Schneider Electric soars in Paris, will play key role in Softbank's AI plan

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor)- Schneider Electric soars on the Paris Stock Exchange, backed by Berenberg and for its central role in SoftBank's artificial intelligence mega-project in France. Berenberg initiated coverage of Schneider Electric's stock with a buy recommendation and atarget price of EUR 325, representing a potential upside of around 20% from Friday's closing price of EUR 269.95. The French company is one of Berenberg analysts' top picks in the European electrification sector. The bank believes that the group is particularly well positioned to capitalise on the growth of artificial intelligence-related data centres, thanks to an offering that covers the entire value chain, from electrical equipment to cooling solutions and software.

According to its estimates, data centres could account for almost a quarter of the group's orders and be one of the main growth drivers in the coming years. This momentum is reflected in a record order backlog of EUR 25.4 billion, which offers solid visibility on future business. Berenberg also points out that Schneider Electric has the largest industry presence in Europe in this fast-growing market, with expected growth of 20-25% per year in data centres until 2030. In parallel, Schneider Electric took the opportunity of the Choose France 2026 summit to announce its commitment as a strategic technological and industrial partner in SoftBank's investment project aimed at accelerating the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure in France. The Japanese group plans to invest up to€75 billion to develop and operate 5 gigawatts of data centre capacity dedicated to artificial intelligence in France. As part of this project, Schneider Electric will provide the electrical infrastructure and power supply modules for the future data centres. The group also plans to invest in a factory for the prefabrication of data centre modules at the port of Dunkerque to support the rapid deployment of the facilities. The equipment will integrate power distribution, secure power supply and cooling technologies manufactured in several of the group's plants in France and Europe. Although financial details of the expected benefits for Schneider Electric were not disclosed, according to traders, this announcement confirms the group's position as one of the main beneficiaries of the strong growth in global investment in the infrastructure required for the development of artificial intelligence.