AI in action · Markets
Siemens Energy: Data Centres Are Under 10% of Its Backlog
Data-centre customers make up about €15 billion of Siemens Energy's €164 billion backlog, under 10%, its CFO said on November 11, 2026.
The AI build-out has become the default explanation for every power-equipment order. Siemens Energy's management spent part of its results call on November 11, 2026, pushing back on that. "Our growth thesis does not depend on AI," chief executive Christian Bruch said, according to the transcript published by Investing.com, describing AI and data centres as "only one part of a much broader investment cycle." Chief financial officer Maria Ferraro put a number on it: customers linked to data centres account for about €15 billion of the record €164 billion backlog, under 10%.
The orders themselves were enormous. Siemens Energy booked 42 gigawatts of gas turbines in fiscal 2026, the most in its history, Bruch said, and ended the year with 104 GW of commitments, 65 GW firm and 39 GW under slot reservation agreements that it expects to convert into firm orders "at a more attractive margin profile" in 2027. Group orders rose 19% to €68.1 billion, a book-to-bill ratio of 1.54, and the shares rose about 9.7% on the day, RTTNews reported.
Bruch's case is that electricity demand is in what he called "a growth era", requiring sustained investment in generation, grids and energy infrastructure, with data centres one buyer among several. He said the grid market has roughly tripled since 2022, with about 70% of demand linked to rising consumption and about 20% to replacing ageing infrastructure, and that global gas turbine additions rose from 64 GW in fiscal 2024 to 108 GW in 2025.
For investors, the split matters because AI-linked power stocks have been among the most volatile of the autumn, swinging on every report about data-centre spending. A supplier whose backlog is 90% non-AI should, in principle, be less exposed to a slowdown in AI capital spending than one whose order book depends on a few hyperscalers. Ferraro also said management had not seen any slowdown in demand from data-centre customers.
The caution runs the other way too. Indirect AI demand, such as utilities adding generation because data centres are coming onto their grids, will not show up in the €15 billion figure, so the true exposure is probably larger than the direct number. The useful habit is to ask every company that cites AI for exactly this kind of breakdown, and to treat its absence as information.
Sources: Investing.com — Earnings call transcript: Siemens Energy shares jump on record Q4 2026 results; RTTNews — Siemens Energy gains on strong Q4, positive outlook, dividend hike, €9 bln buyback