See Bull Run's current pages for ABB India and Hitachi Energy India. Related comparisons include ABB India vs CG Power, Siemens vs Hitachi Energy India and Hitachi Energy India vs GE Vernova T&D India.

April–June 2026 financial scorecard

ABB wins current revenue scale

ABB generated ₹3,559 crore of continuing-business revenue during April–June.

That was its highest-ever second-quarter revenue and represented 21% year-on-year growth.

Hitachi generated ₹2,493.7 crore.

ABB therefore produced about ₹1,065 crore more quarterly revenue.

Hitachi wins current growth by an enormous margin

ABB's 21% growth is excellent for a large industrial company.

Hitachi's 69% growth is extraordinary for a heavy-electrical-equipment manufacturer.

The difference comes from where each company sits in the current capex cycle.

Hitachi is directly exposed to some of the hardest grid bottlenecks

The company participates in:

• large power transformers;
• HVDC;
• grid connection systems;
• high-voltage switchgear;
• power-quality equipment;
• grid automation;
• substations;
• lifecycle services;
• battery energy storage integration.

Many of these products cannot be manufactured quickly by a new entrant.

Transformers have become a physical capacity constraint

Large power transformers require:

• large specialized factories;
• long lead times;
• high-voltage testing;
• specialist engineering;
• qualified suppliers;
• customer approvals;
• experienced project execution teams.

This creates scarcity when global electricity investment accelerates suddenly.

ABB is exposed to electrification through a broader layer of the system

ABB's portfolio includes:

• low-voltage switchgear;
• medium-voltage switchgear;
• ring-main units;
• power protection;
• motors;
• drives;
• traction systems;
• industrial automation;
• measurement and analytics;
• process control.

ABB does not depend on transformer scarcity to produce growth.

ABB's diversification is visible in Q2 orders

The company reported strong demand from:

• data centres;
• metals and mining;
• renewables;
• food and beverage;
• cement;
• automotive;
• building infrastructure;
• container terminals;
• rail.

Orders increased 50% to a record ₹4,363 crore for a second quarter.

That 50% ABB order growth is easy to underestimate

ABB's revenue grew 21%.

Orders grew 50%.

This means current demand is expanding ahead of revenue recognition.

Its approximate Q2 book-to-bill ratio was:

₹4,363 crore orders / ₹3,559 crore revenue = 1.23x.

Hitachi's book-to-bill is even stronger

This is a Bull Run analytical calculation.

Hitachi's stated 26.1% year-on-year order growth excludes specified HVDC orders in the comparative periods, so the growth rate itself needs methodological caution.

The absolute current relationship between orders and revenue is nevertheless exceptionally strong.

The backlog difference is the central strategic distinction

ABB backlog:

₹11,898 crore.

Hitachi backlog:

₹32,222.1 crore.

Hitachi therefore carries approximately ₹20,324 crore more contracted work.

Relative to revenue, the gap is even more dramatic

Backlog divided by one quarter's revenue gives approximately:

• ABB: 3.34x;
• Hitachi: 12.92x.

These are not conversion-period forecasts.

Hitachi's HVDC and large grid projects can remain in backlog for years, while ABB includes a larger proportion of short-cycle products.

The calculation instead illustrates the different order-book architectures.

ABB sells more short-cycle industrial technology

Many ABB products can move from order to shipment relatively quickly.

Examples include:

• motors;
• drives;
• switchgear;
• power protection;
• automation components;
• retrofit solutions.

A structurally smaller backlog relative to revenue is therefore not automatically weaker visibility.

Hitachi sells more long-cycle infrastructure

HVDC and grid-connection projects can involve:

• multi-year engineering;
• custom equipment;
• transformers;
• power electronics;
• substation systems;
• site work;
• commissioning.

This naturally creates larger backlog balances.

Even after adjusting for business duration, Hitachi's order momentum is exceptional

Its Q1 order mix was led by:

• HVDC;
• grid connections;
• power quality;
• transformers.

Data centres were a major source of demand.

Industry and renewable customers followed.

Hitachi has explicit HVDC exposure that ABB India does not match directly

HVDC is valuable when electricity must move:

• over very long distances;
• from renewable-rich regions to load centres;
• through land-constrained cities;
• underground or through constrained corridors;
• with lower transmission losses.

The addressable opportunity rises as India adds remote renewable generation.

India's urban grids also need HVDC

Hitachi recently helped commission the Kudus–Aarey HVDC city-centre infeed in Mumbai.

The system can bring approximately 1,000 MW of power into one of India's most constrained urban electricity markets.

This is a highly engineered solution rather than commoditized electrical equipment.

ABB's equivalent differentiation is automation

A large industrial customer may use ABB across:

• power distribution;
• motors;
• drives;
• instrumentation;
• control systems;
• energy management;
• predictive maintenance;
• digital services.

This can increase wallet share without requiring ABB to dominate any single equipment niche.

The economic models therefore compound differently

Hitachi currently has the higher operating margin

Operational EBITDA was approximately ₹399.9 crore.

