Earnings season for the elevator industry's publicly traded OEMs is complete, and the numbers tell a consistent story: modernization and service are driving growth, new equipment orders are flat to modestly positive outside China, and China remains a significant drag. Otis Worldwide reported on January 28, KONE Corporation on February 6, and Schindler Group on February 11. TK Elevator, the fourth major global OEM, is privately held by Advent International and Cinven and does not publish quarterly or annual earnings. TKE is, however, preparing for a potential IPO in the second half of 2026, which would make the next earnings cycle the first with all four major OEMs reporting publicly.
Otis Worldwide
Otis reported full-year 2025 net sales of $14.4 billion, flat on an organic basis compared to 2024. The flat top line masks a significant mix shift: service segment sales grew 8% in Q4, while new equipment sales declined modestly as China continued to weigh on the new installation pipeline. The headline number from Otis's report was a 43% surge in modernization orders in Q4 2025, a figure that underscores the structural shift happening across the industry. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.05, up 6% year-over-year. Free cash flow was $1.58 billion, and the company returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. For 2026, Otis guided to organic sales growth of low-to-mid single digits, adjusted EPS growth of mid-to-high single digits, and free cash flow of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion. The company has been active on the product side as well, launching Arise MOD modernization packages for North America in February and expanding its Gen3 connected elevator platform across EMEA.
KONE Corporation
KONE reported full-year 2025 sales of EUR 11.2 billion, up 1.3% at comparable exchange rates. Orders received were EUR 9.1 billion, up 6.8% at comparable rates, with Q4 orders growing 12.2%, a notable acceleration. KONE's adjusted EBIT margin for the year was 12.2%, with the company guiding to 12.3% to 13.0% for 2026. KONE guided to sales growth of 2% to 6% at comparable exchange rates for the full year. The order growth is significant because it suggests KONE is gaining share or at least capturing a disproportionate share of the modernization and service demand wave. KONE is simultaneously navigating the most consequential strategic decision in its history: the proposed $28.7 billion acquisition of TK Elevator, which Bloomberg reported in March and which Schindler has publicly vowed to challenge on antitrust grounds.
Schindler Group
Schindler reported full-year 2025 revenue of CHF 10.9 billion, up 1.3% in local currencies. Order intake was CHF 11.3 billion, up 3.1% in local currencies. EBIT was CHF 1.38 billion, representing a 12.6% margin, and net profit rose 6.2% to CHF 1.07 billion. Schindler's CEO Paolo Compagna noted that Germany is showing signs of recovery, but China continues to struggle with no significant improvement expected in 2026. For the year ahead, Schindler guided to revenue growth of low-to-mid single digits in local currencies. Compagna has been more publicly outspoken than usual, directing pointed criticism at the proposed KONE-TK Elevator combination and declaring that Schindler will challenge the deal before antitrust regulators in every country where the two companies overlap.
The Bigger Picture
Across all three public OEMs, the pattern is the same: service and modernization revenue is growing faster than new equipment, margins are expanding as the revenue mix shifts toward higher-margin service work, and China is a headwind that everyone is managing but nobody expects to resolve soon. China's prolonged property crisis has crushed new elevator demand in what was, until recently, the world's largest single market for new installations. The Big Three have all reduced their exposure and reoriented their growth strategies around the estimated 7 million elevators worldwide that are past their 20-year mark and require modernization. The maintenance segment now accounts for more than 51% of the global elevator industry's revenue, according to industry reports, a structural shift that favors OEMs with large installed bases and the digital platforms to upsell connected services.
TK Elevator's absence from public reporting leaves a meaningful gap in the industry's financial picture. As the fourth-largest elevator OEM globally, TKE generates approximately EUR 9.2 billion in annual revenue, according to pre-IPO disclosures. The company generates roughly 65% of its revenue from service and modernization. If the potential KONE acquisition closes, the combined entity would report consolidated earnings for the first time, creating a company with well over EUR 20 billion in revenue and the largest elevator service fleet in the world. If TKE proceeds with its IPO instead, the 2026 earnings cycle will be the first in which all four major global elevator OEMs report public results. Either way, the industry's financial transparency is about to increase significantly, and the numbers will confirm what the 2025 reports already make clear: the elevator industry's growth engine has shifted from new installations to the long-tail economics of maintaining, modernizing, and digitally connecting the world's existing fleet.