Schneider Electric raised its 2026 profit and revenue targets for the second time this year on Friday, as the French industrial group cements its role as a key supplier to big cloud companies building AI data centres, Reuters reported.
Schneider now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to grow between 18% and 21% organically in 2026, instead of the previously forecast 14% to 19%. It sees organic revenue growth between 12% and 14%, versus the earlier range of 10% to 13%.
Revenue grew to a record high of 11.46 billion euros ($12.87 billion) in the third quarter, beating analysts' average forecast of 11.13 billion euros in a company-provided consensus. The Wall Street Journal reported that third-quarter revenue rose 18% from a year earlier, with organic growth of 17%, and that data-centre demand more than doubled last quarter.
Chief executive Olivier Blum said data centres remained a key growth driver, with triple-digit demand growth in the quarter. Orders for data-centre power, cooling and automation equipment are sustained by continued strong demand from US hyperscalers, though third-quarter growth was led by China and East Asia, Schneider said.
The company also forecast an expansion in its adjusted EBITA margin of between one percentage point and 120 basis points on an organic basis, and said it expects data-centre demand to remain strong in the fourth quarter, according to the Journal. Once known mainly for circuit breakers and industrial electrical equipment, Schneider has become one of the biggest industrial beneficiaries of the AI boom, supplying cooling units, server racks and critical power distribution equipment for data centres.