Margin reached 16.0%.

PBT was approximately ₹389.5 crore.

PAT reached ₹294.2 crore.

PAT grew more than 123%

This is positive operating leverage in its clearest form.

Revenue increased 68.6%.

PAT increased 123.5%.

Management credited:

• better execution;
• favourable product mix;
• operational efficiency;
• higher export contribution.

ABB's margin is lower, but still improving

Operational EBITA reached ₹461 crore.

Margin was 13.0%.

That was up approximately 20 basis points.

Operational EBITA grew 23%.

ABB therefore also generated positive operating leverage.

ABB faced commodity inflation without losing margin

Management highlighted cost pressure from:

• copper;
• silver;
• electrical steel;
• freight;
• energy costs;
• pricing-transmission lag.

Despite those headwinds, margin edged higher.

This is a useful measure of pricing power

ABB's ability to hold 13%-level Operational EBITA margin while raw-material costs rise suggests:

• pricing discipline;
• cost optimization;
• volume leverage;
• portfolio resilience.

Hitachi's margin quality is stronger—but also more cycle-sensitive

High factory utilisation improves margins dramatically.

That means scarcity is a benefit today.

If future capacity across the industry overshoots demand, the same manufacturing leverage can work in reverse.

Hitachi is making a ₹2,000 crore bet that scarcity persists

The factory is expected to be completed in FY28.

It will serve applications including:

• high-voltage transmission;
• HVDC;
• power generation;
• AI data centres;
• large industrial systems.

The new factory will become Hitachi Energy India's 20th manufacturing unit

This is significant because transformer capacity cannot be added through software or subcontracting alone.

The company needs physical:

• winding capability;
• drying systems;
• assembly halls;
• high-voltage testing;
• transport infrastructure.

Hitachi is also increasing supply-chain localization

Local transformer manufacturing reduces:

• international lead time;
• freight complexity;
• currency exposure;
• import dependence.

It also supports export production when global capacity is tight.

Exports are already meaningful

Hitachi said exports represented 33.6% of Q1 orders under its order calculation excluding HVDC.

Customers came from:

• Europe;
• North America;
• South Asia.

ABB is also building India as an export and manufacturing hub

ABB says approximately 85% of products and solutions sold in India are manufactured locally.

Its current 2026 investment programme is approximately $75 million.

ABB's capex is much more distributed

The investment spans:

• Bengaluru;
• Peenya;
• Hyderabad;
• Nashik;
• Vadodara.

And covers:

• electrification;
• motors;
• drives;
• power protection;
• circuit breakers;
• R&D;
• testing laboratories;
• rail technology.

ABB is therefore spreading capital across multiple demand pools

This lowers concentration risk.

But it also means a single scarcity category is less likely to transform earnings as dramatically as large power transformers can for Hitachi.

Nashik is an interesting direct overlap

ABB is investing approximately $22 million in Nashik to expand:

• indoor circuit breakers;
• outdoor circuit breakers;
• vacuum interrupters;
• 33kV gas-insulated switchgear localization;
• future SF6-free technologies.

This strengthens ABB's grid-distribution exposure without turning it into a pure transmission-equipment company.

Data centres benefit both companies

AI infrastructure is becoming a major electricity-demand driver.

A hyperscale data centre needs:

• grid connection;
• transformers;
• medium-voltage distribution;
• low-voltage distribution;
• UPS systems;
• power quality;
• automation;
• monitoring.

Hitachi sits closer to the utility-grid bottleneck

Large transformers and grid connections can determine whether a new data-centre campus can receive power at all.

This is why data centres appeared prominently in Hitachi's current order mix.

ABB sits deeper inside the data-centre electrical architecture

ABB's Q2 orders included:

• low-voltage switchgear;
• medium-voltage switchgear;
• ring-main units;
• power-protection systems.

The company has stated that its technology already powers a significant share of India's hyperscale data centres.

Storage creates another Hitachi adjacency

Hitachi secured its first BESS order for a:

• 165 MW;
• 330 MWh;
• project in Andhra Pradesh.

Grid storage becomes increasingly necessary as renewable penetration rises.

ABB participates in energy management rather than the same disclosed BESS model

ABB's electrical and automation systems can support storage projects and renewable plants.

But Hitachi's disclosed Q1 BESS win makes the storage opportunity more explicit in the current Indian order book.

Current standardized ROCE favours ABB

ABB currently earns more return on each rupee of capital

ROCE is approximately 30.0%.

Hitachi is approximately 27.7%.

The difference is modest compared with the valuation gap.

Hitachi's cash-conversion field is strong

Bull Run operating-cash-flow-to-net-profit is approximately 1.26x.

ABB is around 0.73x.

This current standardized measure suggests Hitachi's recent reported earnings are backed by solid cash conversion.

ABB has the longer standardized free-cash-flow history

Bull Run records approximately ₹4,318 crore of cumulative five-year free cash flow for ABB.

A directly comparable five-year field is not currently available for Hitachi in the database.

Bull Run therefore does not invent one.

