Avnet Marketcap, Revenue, Net Worth, Competitors 2026

Avnet, Inc. is one of the world’s largest distributors of electronic components and embedded technology solutions. Charles Avnet founded the business in New York in 1921 selling surplus radio parts, and over a century the company grew into a Fortune 500 distributor serving manufacturers, engineers, and technology buyers across more than 140 countries. Avnet operates two segments: Electronic Components, which distributes semiconductors, passives, and electromechanical parts, and Farnell, which serves the engineering design and prototyping market online. The company is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, trades on Nasdaq under ticker AVT, and employed approximately 15,462 people as of June 2024.

Key Stats

Avnet History

Avnet’s history tracks the evolution of the electronics industry almost step for step. From surplus radio parts in the 1920s to semiconductor distribution in the 1960s to IT infrastructure in the 1990s and IoT design support today, the company has consistently moved into each new technology wave as the distribution layer that connects component makers with the manufacturers who use them.

• 1921
  Founded in New York Charles Avnet, a 33-year-old Russian immigrant, starts buying surplus radio parts and selling them on the Radio Rows of US port cities. When factory-made radios begin replacing DIY kits in the mid-1920s, he adjusts to sell parts to manufacturers and dealers instead.
• 1930s
  Shift to Wholesaling During the Great Depression, Avnet moves away from retail entirely toward wholesale distribution — a structural decision that defines the company’s business model for the next nine decades. The company also diversifies into car radio kits and automobile assembly kits.
• 1940s
  Wartime Contracts During World War II, Avnet manufactures antennas for the US armed forces, its first significant government-facing business. Charles Avnet’s son Lester joins the company during this period.
• 1955
  Incorporated Avnet formally incorporates in 1955, followed a year later by the opening of a second connector assembly plant near Los Angeles serving the aircraft industry. In 1959 the company lists on the American Stock Exchange.
• 1960
  First Acquisition and NYSE Listing Avnet makes its first acquisition, British Industries Corp., an audio equipment company. The deal earns it a spot on the New York Stock Exchange and takes the company briefly into selling guitars, die casting machines, and television antennas.
• 1960s
  Semiconductors and a Record Label Avnet expands into semiconductors, relays, and potentiometers through a string of acquisitions and renames itself Avnet, Inc. in 1964. In a brief and unusual detour, the company owns several record labels including Liberty Records and Blue Note in the mid-1960s before divesting them.
• 1970
  Family Era Ends Charles Avnet’s sons Lester and Robert step back from running the company in 1970, ending the founding family’s direct operational role. Professional management takes over a business that is by this point the largest electronics distributor in the United States.
• 1980
  Tony Hamilton Era Tony Hamilton, who had built Hamilton Electro Sales from a one-man garage operation into the largest technology distributor in the US, becomes CEO when his company merges with Avnet to form the Hamilton/Avnet division. He leads the company until 1988, driving aggressive expansion and setting a culture of customer accountability.
• 1998
  HQ Moves to Phoenix Avnet relocates its corporate headquarters from Great Neck, New York to Phoenix, Arizona. Under Roy Vallee’s tenure as CEO, the company acquires around 60 businesses and expands its global footprint significantly through the late 1990s and 2000s.
• 2016
  Premier Farnell Acquired Avnet acquires British components distributor Premier Farnell for approximately £691 million. The deal adds Farnell’s digital-first engineer-serving platform — including the element14 community and Newark Electronics brand — creating a distribution model that spans both high-volume production and early design-stage needs.
• 2017
  Technology Solutions Sold to Tech Data Avnet sells its Technology Solutions segment — which distributed IT infrastructure products including servers and storage — to Tech Data for approximately $2.6 billion. The divestiture refocuses Avnet entirely on electronic components distribution, explaining the sharp revenue drop that year.
• 2023
  Revenue Peak Avnet reports its highest-ever revenue of $26.5 billion in fiscal year 2023, driven by strong semiconductor demand and supply chain activity. Revenue eases in FY2024 as the electronics cycle cools and customers work through inventory built during the shortage years.

Avnet Co-founders

Avnet Acquisitions

Avnet has used acquisitions as its primary growth mechanism throughout its history. The company has completed well over 100 deals since its first purchase in 1960, ranging from small regional distributors to transformative multi-billion-dollar transactions that reshaped its business entirely.

The 1960s were prolific. British Industries Corp. in 1960 brought Avnet onto the New York Stock Exchange. Guild Musical Instruments followed in 1965 — a brief ownership that produced the famous moment when a Guild Starfire 12 guitar was presented to John Lennon and George Harrison. More strategically, a series of acquisitions through the decade built Avnet’s semiconductor and passive components distribution network, which became the core of the modern business.

Under Roy Vallee’s leadership from 1992 to 2011, Avnet acquired approximately 60 companies. These included Bell Industries’ electronics group, IEC Electronics, and a series of regional distributors in Europe and Asia. The pace of deals through this period transformed a US-centric company into one with meaningful operations across all three major technology market regions.

The 2016 acquisition of Premier Farnell for £691 million was among the most strategically significant deals in Avnet’s recent history. Premier Farnell, parent of the Farnell and Newark Electronics brands, was built around serving engineers at the design and prototyping stage — a different customer profile from Avnet’s traditional volume-production base. The combination gave Avnet the ability to engage with customers from early prototype through to full production, which became central to its market positioning.

In 2017, Avnet completed what was effectively a reverse acquisition — it sold its Technology Solutions segment to Arrow Electronics rival Tech Data for approximately $2.6 billion in cash. That divestiture removed roughly $10 billion in annual revenue and about 7,000 employees from the business, narrowing Avnet back to electronic components and Farnell. The logic was focus: IT infrastructure distribution had different economics and customer relationships from component distribution, and running both was stretching management attention.

More recently, Avnet has made smaller bolt-on investments in design services firms and digital platform companies, consistent with its stated goal of capturing more of the customer lifecycle than pure distribution allows.

Avnet Revenue

Avnet’s fiscal year ends in late June. Revenue figures in the chart below reflect full fiscal year results. The steep drop between FY2017 and FY2018 is the direct result of selling the Technology Solutions segment to Tech Data; it does not reflect underlying business deterioration. The recovery to $26.5 billion in FY2023 was driven by a semiconductor demand surge and supply chain activity across the electronics industry.

Avnet Market Cap

Avnet’s market cap has stayed in a relatively narrow range over the past decade, reflecting the thin margins typical of large-scale distribution businesses. The FY2017 divestiture of Technology Solutions reduced the company’s size materially but did not collapse the market cap, as the remaining component distribution business carried higher margins. As of early 2026, Avnet trades at approximately $5.4 billion.

Avnet Competitors

Arrow Electronics is Avnet’s closest and most direct global competitor — both companies distribute semiconductors and electronic components at scale and have competed head-to-head for decades. Beyond Arrow, Avnet’s Farnell segment competes with Mouser Electronics and Digi-Key in the high-service, engineer-focused distribution space.

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