Company Reports

Atlas Copco posted record second-quarter orders, up 27% (26% organic), driven by surging semiconductor and gas-and-process demand; shares are up 5% intraday on July 16.

Atlas Copco is a focused supplier of capital equipment, selectively active in attractive niches where its reputation for innovation, quality, and reliability gives it a clear edge. It concentrates on industrial equipment categories that are mission-critical to customers and where the firm can hold or build a leadership position in technology and brand. At the same time, Atlas Copco avoids commoditized segments where pricing dominates over value creation.

Atlas Copco delivered first-quarter 2026 organic order growth of 5%, with vacuum technique, or VT, surging 32% as semiconductor demand inflected materially. A SEK 1.3 billion currency headwind pushed reported margins to 20.4%, masking positive organic earnings growth across all four business areas.

Atlas Copco is a focused supplier of capital equipment, selectively active in attractive niches where its reputation for innovation, quality, and reliability gives it a clear edge. It concentrates on industrial equipment categories that are mission-critical to customers and where the firm can hold or build a leadership position in technology and brand. At the same time, Atlas Copco avoids commoditized segments where pricing dominates over value creation.

Atlas Copco reported a mixed fourth quarter, with organic order growth of 4% and solid operating cash flow but profitability suffering due to significant negative currency effects, restructuring costs, and acquisition-related dilution.

European electricity prices for households and industry are well above those in China, the US, and pre-energy-crisis levels. The gap is set to endure, as network costs and levies continue to increase.

Atlas Copco posted soft third-quarter 2025 results, with flat organic revenue and order growth. Weaker margins saw EBIT decline by 9% year on year. Shares were down 2% intraday.

Atlas Copco posted disappointing second-quarter 2025 results, with a decline in orders and a subdued outlook, which worsened amid uncertain global developments. Weaker margins saw EBIT decline by 10% year on year, as revenue remained flat. Shares are down 8% intraday.

As we transfer coverage, we take a fresh look at Atlas Copco. The company is a global leader in compressors, vacuum systems, and other industrial equipment, focused on high-value, mission-critical applications. Its operations span a wide range of end markets and geographies.

Atlas Copco is a focused supplier of capital equipment, selectively active in attractive niches where its reputation for innovation, quality, and reliability gives it a clear edge. It concentrates on industrial equipment categories that are mission-critical to customers and where the firm can hold or build a leadership position in technology and brand. At the same time, Atlas Copco avoids commoditized segments where pricing dominates over value creation.

Atlas Copco posted disappointing first-quarter 2025 results, with EPS below FactSet consensus, while the outlook worsened amid uncertain global developments. Weaker margins saw EBIT decline by 8% year on year, as revenue remained flat. Shares are down 4% intraday on April 29.

Wide-moat Atlas Copco delivered fourth-quarter 2024 results broadly in line with our expectations. Revenue for the period grew 2% year on year to SEK 45.99 million, slightly ahead of FactSet consensus estimates, and the group EBIT margin remained steady at about 22%. Order intake grew 8% year on year, and management stated they expect customer activity to stay at the current level in the near term. With no changes expected to our long-term expectations, shares remain expensive relative to our unchanged SEK 150 fair value estimate.

Atlas Copco is a sharply focused supplier of capital equipment, with a selective presence in attractive market niches for engineered equipment where the firm can optimally leverage its reputation for innovation and quality products. In doing so, Atlas Copco seeks out industrial and scientific equipment categories that are considered mission-critical by their users and where it possesses or can assume a market leadership position from a technology and brand visibility standpoint. At the same time, the firm shuns significantly commoditized capital equipment categories and market segments. Its air compressor and vacuum pump and equipment businesses—its two largest, account for approximately three quarters of group EBIT—are prime examples of the firm’s discerning approach where it sports industry-leading market shares in medium- to high-end market segments.