Valuation is where ABB becomes much harder to ignore

The market pays almost the same rupees for each company

Yet the underlying earnings multiples are radically different.

ABB has:

• 43% more quarterly revenue;
• 26% more PAT;
• slightly higher standardized ROCE;
• lower price-to-book;
• less than half Hitachi's P/E.

Why does Hitachi deserve any premium?

Because backward-looking profit does not capture the scarcity embedded in its backlog.

Hitachi has:

• 2.7x ABB's backlog;
• 69% revenue growth;
• 123% PAT growth;
• higher current operating margin;
• HVDC exposure;
• large-transformer scarcity;
• ₹2,000 crore capacity expansion.

The market is paying for future earnings rather than today's revenue scale.

But 132x earnings creates a very high execution hurdle

Hitachi must sustain:

• fast backlog conversion;
• double-digit margins;
• capacity utilization;
• export demand;
• grid investment;
• transformer scarcity.

Merely delivering good results may not be enough if expectations are exceptional.

ABB also has a demanding valuation—but less extreme

59x earnings is not conventionally cheap.

ABB still needs durable growth.

But it begins with:

• 30% ROCE;
• record Q2 orders;
• 21% revenue growth;
• diversified demand;
• strong local manufacturing.

ABB has more ways to win

Growth can come from:

• electrification;
• motors;
• drives;
• automation;
• data centres;
• rail;
• renewables;
• industrial efficiency.

Hitachi's upside is more concentrated around the grid.

Hitachi has more ways to surprise on the upside

If transformer lead times remain extremely long, HVDC orders accelerate and the new Karjan factory fills quickly, earnings can grow far faster than a diversified industrial portfolio normally can.

What must ABB India prove?

• Record order growth should convert into revenue without margin dilution.
• Operational EBITA margin should remain around 13% or higher.
• The $75 million manufacturing programme needs high utilization.
• Automation growth should remain healthy alongside Electrification and Motion.
• Data-centre and metro demand should remain durable.
• 30%-level ROCE must survive capex expansion.
• Price transmission should offset commodity inflation.

What must Hitachi Energy India prove?

• ₹32,222 crore of backlog must convert efficiently.
• 16%-level Operational EBITDA margin should remain sustainable.
• HVDC projects need disciplined execution.
• The Karjan factory must commission around FY28 and fill quickly.
• Export demand should remain strong.
• Grid scarcity must persist long enough to absorb industry capacity additions.
• A 130x-plus P/E requires exceptional earnings growth.

What could make Hitachi outperform ABB?

Grid bottlenecks can remain severe for longer than investors expect.

If utilities, renewable developers and AI data-centre operators compete for scarce transformers and HVDC capacity, Hitachi can sustain high order intake, pricing and utilization.

What could make ABB outperform Hitachi?

ABB needs a less heroic scenario.

If record orders convert, 13%-level margins persist and 30% ROCE remains intact, ABB can compound earnings from a much lower P/E.

A moderation in transformer scarcity would also narrow Hitachi's premium.

Which company has higher revenue?

ABB India.

₹3,559 crore versus Hitachi Energy India at ₹2,493.7 crore in April–June 2026.

Which is growing faster?

Hitachi Energy India by a very wide margin.

68.6% revenue growth versus ABB at 21%.

Which has higher operating margins?

Hitachi Energy India.

16.0% Operational EBITDA versus ABB at 13.0% Operational EBITA.

The measures are not perfectly identical.

Which has the larger backlog?

Hitachi Energy India.

₹32,222 crore versus ABB at ₹11,898 crore.

Which is more diversified?

ABB India.

Its portfolio spans Electrification, Motion and Automation.

Which is the purer grid-scarcity investment?

Hitachi Energy India.

Transformers, HVDC, power quality and grid integration dominate the thesis.

Which has higher ROCE?

ABB India, narrowly.

Approximately 30.0% versus Hitachi at 27.7%.

Which stock is cheaper?

ABB India by a substantial margin.

Approximately 59.2x trailing earnings versus Hitachi Energy India around 131.7x.

Which is better: ABB India or Hitachi Energy India?

ABB India currently has the stronger valuation-adjusted quality profile. It generates more revenue and PAT, earns slightly higher standardized ROCE, has a diversified technology portfolio and trades at less than half Hitachi's P/E despite almost identical market capitalization.

Hitachi Energy India currently has the stronger operating-momentum profile. Revenue grew almost 69%, PAT more than doubled, Operational EBITDA margin reached 16%, order intake exceeded ₹5,000 crore and backlog is almost three times ABB's.

This is therefore not quality versus poor quality.

It is diversified quality versus concentrated scarcity.

At September 2026 valuations, ABB offers the more balanced combination of profitability, capital efficiency, diversification and valuation. Hitachi offers the higher-growth grid bottleneck thesis. Hitachi can justify its premium if HVDC and transformer scarcity sustain extraordinary growth through the FY28 Karjan capacity ramp; ABB can outperform with much less dramatic execution because its starting earnings multiple is materially lower.

Frequently asked questions