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KONE Oyj Class B

KONE makes and services elevators, escalators, and automatic building doors.

KONE Oyj is a Finnish company that makes elevators, escalators, and automatic doors, and then services them for decades afterward. Its customers are building owners, construction companies, and architects around the world. The business has two main parts: new equipment sales and maintenance services. New equipment brings in most of the revenue upfront, but it is a cyclical, competitive business tied to construction activity. Maintenance is the quieter, more reliable engine: once KONE installs an elevator, the building owner usually signs a service contract that lasts for years. That recurring service revenue now accounts for a large and growing share of profit, which makes KONE less dependent on the ups and downs of building booms.

Think of it as a printer business. The machine gets sold once, but the ink and the repair visits keep the money coming in for a decade. KONE's main products include elevators for tall buildings, escalators for malls and transit hubs, and automatic doors for offices and airports. It also sells "People Flow" technology — smart sensors and software that help buildings move people more smoothly and predict when equipment needs fixing. This digital push is a recent and growing part of the story, along with acquisitions that expand its service footprint and modernization work, which is upgrading old elevators rather than installing new ones.

KONE is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, near Helsinki, and its Class B shares trade on the Nasdaq Helsinki exchange. The company dates back to 1910, when it started as a small machine shop, and it grew into a global player through decades of expansion and deals. It competes with Otis, Schindler, and Thyssenkrupp, but its reputation for reliability and its huge installed base give it an edge. KONE uses its free cash flow to pay dividends, buy back shares, and fund research and development, and it has been steadily returning cash to shareholders while investing in digital services and service acquisitions.

The big things to watch: how much of revenue comes from service versus new equipment, because service is stickier and more profitable; how construction cycles in China and Europe affect new orders; and whether KONE's digital tools and modernization push can keep margins healthy as the elevator market matures. In short, KONE is a classic "razor and blades" company — it sells the ride, then gets paid to keep it running.

Saved answer · last researched 14 Oct 2026