ACS Sees Data Center Revenue Growing 12% Annually Through 2030
Key Facts
Spain’s ACS Group expects revenue from its data center business to grow at a compound annual rate of 12% between 2026 and 2030, according to its Capital Markets Day presentation filed with Spain’s securities market regulator. The rate applies to data center revenue, while the group is targeting annual growth of more than 10% in total revenue through 2030. The company said group earnings will grow faster than revenue. It is also targeting cumulative net operating cash flow of between 9 and 11 billion euros over four years. These targets place the data center business within the group’s broader growth plan.
ACS’s forecasts vary by region, with Europe leading at expected compound annual growth of 25% from 2026 to 2030. Asia-Pacific follows at 19%, while the company expects growth of 11% in North America. Revenue in Europe and Asia-Pacific is forecast to grow faster than in North America. This geographic distribution gives the sector’s outlook more than one regional growth driver. The figures are based on the company’s forecasts in its investor presentation.
The presentation showed a sharp acceleration in near-term revenue for the sector: 4 billion euros in 2024, followed by 9 billion euros in 2025, with an estimate of between 17 and 18 billion euros in 2026. That trajectory represents compound annual growth of 112% between 2024 and the 2026 estimate. These figures show the expansion phase before the longer-term forecast horizon, when growth slows to 12% annually from 2026 to 2030. The comparison reflects the different periods covered by each growth rate. ACS ties its long-term forecast to a sector in which it projects rising annual revenue.
ACS’s data center backlog stood at 26 billion euros in the third quarter of 2026, with more than 65% coming from hyperscale cloud companies. The backlog reflects the volume of work recorded in the company’s portfolio during the quarter. In its results presentation for the first nine months of 2026, ACS said its data center backlog had increased 94% year over year. The figure combines the portfolio’s size and annual growth, while the share from hyperscale companies identifies the source of more than two-thirds of the backlog. This comes alongside the company’s forecast for continued data center revenue growth through 2030.
ACS places its data center expansion within a broader range of activities that includes energy, defense, critical minerals and infrastructure. Its estimates of global data center capacity needs in 2030 range from about 180 to 300 gigawatts of information technology capacity, depending on the scenario. The base-case estimate is about 240 gigawatts, compared with about 180 gigawatts in the conservative scenario and about 300 gigawatts in the higher scenario. On energy, the International Energy Agency expects electricity consumption by data centers to rise from 485 terawatt-hours in 2025 to 950 terawatt-hours in 2030. The agency said this would equal about 3% of global electricity demand in 2030.
In its results for the first nine months of 2026, ACS reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted net profit target of 1.110 to 1.155 billion euros, equivalent to growth of between 30% and 35%. This financial target complements the group’s longer-term revenue and earnings growth forecasts. The company also included cumulative net operating cash flow of between 9 and 11 billion euros among its four-year targets. The net profit figures apply to fiscal 2026, while the revenue growth rates cover targets through 2030. ACS’s plan thus combines a near-term annual target with multi-year growth and liquidity measures.