{"id":64870,"date":"2026-07-16T01:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T05:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/uk-nationalizes-british-steel-as-abb-beats-q2-revenue-estimates\/64870\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T01:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T05:38:11","slug":"uk-nationalizes-british-steel-as-abb-beats-q2-revenue-estimates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/uk-nationalizes-british-steel-as-abb-beats-q2-revenue-estimates\/64870\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Nationalizes British Steel as ABB Beats Q2 Revenue Estimates"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The UK Government has officially brought British Steel into public ownership<\/strong> following the Royal Assent of the <strong>Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act 2026<\/strong>, a move aimed at securing domestic production and national security.<\/li>\n<li><strong>ABB (<a href=\"\/stock\/ABBN\">ABBN<\/a>) reported Q2 2026 revenue of $9.48 billion<\/strong>, slightly exceeding analyst estimates of <strong>$9.44 billion<\/strong>, driven by a massive <strong>30% surge in orders<\/strong> totaling <strong>$12.04 billion<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>ABB&#39;s earnings per share (EPS) of $0.68 missed the $0.74 consensus<\/strong>, though the company maintained a strong <strong>Operational EBITA margin of 20.2%<\/strong>, beating expectations of <strong>$1.87 billion<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>British Steel&#39;s nationalization<\/strong> marks the first major industrial re-nationalization in the UK since the 1980s, protecting approximately <strong>2,700 jobs<\/strong> at the Scunthorpe facility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>UK Government Secures British Steel Under Public Ownership<\/h2>\n<p>In a historic shift in industrial policy, the <strong>UK Government<\/strong> has formally taken <strong>British Steel<\/strong> into public ownership as of July 16, 2026. The intervention follows the passage of the <strong>Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act<\/strong>, which received Royal Assent after months of financial instability for the firm under its previous owner, the Chinese <strong>Jingye Group<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Ministers concluded that the move was essential to protect the <strong>UK\u2019s national interest<\/strong>, citing the vital role steel plays in defense, energy infrastructure, and the country&#39;s <strong>Modern Industrial Strategy<\/strong>. Prime Minister <strong>Keir Starmer<\/strong> emphasized that the decision secures the future of virgin steelmaking at the <strong>Scunthorpe site<\/strong>, which is the last plant in Britain capable of making steel from scratch.<\/p>\n<p>The government has already signaled a long-term commitment to the sector, backed by a <strong>\u00a32.5 billion investment strategy<\/strong> aimed at ensuring up to <strong>50% of steel used in the UK<\/strong> is produced domestically. This nationalization follows a period of &quot;special measures&quot; initiated in April 2025 to prevent the immediate closure of blast furnaces amid soaring energy costs and stalled commercial negotiations.<\/p>\n<h2>ABB Posts Record Orders Despite EPS Miss<\/h2>\n<p>Swiss engineering giant <strong>ABB (<a href=\"\/stock\/ABBN\">ABBN<\/a>)<\/strong> delivered a mixed but growth-heavy second-quarter report for 2026. While <strong>revenue reached $9.48 billion<\/strong>, topping the <strong>$9.44 billion<\/strong> forecast, the company&#39;s <strong>basic EPS of $0.68<\/strong> fell short of the <strong>$0.74<\/strong> analysts had anticipated.<\/p>\n<p>The highlight of the report was a <strong>30% year-over-year jump in orders<\/strong>, which reached <strong>$12.04 billion<\/strong>. CEO <strong>Morten Wierod<\/strong> attributed this performance to high demand across most customer segments, particularly in <strong>electrification and automation<\/strong> sectors supporting AI data center expansions.<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead, <strong>ABB<\/strong> raised its outlook, stating it expects the <strong>full-year Operational EBITA margin<\/strong> to improve year-over-year, even when excluding a significant real estate gain recorded in the first quarter. The company also confirmed its intent to enhance its automation portfolio through the acquisition of <strong>Rotork<\/strong>, funded by proceeds from the divestment of its robotics division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways The UK Government has officially brought British Steel into public ownership following the Royal Assent of the Steel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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