Interim report first quarter 2026

The quality of this print matters more than the headline growth rate: intake is still running ahead of revenue, which implies backlog conversion remains intact and the company is likely carrying pricing power into the next few quarters. The modest margin lift suggests operating leverage is only partially flowing through, so there is still room for consensus EBIT revisions if execution stays stable and mix does not deteriorate.

The second-order winner is not just the company itself but its ecosystem: suppliers tied to this demand chain should see better utilization and less price pressure, while more undisciplined competitors may be forced either to match volume growth at lower margin or concede share. That usually shows up with a lag, first in procurement data and then in peer margin compression over 1-2 reporting cycles.

The main risk is that the current acceleration is being read as cyclical normalization when it may be partly catch-up from earlier demand deferral. If order growth moderates while revenue continues to inflect, the market can quickly shift from rewarding growth to questioning sustainability, especially in the next 1-2 quarters. Any margin giveback from mix, wages, or input costs would likely matter more than top-line deceleration for the stock reaction.

Contrarian angle: this may be underappreciated as a cash-generation story rather than a pure growth story. If the conversion from orders to EBIT stays high, the rerating could come from multiple expansion on earnings durability, not just from upgrading sales forecasts. The market may still be too focused on the percentage growth, when the real signal is that profitability is holding while demand is still strong.