ABB (ABB) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record financial results in 2024, with record-high revenues, operational EBITA, and margin, driven by robust trading in most business areas and strong performance in Electrification, offsetting weaker Robotics & Discrete Automation and E-mobility.

• Orders grew in Q4, with full-year orders flat or up slightly year-over-year, and a positive outlook for 2025.

• Free cash flow reached $3.9B (12% margin), and ROCE improved to 22.9%.

• Board proposed a dividend increase to CHF 0.90 and announced a new $1.5B share buyback program.

• Focused on profitable growth, increased R&D to 4.5% of revenues, and made significant progress on sustainability targets.

Financial highlights

• Q4 2024 orders grew 6–7% year-over-year to $8.1B, with revenues up 4–5% to $8.6B, marking the highest quarterly level ever.

• Operational EBITA margin for Q4 was 16.7% (+0.4 pts YoY), with gross margin at 35.5% (+1 pt YoY); FY operational EBITA margin reached 18.1% (+1.2 pts YoY), and gross margin 37.4% (+2.6 pts YoY).

• Basic EPS for Q4 was $0.54 (+7% YoY); FY EPS was $2.13 (+6% YoY).

• Free cash flow for FY was $3.9B (+7% YoY), with a margin of 12%.

• ROCE reached 22.9%, up 180 bps YoY.

Outlook and guidance

• 2025 expected to see mid-single digit comparable revenue growth and improved operational EBITA margin.

• Q1 2025 guidance: mid-single digit revenue growth and stable or slightly improved operational EBITA margin.

• Free cash flow for 2025 expected to be similar to 2024, with higher CapEx investments, especially in Electrification and growth markets like North America and India.

• Book-to-bill expected to remain above 1; about 70% of backlog to be fulfilled in 2025.

• New share buyback program of up to $1.5B to run until January 2026.