit. There is no cap on our ambition.”

This article originally appeared on CRN sister website CRN UK.