By Nina Kienle


Shares in Siemens rose after the industrial group raised its earnings guidance for fiscal 2026 and beat market expectations for the first quarter thanks to a boost from artificial intelligence demand.

The German company said Thursday that its digital-industries division recorded a substantial profit increase in the quarter ended December, driven by the automation and software businesses, which won several large contracts. Orders and revenue were up in all reporting regions, with strong comparable increases in both the U.S. and China, the conglomerate said.

Following the strong start to the year, Siemens raised its earnings-per-share target to between 10.70 and 11.10 euros ($12.70-$13.18) from 10.40 to 11.00 euros previously.

In midmorning trade in Europe, shares were 6.3% higher at 272.4 euros.

"We think the DI progress in particular could see consensus expectations for full year margins increase towards the upper half of the guided range, driving a positive reaction to the shares today," Citi analysts wrote.

The division recorded a quarterly profit margin of 17.8%, up from 14.5% in the prior-year period.

The smart-infrastructure division continued to see broad volume growth, with orders rising to a quarterly high of 7.17 billion euros. The increase was driven by the electrification and electrical-products businesses and benefited from several large contract wins from data-center customers, Siemens said.

"Siemens is participating in the data center uplift that we have seen at many other equipment providers this quarter, such as Vertiv, Eaton and ABB," analysts at Morgan Stanley said.

European peer ABB recently recorded a demand increase in its electrification business and Eaton in the U.S. said its electrical business grew 29% on year, with orders for data centers up 200%.

Siemens's Chief Financial Officer Ralf Thomas said the uptick in the automation business is encouraging, but the overall market dynamics are only gradually improving and provide limited visibility. The U.S stood out with massive growth momentum, he said in a press call.

Group revenue rose 8% on year to 19.14 billion euros while orders increased 10% to 21.37 billion euros, both on a comparable basis. The figures beat market views of 19.10 billion euros and 20.84 billion euros, respectively, according to a company-compiled consensus.

However, headwinds from currency translation effects particularly hit the digital-industries division but also impacted the smart-infrastructure unit during the quarter, Siemens said.

Group net profit dropped to 2.03 billion euros from 3.71 billion euros but beat analysts' forecast of 1.60 billion euros.

The company confirmed the rest of its fiscal 2026 outlook, including comparable revenue growth for the group of 6% to 8%, and said any updates on its plan to deconsolidate its stake in Healthineers are expected in the second quarter.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-12-26 0545ET