Accelleron Hits the Gas on Data Center Prime Power, Raises Guidance
H1 2026 results show data center revenues nearly double as a share, led by prime power turbochargers; company ups organic growth outlook to 14-17%.
ACLN.SW · Earnings Call · 2026-08-27
A Data Center Tailwind Takes Shape
Accelleron's first half of 2026 delivered another strong beat, with revenue up 21.3% to $737 million and organic growth of 17.2%. The standout driver is the rapid scaling of prime power applications for U.S. data centers. CEO Daniel Bischofberger highlighted that data center-related revenues climbed from around 5% of group revenues in H1 '25 to slightly below 9% in H1 '26. “Data center-related revenues increased from around 5% of Group revenues in the first half of '25 to slightly below 9% in the first half of '26.” — Daniel Bischofberger, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) · 2026-08-27 This growth is overwhelmingly in prime power—turbocharger deliveries for gas-fired prime power more than doubled to ~5 GW from under 2 GW a year ago. Bischofberger also clarified the technology split, emphasizing that prime power relies on gas engines, not turbines, a distinction that matters for turbocharger demand.
When we talk about prime power, we are referring to internal combustion engines running predominantly on natural gas. Gas turbines do not need turbochargers and are a competing technology to gas engines.
The company's data center exposure is still relatively small but is expanding fast, and the installed base will create a long-tail service stream. Bischofberger noted, “We expect the main service effect to materialize with a lag of approximately 3 to 5 years after the power plants become operational.” — Daniel Bischofberger, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) · 2026-08-27 That lag is the promise of recurring revenue that the market is pricing.Similarly, gas compression has become a larger share of group revenue, rising to ~12% from ~9% a year earlier, driven by U.S. natural gas infrastructure investment. The High Speed segment, which houses both data center and gas compression turbochargers, grew 40% in the quarter.
Capacity Investments and Margin Discipline
To ride this growth, Accelleron is ramping capacity. CFO Adrian Grossenbacher detailed a CapEx plan of 5-6% of revenues for 2026, with roughly two-thirds allocated to Switzerland and the remainder to China, Italy, and the service network. Bischofberger used the apt metaphor of a growing shoe size: “We are investing in the infrastructure. The shoe size has become too tight, and we now need to move to a new shoe size.” — Daniel Bischofberger, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) · 2026-08-27 The investment is split between facility expansion, equipment replacement, and additional production capacity, with the goal of supporting revenue growth over the next 5-10 years.
Despite the heavy product mix (product business grew ~30% vs services ~15%), the operational EBITA margin held at 25.7%, a 20bp improvement. Grossenbacher explained that the margin expansion came from structural leverage on SG&A rather than gross margin, offsetting the lower-margin new business drag. “Group revenues increased by USD 129 million or 21.3% to USD 737 million. Organic growth reached 17.2%” — Adrian Grossenbacher, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) · 2026-08-27 (he later stated that volume contributed ~14pp of growth, with the remainder from pricing and FX). This discipline reassures investors that the growth is not coming at the expense of profitability.
Guidance Raised, but Cautious on Backlog
Accelleron raised its full-year 2026 organic revenue growth outlook to 14-17% from 9-14%, citing the structural drivers in marine and energy. Backup power growth, in contrast, was constrained by OEM capacity allocation to prime power. The company remains cautious about order visibility, noting that firm order backlog covers only 4-6 months at the group level, with demand signals providing comfort but not commitment. Bischofberger acknowledged the challenge: “We have some orders, but we see high dynamic in prime power that some customers then are delaying some of the orders because they are not as fast in ramping up their capacity.” — Daniel Bischofberger, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) · 2026-08-27
This contrast between the strong near-term growth and the longer-term uncertainty is the essence of the current story. The prior year's concerns about tariffs and supply chain have faded; the focus is now on capacity and execution. As Bischofberger said in the August 2025 call, “Yes. I mean, as I already said, we are doing everything to secure our midterm business and that means also the top line.” — Daniel Bischofberger, Chief Executive Officer · 2025-08-27 That commitment has clearly carried into 2026, with the company investing heavily to capture the data center opportunity.
The market is voting with a ~$7.5 billion market cap, and the shares have been in a strong uptrend over the past year. The raised guidance is a signal that management sees more room to run, but the real prize is the service annuities from the growing installed base of prime power engines. For now, Accelleron looks well-positioned to power the data center buildout, one turbocharger at a time.