Feb 4 (Reuters) - Johnson Controls International JCI.N forecast 2026 profit above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, anticipating sustained demand for its thermal management and cooling equipment used in data centers.
U.S.-listed shares of the Cork, Ireland-based company rose 9.2% in premarket trading. They had gained 51.7% in 2025.
The industrial supplier, whose portfolio spans IT cooling, security, and fire systems, is gaining from the data-center expansion fueled by artificial intelligence companies, part of a broader upswing for industrial companies supplying the infrastructure behind the AI boom.
With more AI computing coming online, demand for cooling infrastructure is climbing, and customers are prioritizing robust, energy-efficient thermal management.
"As rack densities rise and hardware content per rack increases, the thermal load moves higher, ultimately driving greater spending on cooling infrastructure," Jefferies analyst Stephen Volkmann wrote in a note.
Johnson Controls raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast to $4.70 per share from $4.55 per share, topping analysts' average estimate of $4.61 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company caters to companies in the aerospace manufacturing, healthcare and commercial construction industries. Its products include heating, ventilation and cooling $(HVAC)$ systems, security, fire systems and refrigeration equipment.
The company's second-quarter adjusted profit forecast of $1.11 per share also came in above analysts' average estimates of $1.05 per share.
It reported adjusted profit of 89 cents per share for the quarter ended December 31, compared with 64 cents per share last year.
Revenue in the first quarter was $5.79 billion, above $5.43 billion a year earlier.
(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar and Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
((Aishwarya.Jain@thomsonreuters.com;))
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