Dividend Power Score
A single, comprehensive score designed to measure the true strength of a company’s dividend.
This score combines three essential pillars of dividend quality:
Consistency – Measures how reliable the dividend has been over time, focusing on payment history, stability, and the absence of cuts or suspensions.
Payability – Assesses the company’s financial ability to sustain its dividend, taking into account cash flow, earnings coverage, balance sheet strength, and overall financial health.
Growth – Evaluates the long-term growth of both the dividend and the company’s share price, highlighting businesses that consistently increase payouts while creating shareholder value.
Higher scores identify companies that have historically delivered dependable income alongside sustained dividend growth and long-term capital appreciation.
Company Overview
AB SKF (publ) is a Sweden-based industrial manufacturing company specializing in bearings, seals, lubrication systems, and condition monitoring solutions. The company operates primarily within the industrial manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, energy, and heavy equipment industries. SKF’s core purpose is to reduce friction and enable machinery performance, reliability, and sustainability across a wide range of applications. Its products are integral components in rotating equipment used by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket customers.
Founded in 1907 in Gothenburg, Sweden, SKF originated with the invention of the self-aligning ball bearing, which established its early competitive advantage. Over more than a century, the company evolved from a bearing manufacturer into a global engineering solutions provider by expanding into seals, lubrication management, mechatronics, and digital condition monitoring. SKF is publicly listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and trades in the U.S. via ADRs under the symbol SKUFF.
Business Operations
SKF organizes its operations into two primary business segments: Industrial and Automotive. The Industrial segment serves industries such as energy, mining, railways, aerospace, and industrial automation, offering bearings, bearing units, seals, lubrication systems, and services including predictive maintenance and reliability engineering. The Automotive segment supplies bearings and related components for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and electric vehicles, serving both OEM and aftermarket channels.
The company generates revenue through the sale of physical products, integrated systems, and service-based offerings, including condition monitoring and asset management solutions. SKF controls a broad portfolio of manufacturing facilities, research and development centers, and testing laboratories. Key subsidiaries include SKF USA Inc., SKF GmbH, SKF (China) Co., Ltd., and Lincoln Industrial, which strengthens its lubrication systems business. SKF also maintains long-term partnerships with major global OEMs across industrial and automotive markets.
Strategic Position & Investments
SKF’s strategic direction emphasizes operational excellence, selective growth, and sustainability, with a focus on electrification, digitalization, and industrial automation. The company has invested in expanding its condition monitoring and rotating equipment performance services to support predictive maintenance and Industry 4.0 initiatives. Electrification, particularly bearings and systems designed for electric vehicles and renewable energy applications, is a key growth area.
Recent years have seen SKF streamline its portfolio through divestments and targeted investments to strengthen core competencies. Notable investments include expanding the capabilities of Lincoln Industrial and advancing sensor-integrated bearings and digital platforms. SKF also invests heavily in research and development to support emerging technologies such as low-friction solutions, advanced materials, and energy-efficient industrial systems.
Geographic Footprint
SKF operates globally with its headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, and maintains a strong presence across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The company has manufacturing facilities in more than 40 countries and sales operations in over 130 countries, giving it broad access to both developed and emerging markets.
Europe remains a key market for SKF’s industrial and automotive businesses, while China, India, and Southeast Asia represent important growth regions driven by industrialization and infrastructure development. North America is a significant market for industrial services, aerospace, and aftermarket sales, supported by local manufacturing and distribution networks.
Leadership & Governance
SKF is governed by a Board of Directors and an executive management team responsible for strategic execution, financial performance, and sustainability objectives. The company emphasizes decentralized decision-making, customer proximity, and long-term value creation aligned with environmental and social responsibility.
Key executives include:
- Rickard Gustafson – President & Chief Executive Officer
- Niclas Rosenlew – Chief Financial Officer
- Sven Wingquist – Founder (historical)
- Thomas Fröst – President, Industrial Business
- Annika Ölme – Chief Technology Officer & Senior Vice President, Technology Development
- Britt Meelby Jensen – Senior Vice President, Communications & Sustainability