Siemens Energy Unleashes €3.6 Billion Shareholder Payout as AI Demand and Wind Recovery Converge

Siemens Energy plans €3.6B in shareholder returns for FY2025/26, fueled by 66% net profit jump and €154B order backlog, with wind unit Gamesa nearing breakeven.

Siemens Energy is dramatically accelerating its capital returns, planning to funnel up to €3.6 billion to shareholders in the 2025/26 fiscal year. That represents an extra €1 billion on top of the €2.4 billion already earmarked, with the bulk — €1.8 billion — coming via share buybacks and the remainder through dividends. The move underscores just how swiftly the narrative around the former industrial laggard has shifted, buoyed by a blockbuster quarter and a record order backlog that now stands at €154 billion.

The numbers for the second quarter paint a picture of a company firing on multiple cylinders. Revenue rose 3.3% year-on-year to €10.3 billion, while net profit landed at €835 million — a 66% jump from the prior-year period. Order intake surged nearly 30% to €17.7 billion, bringing the cumulative backlog to an all-time high. Chief Executive Christian Bruch called the market environment “very positive,” with geopolitical tensions so far having little impact on operations. The stellar performance prompted management to lift its full-year net profit forecast to around €4 billion and raise its revenue growth guidance to as much as 16%.

Much of the momentum comes from the energy transition and the AI boom. Gas Services, the division supplying power-generation solutions for hyperscale data centres, alone booked orders worth almost €9 billion in the quarter. Grid Technologies, another key segment, is also riding the wave of grid expansion needed to handle surging electricity demand from artificial intelligence. Together, these two businesses are now the primary engines of growth.

Equally important, the longstanding millstone around Siemens Energy’s neck is finally showing signs of lightening. Siemens Gamesa, the troubled wind-power subsidiary, trimmed its operating loss to just €44 million in the quarter, from nearly €250 million a year earlier. The unit is now within striking distance of breakeven, a development that lends credibility to the enlarged payout plan. Without this progress, the decision to boost returns would have been far harder to sell to investors.

The buyback programme itself extends out to 2028, with a total envelope of up to €6 billion. That long-term commitment, combined with the near-term cash return, signals board-level confidence that the operational turnaround is durable. Still, the stock — which closed at €179.52 on Thursday, up 0.85% on the day and 46.19% year-to-date — trades just 4.5% below its 52-week high of €188. After such a run, the onus is now on the company to demonstrate that the underlying momentum can be sustained.

Analysts are largely on board, though not uniformly. JPMorgan raised its target to €225 with an Overweight rating, while Goldman Sachs set €212 and both Deutsche Bank and Berenberg peg fair value at €200. Bernstein remains Outperform at €150, arguing that capacity expansion later this year could accelerate growth. On the bearish side, Barclays sees the stock worth just €110 and mwb research rates it a Sell, claiming operational strength is already priced in. For now, the bulls have the upper hand, but the next major catalyst won’t come until November, when Siemens Energy is due to unveil its medium-term targets for the decade ahead.