Atlas Copco lifts earnings per share to 1.58 crowns as operating profit misses forecasts

Key Facts

Atlas Copco's operating profit fell short of market expectations in the third quarter of 2026 as its shares declined, according to Reuters coverage of the group's results announced on October 22. The company maintained its outlook for customer activity despite the strong performance it highlighted in its earnings presentation. Atlas Copco described third-quarter revenue as a record, pointing to strong orders and cash flow. It summed up its performance as "strong orders, record revenues and solid cash flow," according to the earnings presentation published on its investor website. The quarterly report showed basic earnings per share rose to 1.58 Swedish crowns from 1.37 crowns in the third quarter of 2025. The group's adjusted operating margin held steady at 21.3%, unchanged from the same period a year earlier. Higher earnings per share and record revenue thus coincided with an unchanged adjusted margin, while operating profit remained below market expectations.

In its segment results, the operating margin at Compressor Technique fell to 23.6% in the third quarter of 2026 from 25.3% in the third quarter of 2025, according to the group's official report. Atlas Copco attributed the decline in the business's margin to factors including currencies, sales mix and supply chain costs. It described the currency impact on the segment as a "negative currency effect" in explaining the margin's decline from a year earlier. In broader comments on business performance, Chief Executive Vagner Rego said most equipment segments achieved strong growth and the service business continued to develop positively. He added in the statement accompanying the results: "Most equipment segments achieved strong growth, and the service business continued to develop positively."

The semiconductor industry emerged as the driver of the sharp increase in vacuum equipment orders, according to Dow Jones coverage of the results carried by MarketScreener. Across the group, organic order volumes remained broadly stable compared with the previous quarter, placing strong demand in this business alongside stable overall volumes on a quarterly basis. Atlas Copco maintained its near-term outlook for customer activity to remain at the current level, according to the same coverage. That assessment follows a quarter that combined growth in most equipment segments and continued positive service performance with pressure on the compressor segment's margin. The group set January 28, 2027, in its investor calendar as the date for announcing its fourth-quarter 2026 results.