ABB Shares Rise on Guidance Lift, Robust Demand

By Nina Kienle

ABB shares climbed after the company raised its sales guidance on a high order backlog and improved business performance despite risks from geopolitical uncertainties.

Shares were up 3.2% at 76.62 Swiss francs after rising more than 5% at market open on Wednesday.

The Swiss industrial-technology company said it now expects comparable on-year revenue growth in a high single-digit to low double-digit percentage range. It previously targeted comparable revenue growth of 6% to 9%.

ABB said its operational earnings before interest, taxes and amortization margin continues to improve.

"This [Middle East] conflict adds uncertainty to the global trading climate, although to date, demand for our electrification and automation offerings has remained overall resilient and supportive to our raised ambitions for 2026," Chief Executive Officer Morten Wierod said.

For the first quarter, ABB booked higher net profit, revenue and operational Ebita, with the corresponding margin improving to 23.5% from 20.3%.

ABB said demand remained robust and orders hit a record high at $11.30 billion, boosted by comparable order growth in electrification.

ABB's first-quarter results confirm that its underlying operational momentum can improve even further with record-breaking order intake, RBC Capital Markets analysts Sebastian Kuenne and Nick Housden said in a research note.

ABB anticipates further acceleration of global data center demand, benefiting the electrification business. Wierod said on a conference call that he expects a move toward energy-sourcing diversification that will benefit the group.

"There is a need for more energy resilience," he said. This is an opportunity for ABB, he added.

Write to Nina Kienle at nina.kienle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2026 05:10 ET (09:10 GMT)