What happens to stocks if AI loses momentum?
Investing.com -- Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CSE:VWS) shares fell on Wednesday after the wind turbine maker’s second-quarter EBIT missed estimates, prompting questions over the scale of improvement needed in the second half to meet its full-year targets, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said.
Adjusted EBIT was below consensus due to higher offshore ramp-up costs and a service margin of 17.2%, short of the 17.7% expected. Offshore costs offset onshore profit gains, Morgan Stanley said.
Vestas kept its 2025 outlook for revenues of €18 billion to €20 billion and an adjusted EBIT margin of 4% to 7%.
Consensus stands at a 5.7% margin and €1.1 billion in EBIT for the year. The company reported €77 million in EBIT for the first half.
Quarterly revenue was €3.75 billion, 5.2% below consensus. Offshore revenue dropped 21.1%, onshore fell 3.9%, and service revenue rose 0.4%, in line with expectations.
Orders outperformed, coming in 8% ahead of consensus in megawatts and 13.7% higher in euro terms at €2.2 billion.
The average selling price was €1.11 million per megawatt, down from €1.21 million a year earlier, a decline Morgan Stanley attributed to order mix rather than pricing.
Free cash flow was negative €171 million for the quarter and negative €465 million for the first half, compared with consensus of €223 million for the quarter.
Analysts at Jefferies and Morgan Stanley said Vestas’ 2025 performance is weighted toward the second half, supported by expected offshore delivery growth and a recovery in the U.S. market.