--- title: "Legrand raises 2026 outlook again to 11-13% organic growth as data centers grow near 40%" description: "Legrand lifted its 2026 organic growth target to 11-13% after nine-month sales of €8.33 billion, and UBS turned buyer with a €170 target. Investors are now paid an 8% discount to Schneider Electric and ABB to hold a group whose growth sits in one product line." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Data Center" published: 2026-11-13T22:06:53.543Z modified: 2026-11-13T22:06:53.543Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/legrand-raises-2026-outlook-again-to-11-13-organic-growth-as-data-centers-grow-near-40 language: en keywords: "Legrand, Data Centers, Guidance, Electrical Equipment" --- # Legrand raises 2026 outlook again to 11-13% organic growth as data centers grow near 40% > Legrand lifted its 2026 organic growth target to 11-13% after nine-month sales of €8.33 billion, and UBS turned buyer with a €170 target. Investors are now paid an 8% discount to Schneider Electric and ABB to hold a group whose growth sits in one product line. [Legrand](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/legrand) raised its 2026 sales targets for the second time this year on November 5, after [nine-month revenue of €8.33 billion](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/legrand-lifts-2026-sales-outlook-101914361.html), up 19.5% (22% excluding currency), outran the €8.08 billion analysts expected [1]. Organic growth, which strips out acquisitions and currency effects, ran at 12.7%, and acquisitions added 8.3% [2][3]. Adjusted operating profit rose 20% to €1.73 billion, a 20.8% margin, and net profit rose 19.6% to €1.07 billion [2]. [Guidance moved to 20-22% sales growth excluding currency](https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/legrand-lifts-2026-sales-outlook-on-strong-data-centre-demand/ar-AA2gO1Pc) and 11-13% organic, from the 16-19% and 8-10% set in July [1]. ## Data centers carried the quarter, and the guidance with it Data centers now bring in about a third of group turnover and grew close to 40% organically, chief executive Benoît Coquart told journalists [1]. The rest moved slower: Europe fell 0.9% over nine months and returned to growth only in the third quarter, at 2.4%, while North and Central America grew 26.6% and the US 28.7% [3]. Traditional building products, about half of sales, are growing marginally; electrification, about a fifth, grows 4 to 6% [1]. Seven acquisitions since January add roughly €450 million of combined annual revenue [3]. *Chart: **Data centers grew about 40% while Europe shrank** Bars ranking organic sales growth for the first nine months of 2026: data centers about 40%, the US 28.7%, North and Central America 26.6%, the group 12.7%, Europe minus 0.9%.* *Organic sales growth by segment and region, first nine months of 2026, percent versus the same period of 2025. Data-center figure is "close to 40%" per Legrand's release. Source: Legrand nine-month 2026 results via Zepros, November 10, 2026. [3]* ## UBS calls a 2027 acceleration and pays 170 euros for it On November 9 the Swiss bank UBS [moved Legrand from neutral to buy with a €170 target](https://www.tradingsat.com/legrand-FR0010307819/actualites/legrand-legrand-il-temps-d-appuyer-sur-le-bouton-acheter-emballe-par-l-hypercroissance-de-ses-produits-pour-les-data-centers-ubs-voit-legrand-prendre-plus-de-30-en-bourse-1173429.html), about 30% above the €129.65 Friday close, days after third-quarter comparable sales of 18.8% beat the 10% analysts expected [4]. UBS models data centers alone adding about 14 points of group growth in 2027, against consensus of 10, and lifted its 2027 operating-profit forecast by 15% [5]. It also argues the industry shift to 800-volt direct-current power architectures could raise the value of [Legrand](https://www.legrand.com/en/investors-and-shareholders/capital-markets-days/capital-markets-day-2026)'s equipment per installed megawatt [5]. ## The discount is the price of one product line The counter-case sits in management's own plan. The 2030 ambitions, upgraded at [the September 29 capital markets day](https://www.legrand.com/en/investors-and-shareholders/capital-markets-days/capital-markets-day-2026), fade to 6-8% organic growth a year plus about 5% from acquisitions, at a 21-22% margin [3]. Consensus, UBS notes, implies the non-data-center business shrinks about 6% a year to 2030 [4]. ## Eighteen times 2027 earnings and still 8% cheaper than the peers The shares traded at €136.20 on November 13 (17:12 Paris time, down 1.4%), 18.4 times expected 2027 earnings and about 8% below [Schneider Electric](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/schneider-electric) and ABB [6][5], so UBS's 30% upside is already closer to 25%. The Inference argued on September 30 that [the building business was being sold to fund the AI bet](https://theinference.org/article/legrand-s-guidance-raise-is-a-formal-notice-the-building-business-is-being-sold-to-fund-the-ai-bet) [6][5]. November's figures push that reading further along: data centers now make up about a third of turnover, and the group's own 2030 plan still assumes they contribute nothing beyond today's run-rate [6][5]. What stays open is whether the building recovery UBS expects arrives. ## Two readings decide the discount Whether the discount closes turns on two sourced readings: whether data-center growth holds near the roughly 50% UBS cites for the third quarter [4], and whether Europe's third-quarter uptick survives the winter [3]. A third of Legrand is growing 40% a year; the remaining two thirds depends on a construction recovery that has not shown up in the numbers yet [4][3]. ## Takeaway Data centers are now about a third of Legrand and growing close to 40% a year, yet the shares trade 18.4 times 2027 earnings, roughly 8% below Schneider Electric and ABB. The discount is a bet on whether the rest of the building business recovers. ## Sources 1. [Reuters (via MSN), Legrand lifts 2026 sales outlook on strong data centre demand, 5 November 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/legrand-lifts-2026-sales-outlook-on-strong-data-centre-demand/ar-AA2gO1Pc) 2. [Yahoo Finance (dpa), Legrand lifts 2026 sales outlook as data centre demand booms, 5 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/legrand-lifts-2026-sales-outlook-101914361.html) 3. [Zepros (Le Pôle Bâtiment), Legrand relève ses objectifs 2026, porté par les centres de données, 10 November 2026](https://bati.zepros.fr/actu-industriels/legrand-releve-ses-objectifs-2026-porte-centres-donnees) 4. [BFM Bourse / TradingSat, Emballé par l'hypercroissance de ses produits pour les data centers, UBS voit Legrand prendre plus de 30% en Bourse, November 2026](https://www.tradingsat.com/legrand-FR0010307819/actualites/legrand-legrand-il-temps-d-appuyer-sur-le-bouton-acheter-emballe-par-l-hypercroissance-de-ses-produits-pour-les-data-centers-ubs-voit-legrand-prendre-plus-de-30-en-bourse-1173429.html) 5. [MarketScreener / Zonebourse, Legrand profite des perspectives d'accélération des data centers en 2027, selon UBS, 9 November 2026](https://www.zonebourse.com/actualite-bourse/legrand-profite-des-perspectives-d-acceleration-des-data-centers-en-2027-selon-ubs-ce785fd3db8ffe27) 6. [Legrand, Capital Markets Day 2026 investor page (share price 136.200 euros at 17:12 on 13.11.2026, down 1.41; 9M-2026 release dated 11.05.2026), accessed 13 November 2026](https://www.legrand.com/en/investors-and-shareholders/capital-markets-days/capital-markets-day-2026) --- Legrand raises 2026 outlook again to 11-13% organic growth as data centers grow near 40% — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/legrand-raises-2026-outlook-again-to-11-13-organic-growth-as-data-centers-grow-near-40