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DATE
Wed, Oct. 28, 2026
CALL PARTICIPANTS
- Vice President of Investor Relations – Michael Lapides
- Chief Executive Officer – Scott Strazik
- Chief Financial Officer – Ken Parks
TAKEAWAYS
- Total Revenue — $12.6 billion, representing 18% organic growth driven by higher equipment volume in Power and Electrification.
- Adjusted EBITDA — $1.9 billion, an increase from $811 million reflecting favorable price, more profitable volume, and productivity.
- Adjusted EBITDA Margin — 15.4%, expanding 690 basis points organically due to price increases and operational efficiencies across all segments.
- Free Cash Flow — $5.4 billion, reflecting higher adjusted EBITDA and a $5.3 billion working capital benefit from order down payments and slot reservations.
- Total Backlog — $197 billion, expanding by approximately $20 billion sequentially as the company secured $29.3 billion in quarterly orders.
- Cash Balance — $16.8 billion, a $4 billion sequential increase even after returning $1.8 billion to shareholders during the quarter.
- Power Segment Revenue — $6.1 billion, increasing 25% year over year behind higher Gas Power turbine volumes and pricing.
- Power EBITDA Margin — 21.4%, expanding 830 basis points organically as the segment began shipping gas power equipment from a higher-priced backlog.
- Gas Power Equipment — 122 gigawatts under contract, with 32 turbine shipments in the quarter and 11 gigawatts of new agreements signed.
- Electrification Segment Revenue — $3.9 billion, growing 16% organically led by volume increases in substations, high-voltage direct current equipment, and transformers.
- Electrification Backlog — $42.2 billion, a 60% year-over-year increase supported by strong demand from data center customers and utilities.
- Data Center Orders — $1.4 billion for the quarter, bringing the year-to-date total for the Electrification segment to more than $6 billion.
- Wind Segment EBITDA — $72 million, marking a return to profitability due to improved onshore services margins and lower offshore project costs.
- Trench Group Acquisition — $9 billion, representing a 13-fold 2028 EBITDA multiple for a high-voltage grid equipment leader expected to close in late 2027.
- Share Repurchase Program — $20 billion, representing a doubling of the prior authorization after the company repurchased 15.6 million shares through Oct. 23.
- 2026 Revenue Guidance — $46.5 billion to $47.5 billion, raised from the previous range of $45.5 billion to $46.5 billion.
- 2026 Free Cash Flow Guidance — $16 billion to $17 billion, raised from the prior expectation of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion.
- Gas Power Equipment Pricing — 50% higher year over year for full-year 2026 orders compared to 2025 orders.
- Investment in R&D and CapEx — $2.4 billion year-to-date, a combined increase of more than 30% year over year to support capacity and innovation.
- Transition Services Agreements — $135 million in total G&A savings expected from exiting agreements with GE Aerospace, with $100 million realized to date.
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RISKS
- Parks noted that “It remains difficult to call an inflection point in U.S. orders as customers still face permitting delays and tariff uncertainty,” referring to the softer U.S. market for new onshore wind equipment.
- Strazik warned that while the company is making progress in offshore wind, it still has one more year to go in offshore project execution in the North Sea.
SUMMARY
GE Vernova Inc. (GEV -1.91%) reported third quarter results that led management to raise its full-year guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA margin, and free cash flow. Management reported that strong global demand for electricity infrastructure drove a book-to-bill ratio of more than 2-for-1, pushing the total backlog to $197 billion. The company announced the $9 billion acquisition of Trench Group to vertically integrate critical high-voltage grid components and simultaneously doubled its share repurchase authorization to $20 billion. The Power and Electrification segments reported significant margin expansion, while the Wind segment achieved profitability for the quarter following the resolution of litigation and improved service performance.
- The company completed its exit from transition services agreements with GE Aerospace, marking its full operational independence as a stand-alone entity.
- Strazik stated, “We’ve reached an important inflection point where backlog is now greater than our SRA balance, further reinforcing the certainty that we will ship more gigawatts through the rest of the decade.”
- GE Vernova won its first 1.2 gigawatt technology selection for its small modular reactor in Sweden, building momentum for its nuclear business in Europe.
- Management reported that every gigawatt of HA gas turbines is expected to generate $500 million of high-margin services revenue over its first 20 years.
- The company is testing its first prototype of a solid-state transformer in Malta, New York, and has received notification of a hyperscaler award for a 6-megawatt outdoor unit.
- The Barmer HVDC project in India is expected to contribute $1.5 billion in orders during the fourth quarter of 2026.
INDUSTRY GLOSSARY
- Aeroderivative: Gas turbines based on aircraft engine technology, often used for fast-start power generation.
- Bushing: An insulated component that allows an electrical conductor to pass safely through a grounded transformer tank.
- HA Turbine: A heavy-duty H-class gas turbine designed for high-efficiency combined-cycle power plants.
- HVDC: High Voltage Direct Current, a technology used for efficient long-distance power transmission.
- MV-UPS: Medium Voltage Uninterruptible Power Supply, used to protect large-scale electrical loads like data centers.
- SMR: Small Modular Reactor, a type of nuclear fission reactor that is smaller than conventional reactors.
- SRA: Slot Reservation Agreement, a commitment by a customer to reserve a manufacturing slot for a power turbine before a firm order is placed.
- SST: Solid-state transformer, a power transformer that uses power electronics to provide enhanced grid control.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Operator: Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to GE Vernova’s Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] My name is Liz, and I will be your conference coordinator today. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the program over to your host for today’s conference, Michael Lapides, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please proceed.
Michael Lapides: Thank you. Welcome to the conference call on GE Vernova’s Third Quarter 2026 Earnings and the planned acquisition of Trench Group. I’m joined today by our CEO, Scott
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