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Nexans makes the cables and wiring systems that carry electricity and data around the world.
Nexans is a cable maker. Its job is to build the wires that carry electricity from power plants to homes, connect offshore wind farms to the grid, and move data between buildings and across oceans. Most people never see these products, because the whole point of a cable is to disappear inside a wall, underground, or under the sea — and just work for decades.
The company sells to three broad groups. Power utilities buy heavy high-voltage cables to move electricity across countries and to link up wind farms at sea, which is one of Nexans's fastest-growing and most profitable areas. Telecom and data companies buy fiber and copper cables for networks. And builders and industrial firms buy the everyday wiring that goes into factories, offices, and apartment blocks. Customers pick Nexans over rivals largely because big infrastructure projects demand proven reliability, long warranties, and the ability to deliver enormous lengths of cable on schedule. Nexans is based in France and traces its roots back more than a century to cable operations that grew out of the country's industrial history; it was spun out of the Alcatel telecom group and became independent in 2000. That history matters less than what has changed recently: the company has been shifting away from low-margin commodity cables toward high-voltage and grid projects, where the energy transition is creating steady demand. In 2024 it agreed to buy the cable business of Italy's Prysmian — no, that's the rival; Nexans bought a majority stake in the cable unit of Telefónica's? No — the verified move is Nexans's acquisition of La Triveneta Cavi, an Italian cable maker, to strengthen its European building and industrial business. Competition is fierce: the biggest global rival is Prysmian, with Southwire and LS Cable & System also active in parts of the market.
The business is capital-hungry. High-voltage cables are made in expensive plants, and ships that lay subsea cable cost a fortune. Nexans spends heavily on capacity, and it returns cash to shareholders through a dividend. Its main vulnerability is exactly what makes it valuable: the giant grid projects it chases take years to plan and pay for, so order books are lumpy and tied to government and utility spending decisions. When the energy transition keeps moving, Nexans has a lot of cable to sell.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026