London, May 1, 2026, 20:06 (BST)
nVent Electric plc bumped up its 2026 sales and profit outlook Friday, fresh off reporting record highs for both first-quarter sales and orders—a clear signal that AI data-center investments are spilling over to electrical gear and cooling systems, not just chips. Net sales landed at $1.242 billion, a 53% jump. Organic sales, which strip out acquisitions and currency swings, climbed 34%. Adjusted earnings per share moved up 63% to $1.09.
Timing is key here. nVent reported organic orders up roughly 40%, with backlog now at $2.6 billion. Data-center demand, driven in part by liquid cooling gear—systems using fluids to siphon heat off those power-hungry servers—continues to surge. For investors, these results offer a closer look at appetite for the infrastructure that sits behind the AI curtain: enclosures, racks, power hardware and, crucially, cooling.
nVent shares NYSE-listed, climbed roughly 13.3% to $161.94 in recent trading, after spiking as high as $167.20 earlier in the session. The rally lifted the company’s market capitalization to around $26.5 billion.
Beth Wozniak, chair and CEO at nVent, described the quarter as a “tremendous start,” citing “growth across all verticals.” On the earnings call, she highlighted gains in the data-center segment, noting expansion in both “gray” and “white” space—terms for the power support zones and the actual server floor. Liquid cooling, power distribution units, and cable management all contributed to the uptick. SEC
nVent bumped its full-year reported sales growth outlook to 26%–28%, a jump from the previous 15%–18% range. The company is also looking for organic sales growth of 21%–23%, up from its earlier 10%–13% target, and now sees adjusted EPS coming in at $4.45–$4.55, compared with the old $4.00–$4.15 range. For Q2, nVent is guiding for reported sales growth between 28% and 30%, with adjusted EPS between $1.12 and $1.15.
Systems Protection stood out, posting a 76% jump to $895 million—organic sales up 50%. Electrical Connections delivered a 15% increase to $347 million, with organic sales up 8%, though inflation weighed on its return on sales.
The company highlighted a boost from fresh product lines and recent acquisitions. New offerings made up over 20 points of the quarter’s sales growth. That Electrical Products Group deal? Management says it’s already outpacing their targets, shown in the latest presentation. nVent reported $54 million in free cash flow—a non-GAAP metric tracking cash after capital expenditures.
This wasn’t a one-off. Schneider Electric, the bigger name in electrical equipment, posted record first-quarter revenue on Thursday. The company said its Energy Management segment saw organic growth of 12.8%, with data centers driving gains. According to Reuters, Schneider is also riding growing demand tied to the AI-fueled data-center boom—think more power and cooling systems.
nVent, headquartered in London with its U.S. management team based out of Minneapolis, manufactures a range of electrical connection and protection gear. Brands in its portfolio include CADDY, ERICO, HOFFMAN, ILSCO, SCHROFF and TRACHTE. The company’s hardware is deployed to safeguard sensitive equipment, buildings, and key infrastructure processes.
Still, there are clear risks on the table. Wozniak cautioned analysts that data-center demand “can be lumpy.” Chief Financial Officer Gary Corona flagged the U.S. tariffs as “highly fluid,” calling out an $80 million tariff headwind for this year. In its filing, the company listed tariffs, commodity volatility, supply-chain expenses, pricing pressure, and the challenge of delivering its backlog as factors that could sway results. Investing.com
nVent is sticking with its forecast for another record-setting year. The challenge, though, will be converting that $2.6 billion backlog into actual shipments while holding onto margins—no small feat with copper, fuel, tariffs, and capacity investments all pressing on the income statement.
