Record-high order intake and improved business performance
 

• Orders $9,785 million, +16%; comparable¹ +14%
• Revenues $8,900 million, +8%; comparable¹ +6%
• Income from operations $1,573 million; margin 17.7%
• Operational EBITA¹ $1,708 million; margin¹ 19.2%
• Basic EPS $0.63; +6%³
• Cash flow from operating activities $1,059 million; -1%
• Return on Capital Employed 23.1%

“ABB delivered an all-time-high order intake and improved operational performance. We are on a good path towards a new record year, amidst geopolitical uncertainties.”

Morten Wierod, CEO

CEO summary

I am pleased with what we achieved in the second quarter of 2025, and one of the highlights was the record-high order intake of $9.8 billion, up 16% (14% comparable). It was particularly encouraging to see that the positive development was broad-based across all four business areas, a majority of customer segments, all three geographical regions and in both the short-cycle and project-related businesses. In my view, this signals a robust general trading environment. Order growth was especially strong in the Process Automation business area where a large order of approximately $600 million net was booked. Our book-to-bill was strong at 1.10 and notably it was positive also without the specific large order booking which supported comparable order growth by about 7%.

Sequentially, the trading environment remained largely unchanged, with similar uncertainty linked to potential impacts from trade tariffs.

Broadly in line with our expectations, revenues increased by 8% (6% comparable) year-on-year, supported by three out of four business areas. Revenues in Robotics & Discrete Automation was hampered by weakness in the Machine Automation division where last year’s comparable was supported by a stronger order backlog.

Operational EBITA was up by 9% and the margin improvement of 20 basis points to 19.2% was even a bit better than originally expected. Margins increased in both the Electrification and Process Automation business areas, and Motion remained virtually stable. This combined operational improvement offset the year-on-year headwind from margin pressure in Robotics & Discrete Automation linked to the Machine Automation division, as well as the year-on-year headwind of 30 basis points from last year’s positive non-repeat in Corporate & other.

We continue to achieve high Return on capital employed and at 23.1% we added to our streak of delivering well above our long-term target. Free cash flow of $845 million was slightly softer than last year as increased earnings were more than offset by the impacts from the growth-related buildup of net working capital and the planned increase in capex spend. Our usual pattern suggests a stronger cash delivery in the second half of the year, and we remain confident in our ambition to improve from last year’s annual level.

During the quarter we were recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the top 15 most sustainable companies in the world, across all industries. I view it as a testament to the success of our strategic approach of embedding sustainability into our operations, based on accountability and transparency.

Another highlight in the quarter was the launch of three new robot families, aiming to further strengthen our Robotics business’ leading position in China. This enables us to support industries and customers to automate with new mid-market value propositions, and it is the result of our full local-for-local value chain. In April, we announced our plans to spin-off our Robotics division as a separately listed company. The carve-out for a distribution as a dividend-in-kind during the second quarter of 2026 is progressing as planned.

Also, I am excited about the Electrification business area launching the next generation of their technology-leading  air circuit breaker, the SACE Emax 3. This is the world’s first cybersecurity SL2-certified air circuit breaker. As evidence of our strategy of embedded software, the Emax 3 includes sensing, intelligence and advanced algorithms to improve energy security resilience of power systems in critical infrastructure, such as data centers, factories, hospitals and airports.

Morten Wierod

CEO

Outlook

In the third quarter of 2025, we anticipate comparable revenue growth to be at least in the mid-single digit range, and the Operational EBITA margin to remain broadly stable year-on-year; however acknowledging the uncertainty for the global business environment.

In full-year 2025, we expect a positive book-to-bill, comparable revenue growth in the mid-single digit range and the Operational EBITA margin to improve year-on-year, however acknowledging the uncertainty for the global business environment.

The complete press release including the appendices is available at www.abb.com/news

ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. By connecting its engineering and digitalization expertise, ABB helps industries run at high performance, while becoming more efficient, productive and sustainable so they outperform. At ABB, we call this ‘Engineered to Outrun’. The company has over 140 years of history and around 110,000 employees worldwide. ABB’s shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ABBN) and Nasdaq Stockholm (ABB).