Bosch Sees Steady Growth Amid Uncertain Global Economy

Bosch Group reported its first-half 2026 results on September 23, showing steady growth despite a tough business climate. The engineering giant's sales climbed 3.6% year-on-year to 46.4 billion euros from 44.8 billion euros the previous year.

The company attributed this increase primarily to its Industrial Technology division, which saw a 6.8% rise in sales to 3.4 billion euros, or 9.2% when adjusted for currency effects. However, the segment's EBIT margin narrowed to 2.5% from 4.5%, mainly due to better order intake.

In contrast, Bosch's Mobility Solutions division, its largest segment, posted a 0.5% year-on-year decline in sales to 27.8 billion euros, although currency-adjusted growth stood at 2.3%. The EBIT margin slipped to 4.7% from 5.8%, primarily due to stagnant vehicle production volumes and one-time special charges amounting to 270 million euros.

The Consumer Goods division felt the heat from stiffer competition among Chinese suppliers, with sales sliding 2.9% to 9.6 billion euros, remaining flat on a currency-adjusted basis. The segment's EBIT margin fell to 4.4% from 5.1%. Meanwhile, Bosch's Energy and Building Technology saw a significant surge in sales of 45.9% to 5.4 billion euros.

Bosch attributed the growth in this division largely to acquisitions by Bosch Home Comfort Group, which contributed roughly 2 billion euros, offsetting a 450 million euro reduction from the sale of most assets in the Building Technologies product division. Stripping out currency moves, sales surged 52.0%, lifting the EBIT margin to 7.3% from just 0.8% a year ago.

Bosch is maintaining its full-year forecast, expecting fiscal 2026 sales growth of 2% to 5%, with an EBIT margin reaching 4% to 6%. However, the company believes that although the global economy shows some resilience, the outlook remains uncertain, which will delay investment decisions across markets and intensify competition.

In the mobility sector, Bosch expects global passenger car and light commercial vehicle production to continue to slide in 2026, while heavy commercial vehicle output is set to notch a slight increase.