Skanska wary of newcomers as AI data centre boom gathers pace

By Reuters News10:42 (UTC), 5 November 2026 Updated

By Agnieszka Gosciak and Jesus Calero

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Swedish builder Skanska SKAb.ST is becoming more selective about which artificial-intelligence data-centre projects it takes on, favouring established technology clients while taking a cautious approach to newer developers facing financing and execution risks, its chief executive told Reuters.

"We don't see any slowdown," CEO Anders Danielsson said, describing Skanska's core customers as large, financially strong international technology groups.

Rather than postponing projects, established customers are commissioning larger facilities, he said.

"There's a lot of new developers in that area that we are a bit more careful about to make sure we go for the right project," Danielsson said.

Skanska's third-quarter construction orders jumped 70% to 68 billion crowns, including an 11.2 billion-crown U.S. data-centre contract, lifting its order backlog to a record 328.3 billion crowns. AI BOOM DRIVES DEMAND, FINANCING SCRUTINY

More than 80% of the record 7.5 gigawatts of data-centre capacity under construction in eight major U.S. markets had already been preleased by mid-2026, according to property consultancy CBRE.

The boom has also brought increased scrutiny from lenders and investors. Ratings agency Moody's warned in October that weaker borrowers could struggle to refinance loans maturing between 2027 and 2029.

On Wednesday, U.S. developer TeraWulf WULF.O said Google would backstop certain lease obligations for AI firm Anthropic at a Kentucky data-centre project, helping secure financing.

Danielsson said Skanska had been able to pass substantial construction-cost increases on to customers without seeing projects cancelled.

"The cost inflation has been quite big, especially in the U.S., but also in Europe," he said. "We don't see any pressure on our side on the margins."

Skanska's construction operating margin rose to 5% from 4.2% a year earlier, helped by large projects nearing completion.

($1 = 9.6971 Swedish crowns)