Oct 28, 2026 earnings call — Acquisition expands high-voltage electrification business
GE Vernova announced a $9 billion Trench Group acquisition and raised full-year revenue guidance to $46.5 billion to $47.5 billion.
Revenue $12.6B (est $12.0B) · EPS $4.81 (est $4.03) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $46.5B–$47.5B
Key quotes
"We are pleased to announce the signing of the Trench Group acquisition, which will strengthen our core Electrification offerings in high-voltage grid equipment, be accretive on day 1 and bring us industry-leading technology to innovate into the future and serve this growing market."
"Power reached 21% EBITDA margins in what is historically our weakest margin quarter as 3Q is typically our lowest quarter for services activity."
"In parallel with announcing this $9 billion acquisition, we are announcing a doubling of our stock buyback program from $10 billion to $20 billion."
Analyst Q&A 11
Power margins and future level
Q (Joseph Ritchie · Goldman Sachs): Analyst asked if current high Power margins come from orders booked in the second half of 2024 and whether second-half margins are a fair baseline for 2027.
A: Management said the second half of this year is the start of shipping better-priced equipment and that some shorter-cycle orders also helped. They said using the second half of this year as a starting point for thinking about 2027 margins is reasonable. They also noted factory ramp and productivity are contributing positively.
"Certainly, the second half of this year is the beginning of us starting to ship our better-priced equipment shipments." — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Trench share, customers, and M&A plans
Q (Nigel Coe · Wolfe): Analyst asked how much of Trench sales go to GEV versus external customers and whether more supply-chain deals are possible.
A: Management said GEV is a very small part of Trench's current $1.4 billion revenue, though GEV buys from them across shown product lines. They explained bushings are a small but important percent of transformer bill-of-materials and that Trench gives GEV more control of critical components. They said they will keep looking for acquisitions that fit their core and help meet demand.
"Today, of their $1.4 billion of revenue, we're a very small part of the $1.4 billion of revenue that you'll see on the page, although we are buying from them across those product lines that we showed on the page." — Scott Strazik (CEO)
SRAs and backlog growth
Q (Julian Mitchell · JPMorgan): Analyst asked whether SRAs that lifted 2026 will continue to expand the gigawatts on contract and the conversion to orders.
A: Management said conversations are very healthy and they see fourth quarter agreements modestly larger than third quarter. They framed reaching probably 13 gigawatts plus in Q4 and said gigawatts on contract should continue to grow through 2027, with more growth concentrated in the back half of the year.
"What we're really guiding you to here is that we see the fourth quarter gigawatts that we'll get on agreement to be modestly larger than the third quarter." — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Wind business strategic optionality
Q (Andrew Obin · BofA): Analyst asked what long-term options exist for the Wind business now that it is stabilized and profitable.
A: Management said they are pleased Wind is back to profitability and services margins improved, but they still have offshore execution to finish into next year. They said the U.S. market direction is important because GEV has been a large part of North America onshore wind and they will evaluate how to invest or create value in the business over the next year.
"I think it's important for us to see where the U.S. market goes because practically speaking, we have historically been about 50% of the North America onshore wind market." — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Electrification margin upside
Q (Alexander Virgo · Evercore): Analyst asked why Electrification margins could exceed 30% and for color on margin drivers given Trench and Prolec.
A: Management said Prolec and Trench give operating leverage and that Electrification expectations are rising. They pointed to the January earnings call as the next important data point to show margin change in Electrification backlog and said they will present a 2030 financial guide at a future Capital Markets Day.
"I think the next important data point will show you in the January earnings call is the change in margin in backlog in Electrification in 2026, which will further strengthen the thread that says, okay, this is a business that is -- has a jump-off point" — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Gas turbine and Electrification pricing
Q (Nicole DeBlase · Deutsche Bank): Analyst asked how gas turbine pricing momentum continued into Q3 and what Electrification pricing looks like.
A: Management said pricing in gas turbines remains strong: Q3 pricing was north of 20 points and year-to-date pricing for 2026 versus 2025 is directionally up 50%. For Electrification, they said pricing is overall positive but varies by product line, with some segments showing stronger recent price growth.
"we expect to be within the range that we've talked about in the fourth quarter that leads to a result for the year that year-over-year, our orders in '26 relative to '25, pricing is up directionally 50%." — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Services margin when services grow
Q (Amit Mehrotra · UBS): Analyst asked whether services growing faster than equipment would hurt or help group margins when backlog converts to service revenue.
A: Management said services growing as a share of total will be accretive to margins because they are also raising services pricing and services margins will expand. They noted services margin expansion won't match equipment margin gains in points because services already start from a higher baseline.
"The services growing as a proportion of the equipment would continue to be accretive to margins because as much as the equipment margins are improving, and you can see that in really the beginning of this journey with our first quarter now of the better-priced equipment shipments, we also are pricing up the services book and the margins will continue to expand there" — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Power services growth path
Q (Andrew Kaplowitz · Citi): Analyst asked about the trajectory for Power services and prior guidance from $12 billion to $22 billion by 2035.
A: Management said the $22 billion figure is likely conservative and that services will continue to grow with a large fulfillment ramp in 2027 and 2028. They said equipment revenue will grow faster percentage-wise, but services will build a larger, high-margin annuity over the next decade.
"we're going to continue to see real services growth, but we have a lot of fulfillment ramp to come here in '27 and '28." — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Aeroderivative demand and constraints
Q (Ameet Thakkar · BMO): Analyst asked if the recent high bookings of aeroderivative turbines indicate a lasting cycle and what constraints limit output increases.
A: Management said demand for aeroderivatives is strong but they don't expect to sustain the Q2/Q3 run rate into Q4, so fourth quarter aeros will be lighter. They noted they are also using aeros strategically in partnerships and that supply remains attractive.
"So good demand. Fourth quarter aeros will be lighter than the 2Q, 3Q run rate, but it's an important part of our business and one that we're very excited about." — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Customer financing or order slowdowns
Q (David Arcaro · Morgan Stanley): Analyst asked whether customers in the turbine backlog face financing issues, slowdowns, or requests to exit slot reservations.
A: Management said no financing issues are occurring and customers have strong balance sheets. They cited orders growth, gigawatts on contract, and $17 billion of cash on hand as evidence that cash terms aren't changing and customers continue to lean in.
"And I mean, I think what you can see is with the orders growth, the gigawatts on contract growth attached with $17 billion of cash in the bank account is that there's no change in our cash terms required to secure the equipment in the customer archetype that we're serving have very strong balance sheets and continue to lean in with us." — Scott Strazik (CEO)
Bottlenecks and electrification impact
Q (Robert Wertheimer · Melius): Analyst asked where bottlenecks are now and whether Electrification products can speed capacity online and provide pricing power.
A: Management said Electrification orders are up about 60% year-to-date and the fourth quarter is normally their largest orders quarter, which should grow backlog further. They added Electrification helps and they will keep investing to modernize the grid, but it cannot replace the need for more power generation—it's a complement.
"I don't know if electrification in isolation us or any other provider can provide enough of an unlock for what we're seeing for the need for incremental electricity in the country and in the world today." — Scott Strazik (CEO)