Interim report first quarter 2026

The company reported order intake of SEK 36,756 million, up 23% year on year at fixed exchange rates and organically, alongside revenues of SEK 30,685 million, up 15%. Adjusted EBITA rose to SEK 6,138 million from SEK 5,768 million, with margin expanding to 20.0% from 19.7%, indicating solid operating leverage. Adjusted profit before tax and profit for the period also increased, pointing to generally strong quarterly performance.

Analysis

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.

Key Decisions for Investors

• If the stock is liquid and not already crowded, buy on any 1-2 day post-print dip; use a 3-6 month horizon and target a 10-15% rerating if the market revises FY earnings upward.
• Overweight suppliers to this end-market versus lower-quality peers: long the strongest balance-sheet names in the same industrial chain, short the weakest margin laggards, to play for a 2-3 quarter margin spread widening.
• Avoid chasing after an initial gap-up; the cleaner entry is on consolidation, because the next catalyst is likely the next quarterly backlog-to-revenue conversion rather than the current headline.
• If options are available, structure a 3-4 month call spread rather than outright calls to capture modest multiple expansion while limiting downside if the growth rate normalizes.