April 22 (Reuters) - GE Vernova on Wednesday raised its annual forecasts for revenue and adjusted core profit margin, helped by strong demand from data centers for its power equipment.
Its shares rose 4.2%
in premarket trading.
U.S. electricity consumption, which hit its second straight annual record high in 2025, will rise further in 2026 and 2027, according to the Energy Information Administration, partly fueled by power-hungry data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence technologies.
GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said the company expects to reach at least 110 gigawatt (GW) of combined gas turbine backlog and slot reservation agreements by the end of this year.
The company now expects revenue of $44.5 billion to $45.5 billion in 2026, compared with its prior view of $44 billion to $45 billion.
Analysts on average expected GE Vernova to report annual revenue of $44.5 billion in 2026, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company also forecast adjusted core profit margin for 2026 to be between 12% and 14%, up from 11% to 13% previously. Analysts, on average, were expecting 13.7%.
It reported $18.3 billion in orders in the first quarter, an increase of more than 71% organically, led by growth in its power, electrification and wind units.
The electrification unit reported a core profit of $528 million, up from $205 million from a year ago, while the power unit posted $811 million, nearly a 57% rise.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company posted adjusted core earnings of $896 million in the three months ended March 31, compared with analysts' expectations of $777.2 million.
(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