Wide-moat Atlas Copco delivered a mixed third-quarter 2024 result, with group organic order intake rising a modest 1% amid tepid air compressor demand conditions and weak demand for the group’s industrial and power technique segments. In contrast, order intake for the group’s vacuum pump segment was strong, rising 10% organically as demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment rises. The group EBIT margin held relatively steady at about 22%, aligning with our full-year margin expectations and largely unchanged group EBIT forecast of SEK 39.7 billion. Certainly, the late 2024 performance of the vacuum pump segment is impressive. Still, we think the market holds exuberant longer-term expectations for the vacuum pump business amid rising demand for AI chips. Consequently, Atlas Copco shares trade at a 20% premium to our unchanged SEK 150 fair value estimate.

New-order intake remained under pressure in second-quarter 2024 for wide-moat Atlas Copco. Second-quarter organic order intake growth of negative 1% was a sequential improvement relative to the prior quarter's showing of negative 4%. Still, faltering demand from automotive customers caused new orders to contract 4% quarter on quarter, after adjusting for seasonality, falling short of Atlas Copco's previous near-term guidance and investors' expectations. Atlas Copco shares are down some 5% at the time of writing. A time value of money adjustment leads us to nudge our fair value estimate up by 3% to SEK 150 per share. Atlas Copco shares continue to screen expensively, trading at a 23% premium to our upwardly revised valuation.

Atlas Copco is a sharply focused supplier of capital equipment, with a selective presence in attractive market niches for engineered equipment where the firm can optimally leverage its reputation for innovation and quality products. In doing so, Atlas Copco seeks out industrial and scientific equipment categories that are considered mission-critical by their users and where it possesses or can assume a market leadership position from a technology and brand visibility standpoint. At the same time, the firm shuns significantly commoditized capital equipment categories and market segments. Its air compressor and vacuum pump and equipment businesses—its two largest, account for approximately three quarters of group EBIT—are prime examples of the firm’s discerning approach where it sports industry-leading market shares in medium- to high-end market segments.

We retain our SEK 145 fair value estimate for wide-moat Atlas Copco as it announced no change to the group’s strategy or financial targets at its 2024 capital markets day. Atlas Copco continues to eye significant organic growth opportunities across each of its four divisions with its research and development program—to which the group allocates approximately 4% of sales annually—remaining the group’s key long-term growth support. The group’s R&D efforts aim to further increase the size of its divisions’ addressable markets via the launch of new products and innovation that improves its existing equipment offering while also broadening the application range of its products. We expect these opportunities to support strong growth over the coming decade, with our respective forecast 10-year EBIT and EPS CAGRs of about 9% and 10% remaining intact.

Atlas Copco is a sharply focused supplier of capital equipment, with a selective presence in attractive market niches for engineered equipment where the firm can optimally leverage its reputation for innovation and quality products. In doing so, Atlas Copco seeks out industrial and scientific equipment categories that are considered mission-critical by their users and where it possesses or can assume a market leadership position from a technology and brand visibility standpoint. At the same time, the firm shuns significantly commoditized capital equipment categories and market segments. Its air compressor and vacuum pump and equipment businesses—its two largest, account for approximately three quarters of group EBIT—are prime examples of the firm’s discerning approach where it sports industry-leading market shares in medium- to high-end market segments.

While market conditions in early 2024 proved mixed for Atlas Copco, the wide-moat capital goods supplier delivered a solid first-quarter result, featuring buoyant top-line and EBIT growth that tracked ahead of our prior full-year forecasts. Organic order intake fell 4% year on year, declining from an exceptional level achieved in the prior comparative period. While demand for air compressor equipment held in, demand for vacuum pump equipment and power tools were particularly weak, driving organic order intake declines for the vacuum technique and power technique segments of 4% and 17%, respectively.

Atlas Copco is a sharply focused supplier of capital equipment, with a selective presence in attractive market niches for engineered equipment where the firm can optimally leverage its reputation for innovation and quality products. In doing so, Atlas Copco seeks out industrial and scientific equipment categories that are considered mission-critical by their users and where it possesses or can assume a market leadership position from a technology and brand visibility standpoint. At the same time, the firm shuns significantly commoditized capital equipment categories and market segments. Its air compressor and vacuum pump and equipment businesses—its two largest, account for approximately three quarters of group EBIT—are prime examples of the firm’s discerning approach where it sports industry-leading market shares in medium- to high-end market segments.