It’s day one of electronica 2026 in Munich, and the energy on the DigiKey booth (C5.401) is electric. Electronic Specifier’s Paige Hookway caught up with Dave Doherty, CEO of DigiKey, to talk about where the market sits right now, what’s behind a record-breaking year for the distributor, and how AI is reshaping both customer demand and the way DigiKey works internationally.
A peak in the cycle
After a couple of turbulent years for the electronics industry, one of the biggest questions on everyone’s lips is whether we are now seeing a period of stabilisation or just waiting for the next disruption. “We’re always in an up-and-down,” says Doherty.
While he acknowledged that the market does feel relatively stable at the moment, he also notes that the industry is at the peak of that up-and-down cycle, and that stability doesn’t necessarily mean simplicity. “I don’t think it’s any less complex than it ever is in the industry,” he says.
Engineers are thinking further upstream
Geopolitics and tariffs have been dominant themes across the electronics industry in recent years, and Doherty has seen them change how engineers approach component purchasing. He notes that whilst the specific issues may shift, they tend to lead to the same outcome, which is disruption.
As a result, engineers “continue to widen their breadth of what they should be concerned about.” Where the focus was once on sourcing, customers are now wanting more information about tariffs and geopolitical exposure. The questions have become “‘where’s my product coming from? Where is that supply chain upstream of where your products are produced?’.”
He says that the goal is simple, customers are “trying to build some resiliency into their designs.”
Back to basics drives a record year
The company has reported record customer numbers, record order volumes, and strong revenue growth this year. Doherty believes that a renewed focus on the company’s core identity – supporting engineers and purchasing professionals at the earliest stages of design, rather than chasing large orders and quotes has led to this success.
“Our space is to make sure that we have information … at engineers’ fingertips, so that they can get started, support not only today’s demand, but tomorrow’s demand,” he says.
Back at the EDS Leadership Summit in Las Vegas in May, Doherty had set targets for the year of 8-10% customers growth, 15% growth in details (number of shipments), and 30% revenue growth. Forecasting, he says, is “like forecasting the weather” – but the results speak for themselves.
With DigiKey typically growing details by 4-6% from a large base, the customers and shipment targets ambitious. “[…] 15% details was aggressive, but we hit it right on the nose, the high end of those forecasts,” he says. Revenue, meanwhile, has far outpaced the 30% forecast: “[…] here we are, 10 and a half months into the year, and we’re about a little over 50% growth, so it’s been quite a year.
DigiKey has now passed one million customers. To keep serving that growing base, the company has taken steps to protect product availability, “even if it means constraining the amount of product any one customer can buy, to make sure that we spread that out to support that new design activity.”
AI: a mega impact, from hyperscalers to the Edge
It wouldn’t be a 2026 trade show without a mention of AI, and Doherty described it as probably the most exciting factor in DigiKey’s order data. Its impact is concentrated among a handful of hyperscalers, extends to those building out infrastructure, and reaches all the way to the Edge.
For DigiKey, that means growth “across really every region, every segment, whether it’s medical, defense, aerospace, autonomous vehicles, robotics, et cetera.”
Internally, AI is proving just as valuable. DigiKey is based in a small community – Thief River Falls, Minnesota – which Doherty loves for the bond it creates, but which also limits how quickly the company can grow its workforce. “So it forces us to be smart with both automation and AI,” he explained.
The focus is on removing the tactical, mundane work, such as pulling up multiple screens to piece together answers to customer questions, from DigiKey’s long-tenured team members. “So it’s more of an augmentation where it’s more agent supporting our people,” Doherty says, adding that “[…] even if we wanted to, we don’t have the ability to just double, triple the head count.”
Growth everywhere, and automotive on the horizon
Looking ahead, Doherty says: “We’re double-digit growth in all regions … across almost all segments,” he says. Rather than aggressively hunting for the next growth market, the company aims “to be on the receiving end and ready.”
The one sector yet to fully return is automotive, which, Doherty notes, may be fortunate given current capacity across the industry. But he expects it is on the verge of getting back to its traditional growth too.
Listening first
So what does Doherty hope to get out of electronica this week? Mostly, it’s about listening. “The conversations I hope is really with my two ears listening,” he says, describing the show as a valuable chance to hear first-hand from suppliers and customers about what they’re seeing.
And with the market running hot, there’s one question on everyone’s mind: “When you’re in an upmarket … when does it end?”
Watch the full interview with Dave Doherty here:
