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(Bloomberg) — ABB Ltd. expects higher profitability this year as a boom in data centers drives demand for the company’s power-grid products. It also announced a $2 billion share buyback.
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The Swiss manufacturer is projecting comparable revenue growth of as much as 9% in 2026 and a slight improvement in the operational Ebita margin, it said Thursday. The new buyback program will run until January next year.
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ABB has been profiting from rising investments in data centers needed to feed a surge in artificial intelligence applications, with its shares rising around a fifth in the past year. The company makes the transformers that enable power grids to feed the centers’ substantial energy needs.
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ABB is “confident about this year,” Chief Executive Officer Morten Wierod said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “The electrification and automation of everything — that’s the sweet spot of ABB — that trend is just accelerating everywhere in the world.”
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The developments already bolstered business in 2025, with group orders climbing by around a third in the fourth quarter, to $10.3 billion. Electrification order intake exceeded the $5 billion mark for the first time, with ABB winning several large data center projects valued at more than $100 million.
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ABB aims to generate 1% to 2% annual revenue growth through acquisitions, with a focus on electrification and automation. The sale of its robotics division to SoftBank Group Corp. is expected to close in mid-to-late 2026.
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ABB sees favorable demand in its marine, ports and rail segments, while orders for its oil and gas business declined in the fourth quarter. Its commercial buildings segment grew in the US, was roughly stable in Europe and shrank in China, where a protracted real estate slowdown is weighing on demand.
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That likely won’t change this or next year, Wierod said, adding that “there’s just too many empty buildings in China.” In the US, the company is relatively isolated from a weakening dollar as it produces most of the products it sells there locally, the CEO said.
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The company plans to spend around 80 million Swiss francs ($105 million) to build new headquarters in Zurich, with the move-in scheduled for 2031.
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—With assistance from Lizzy Burden.
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(Updates with CEO quote in fourth paragraph.)
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English (US)