Strong orders, business driven performance improvement and high cash flow
 

• Orders $11,298 million, +32%; comparable¹ +24%
• Revenues $8,734 million, +18%; comparable¹ +11%
• Income from operations $1,780 million; margin 20.4%
• Operational EBITA¹ $2,049 million; margin¹ 23.5%
• Basic EPS $0.73; +21%²
• Cash flow from operating activities $1,029 million; +50%
• Return on Capital Employed¹ 27.2%

“ABB had a strong start to the year, delivering higher business performance and record orders. Supported by our high order backlog and good execution in a strong short-cycle market, we raise our growth and margin expectations for 2026, although acknowledging risks from geopolitical uncertainties.”

Morten Wierod, CEO

CEO summary

We have had a strong start to the year with a supportive overall market environment and improved business performance. Orders were at a record-high level and increased 24% on a comparable basis, supported by all three business areas. Overall demand remained robust throughout the period.

All in all, the first quarter progressed largely according to plan, despite a backdrop of yet another escalation in geopolitical tension. Our priority has been to support our employees directly impacted by the recent developments in the Middle East. Admittedly, this 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.

We executed well on revenue growth which at 18% (11% comparable) was just above our original expectation and converted to a 37% (28% in local currencies) improvement in Operational EBITA and a margin of 23.5%. The margin improved by 320 basis points, out of which 250 basis points were attributable to the net impact of the gains on sale of real estate, and a robust 70 basis points was driven mainly by improved business performance. As a net total for the quarter, earnings per share increased by 21%.

Free cash flow of $1.3 billion is the strongest ever for a first quarter, with good contribution from both the earnings increase as well as net working capital management. Another stand-out number was our ROCE of 27.2%.

It was also good to receive the CDP sustainability recognition of A scores for both climate change and water stewardship. Our 2025 sustainability report was published in February, showing progress towards our 2030 targets.

We achieved book-to-bill of 1.29 with strong comparable order growth of 9% and 5% respectively in the Motion and Automation business areas, while Electrification surged 44%. Market momentum remains strongest in the data center segment, but also positive for grid investments. Other strong areas include electrical upgrades of land-based transport infrastructure, marine, port automation, HVAC and buildings. Similar to previous quarters, customer activity is more muted in parts of the process industry-related areas.

I was also pleased to see the Automation business area introduce the Automation Extended program, a strategic evolution of its distributed control systems (DCS). It is a step towards the next era of industrial operations. It enables customers to progressively introduce new capabilities, including advanced analytics and AI, while preserving system integrity. It securely and without operational disruption bridges the core control and the digital environment, supported by a unified lifecycle service for management and maintenance. ABB has the world’s largest DCS installed base and Automation Extended increases our presence in the digital environment.

Our capital allocation principles prioritize organic investments in our ability to serve customers through our local-for-local footprint. In recent years, India has grown to our tied for fourth largest market and this year we will invest approximately $75 million to expand our manufacturing footprint and R&D capabilities in all business areas. Our expanded facilities will support growth prospects in India as well as enhance our capabilities to serve other markets in the region.

Also on the topic of capital allocation – our balance sheet is strong and we strive to deploy more cash towards acquisitions. However, we will not compromise on value creation – every deal should deliver sustainable value and make strategic sense. In March, we rewarded our shareholders with a dividend distribution of CHF 0.94 per share, the equivalent of approximately 1.3% yield based on the recent share price. Additionally, in early February, we launched our previously announced share buyback program of up to $2.0 billion, corresponding to approximately 1.2% of recent market capitalization.

Morten Wierod
CEO

Outlook
based on current market environment

In the second quarter of 2026, we expect a high single-digit to low double-digit growth in comparable revenues, year-on-year. The operational EBITA margin should improve year-on-year.

In full-year 2026, we expect a positive book-to-bill, and a high single-digit to low double-digit growth in comparable revenues, year-on-year. The operational EBITA margin should improve year-on-year, even when excluding the real estate gain in the first quarter of 2026.

The complete press release including the appendices is available at www.abb.com/news

ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. By connecting its engineering and digitalization expertise, ABB helps industries run at high performance, while becoming more efficient, productive and sustainable so they outperform. At ABB, we call this ‘Engineered to Outrun’. The company has over 140 years of history and around 110,000 employees worldwide. ABB’s shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ABBN) and Nasdaq Stockholm (ABB).