Siemens shares have recently come under pressure, reflecting disappointment over the company’s medium-term targets. Investors had also hoped for an even faster separation from Siemens Healthineers.

In fact, they could be celebrating. Siemens is giving up its majority stake in the medical-technology subsidiary, and will announce further details early in the second quarter of 2026. A transaction of this kind has appeared for years on the wish lists that major shareholders bring to the annual general meeting. However, the company is now opting for a direct spinoff – a structure that has yet to be tested in Germany.

It is Healthineers’ management that has real reason to cheer. The share price has been stuck recently because the free float was too small. Once the transaction is completed, operational success will be able to shine through in the valuation. Still, the risk of Siemens selling further stakes remains.

For Siemens, the move marks a turning point. With medtech, another of the group’s historical roots is being cut. Yet CEO Roland Busch’s hope of putting an end to the ongoing debate over breaking up the conglomerate will not be fulfilled. The rail business sits uneasily within the group, and future AGM speakers will focus on this flaw in the company’s industrial digitalisation strategy. The „highly synergistic portfolio“ that Busch proclaims only exists without Siemens Mobility.

Siemens AG – and likely its shareholders – will miss the medtech unit. First, it generates strong cash flow. Second, Healthineers’ largely non-cyclical business helps stabilise annual results. The weakness of Siemens’ core Digital Industries division over the past two fiscal years has made clear how volatile these operations can be.

Management is attempting to counter the first concern with a pledge to continue raising the dividend per share. But those payouts will also have to be earned. A higher payout ratio will be unavoidable at first.

The second concern is harder to address. Here, the board is targeting stronger revenue growth: up to 9% per year – more than previously planned, but notably without Siemens Healthineers. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to increase at a high single-digit rate on a regular basis.

But the targeted revenue growth is hardly a bold leap. Part of the increase versus the earlier target of up to 7% is simply the mathematical effect of deconsolidating Siemens Healthineers. And the ambition for profit growth is essentially a continuation of previous goals.

At the center of the results presentation – combined with a capital markets day and packaged under the new format „Siemens One Tech – Strategy & Results” – was the “One Tech Company“ program. Yet it remains nebulous.

Expanding the digital business („Grow Digital“) and tapping growth regions worldwide („Grow Regions“) were already core elements of Siemens’ philosophy before the deconsolidation plans. Bundling offerings for various customer industries is not new either („Grow Verticals“). And the new buzzword – artificial intelligence („Grow AI“) – still needs real substance.

It is true that Siemens needs to execute better. Nothing is more demanding than improving operational performance. This is day-to-day work on projects – far more arduous than portfolio gymnastics. When it succeeds, the achievement is all the more noteworthy. Ultimately, every strategy is a promise for the future. In Siemens’ case, this is particularly true.