So, GE Vernova Inc. (GEV) had itself a quarter. The energy-focused spin-off from the old General Electric reported first-quarter 2026 results on Wednesday, and the market liked what it saw—shares jumped, hitting a new 52-week high. The headline numbers were strong, but the real story is in the details: a backlog that's swelling like a balloon and cash gushing out of the business.
Let's start with the basics. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.06, beating the $1.88 estimate. Revenue was $9.339 billion, topping the $9.173 billion consensus. That's a 16% jump from a year ago. Net income hit $4.7 billion, though that includes a hefty $4.5 billion in pre-tax gains from acquisitions, mainly from integrating Prolec GE.
The more telling metrics for an industrial business like this are further down the income statement. Adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled to $0.9 billion, with the margin expanding to 9.6%. The company says that was driven by better pricing, higher volumes, and just getting more efficient. But the real eye-popper? Orders. They surged 71% on an organic basis to $18.3 billion. That massive intake of new business pushed the company's total backlog—the value of all the work it's contracted to do in the future—up by $13.0 billion from just last quarter to a staggering $163 billion.
And then there's the cash. Cash from operating activities was $5.2 billion. Free cash flow, which is what's left after capital expenditures, was $4.8 billion. That's more than four times what it was a year ago. The company ended March with $10.2 billion in cash and equivalents and returned $1.4 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. Not a bad start to the year.
CEO Scott Strazik summed it up: "We had a solid start to 2026 as we continue to serve the growing, long-cycle electric power market. Demand is accelerating for our Power and Electrification solutions from a diverse set of customers, with our backlog growing by more than $13 billion quarter-over-quarter." He added that the company now expects its combined gas turbine backlog and slot reservation agreements to reach at least 110 gigawatts by the end of 2026, up from 100 GW now.
Digging into the segments shows where the strength is coming from—and where there's still a headache.
The Power segment, which makes gas turbines and provides services, brought in $5.0 billion in revenue, up 12%. Orders jumped 59% organically to $10.0 billion. The segment's EBITDA margin expanded by a hefty 470 basis points to 16.3%. It signed contracts for 21 GW of new gas equipment and converted another 6 GW of reservations into firm orders. Its backlog for gas power alone rose from 83 GW to 100 GW.
The Electrification segment, which makes grid equipment and is riding the data center boom, was even hotter. Revenue soared 61% to $3.0 billion. Orders were up 86% organically to $7.1 billion, meaning for every dollar of work it completed, it booked about $2.50 in new orders. The segment's EBITDA margin improved 670 basis points to 17.8%. It booked a whopping $2.4 billion in equipment orders tied directly to data centers. Its backlog swelled to $38.6 billion, which includes $5 billion from the recently acquired Prolec GE.
Then there's the Wind segment. It's the laggard. Revenue fell 23% to $1.4 billion, and the segment's EBITDA loss widened to $0.4 billion. The company blamed lower volumes for onshore turbines, the impact of tariffs, and higher losses on offshore contracts, tracing the issues back to soft orders in early 2025.
With all this momentum, the company decided it was time to raise its outlook for the full year. CFO Ken Parks said, "Given our strong results and continued business momentum, we are increasing our guidance for 2026 revenue, adjusted EBITDA margin, and free cash flow."
Here's the new forecast: full-year 2026 revenue is now expected to be between $44.5 billion and $45.5 billion, up from the prior range of $44.0 billion to $45.0 billion. The adjusted EBITDA margin is projected to be 12% to 14%. Free cash flow is now seen landing between $6.5 billion and $7.5 billion.
For the segments, Power is expected to deliver organic revenue growth of 16% to 18% with an EBITDA margin of 17% to 19%. Electrification revenue is forecast at $14.0 billion to $14.5 billion with an 18% to 20% margin (including about $3 billion from Prolec GE). The Wind segment, however, is forecast to see revenue decline in the low double-digits with EBITDA losses of around $400 million.
The market's verdict was clear. GE Vernova shares were up 7.74% at $1068.00 in premarket trading on Wednesday, hitting a new 52-week high.
