--- title: "AI Data Center Demand Explodes! GE Vernova Q1 Orders Surge 71% YoY, Free Cash Flow Guidance Raised by 40% | Earnings Insights" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/283647602.md" description: "GE Vernova reported explosive first-quarter performance with orders soaring 71% year-over-year and free cash flow reaching $4.8 billion, surpassing the full-year total of the previous year. Benefiting from the surge in AI data center construction and grid upgrades, gas power backlog orders exceeded 100GW, while the Electrification division saw a sharp increase in orders. Despite pressure on its wind business due to tariffs, the company raised its full-year financial guidance across the board, increasing the midpoint of its free cash flow target by nearly 40%, signaling that global power infrastructure investment is entering a period of rapid expansion" datetime: "2026-04-22T10:52:32.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/283647602.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283647602.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/283647602.md) --- # AI Data Center Demand Explodes! GE Vernova Q1 Orders Surge 71% YoY, Free Cash Flow Guidance Raised by 40% | Earnings Insights GE Vernova accelerated its performance in the first quarter of 2026, benefiting from the expansion of long-cycle global power demand and the boom in artificial intelligence data center infrastructure investment. The company saw significant improvements in orders, margins, and cash flow, subsequently raising its full-year 2026 financial guidance. Data released on April 22 showed that **first-quarter orders reached $18.3 billion, representing a 71% organic year-over-year growth**; adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled to $896 million, with margins rising to 9.6%, an increase of 390 basis points year-over-year; free cash flow reached $4.8 billion, growing more than three times year-over-year and exceeding the total for the entire year of 2025. Backlog orders increased by over $13 billion compared to the previous quarter, reaching approximately $163 billion. The magnitude of the guidance upgrade was particularly notable. Full-year free cash flow guidance was significantly raised from the previous range of $5 billion to $5.5 billion to $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion; **the target range for adjusted EBITDA margin was increased from 11%-13% to 12%-14%; and full-year revenue guidance was also slightly raised to $44.5 billion to $45.5 billion.** CEO Scott Strazik stated that combined gas power backlog orders and slot reservation agreements have increased from 83GW to 100GW, and are expected to reach at least 110GW by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the company completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% equity in transmission and transformation equipment supplier Prolec GE for a transaction value of approximately $5.3 billion, further strengthening its grid equipment layout. The Wind business continued to face pressure due to tariff impacts and expanding losses from offshore wind contracts, becoming the primary drag on overall performance. GE Vernova shares surged in pre-market trading, rising over 4%. ## Strong Gas Power Orders, Backlog Breaks 100GW The Power division (primarily gas power) was the core engine for order growth this quarter. **Orders for this division reached $10 billion, up 59% organically year-over-year, driven primarily by higher gas turbine pricing and large nuclear service orders.** The company signed new contracts for 21GW of gas equipment this quarter, including 19GW in slot reservation agreements and 2GW in firm orders, converted 6GW of existing slot reservations into firm orders, and delivered 4GW of equipment. By the end of the quarter, combined gas power equipment backlog orders and slot reservation agreements increased from 83GW to 100GW. The company expects this figure to reach at least 110GW by the end of the year, an upward revision from previous expectations. Revenue for the Power division reached $5 billion in the first quarter, up 10% organically year-over-year; the division's EBITDA margin was 16.3%, up 470 basis points year-over-year, primarily due to price increases and delivery volume growth, partially offset by inflationary pressures and increased capital expenditure in the Gas Power and nuclear sectors. ## Explosive Electrification Demand, Data Center Orders Exceed Previous Full Year The Electrification division had the most outstanding performance. First-quarter orders reached $7.1 billion, up 86% organically year-over-year, with an order-to-shipment ratio of approximately 2.5x, leading to rapid backlog accumulation. Revenue was $3 billion, up 61% year-over-year under US GAAP (including consolidation of Prolec GE), or 29% organically. Growth drivers included switchgear, transformers, and high-voltage direct current transmission solutions, with growth achieved in both North America and Asia. Scott Strazik specifically pointed out that **equipment orders from data centers for the Electrification division reached $2.4 billion this quarter, already exceeding the total for the full year of 2025.** Benefiting from simultaneous volume and price increases in Power Transmission and Grid Systems Integration, along with efficiency improvements, the division's EBITDA margin rose to 17.8%, a significant year-over-year increase of 670 basis points. The consolidation of Prolec GE further bolstered the scale of the Electrification division. As a result, Electrification equipment backlog orders rose to $38.6 billion, up 75% year-over-year, with Prolec GE contributing approximately $5 billion. ## Wind Business Continues to Face Pressure, Tariffs and Contract Losses Expand Losses The Wind division remains the primary drag on overall performance. Division revenue for the first quarter was $1.4 billion, down 23% year-over-year, due to significantly reduced equipment deliveries this quarter caused by weak onshore wind orders in the first half of 2025. The division's EBITDA loss widened to $382 million, with a margin of -26.7%, a decline of 1,880 basis points year-over-year. The main pressures came from three areas: **reduced onshore wind equipment deliveries, direct impact from tariffs, and expanding losses from offshore wind contracts.** The company maintained its latest full-year guidance, expecting organic revenue for Wind to decline in the double digits and full-year division EBITDA losses to be around $400 million. Notably, the company completed the installation of turbines for the UK Dogger Bank A and US Vineyard Wind offshore wind projects this quarter. ## Comprehensive Full-Year Guidance Upgrade, Free Cash Flow Midpoint Increased by Nearly 40% Based on strong first-quarter performance and the continued accumulation of business backlogs, GE Vernova comprehensively upgraded its full-year 2026 financial guidance: **revenue guidance was raised from $44 billion to $45 billion to $44.5 billion to $45.5 billion; adjusted EBITDA margin was raised from 11%-13% to 12%-14%; and free cash flow was significantly raised from $5 billion to $5.5 billion to $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion, with the midpoint of the guidance range increasing by nearly 40%.** Regarding divisional guidance, the Power division's organic revenue growth rate remains unchanged at 16%-18%, but the division's EBITDA margin guidance was raised from 16%-18% to 17%-19%; Electrification division revenue guidance was raised from $13.5 billion to $14 billion to $14 billion to $14.5 billion (of which approximately $3 billion comes from Prolec GE), and margin guidance was raised from 17%-19% to 18%-20%. CFO Ken Parks stated: "We have maintained a robust investment-grade balance sheet, and even after completing the Prolec GE acquisition and returning capital to shareholders, our cash balance has increased to $10.2 billion. Given our strong performance and continuing positive business momentum, we are raising our 2026 revenue, adjusted EBITDA margin, and free cash flow guidance." ### Related Stocks - [GEV.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GEV.US.md) - [GEVX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GEVX.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [AI Data Center Boom Supercharges GE Vernova Earnings. 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