BorgWarner Inc. is one of the largest independent suppliers of vehicle propulsion parts, with $14.3 billion of net sales in 2025 and about 37,500 employees. Most drivers never see its products, but many cars carry a BorgWarner turbocharger, timing chain, transfer case, e-motor or inverter. Its two largest customers, Volkswagen and Ford, each account for roughly an eighth of sales.
From a 1928 merger to a conglomerate and back
Borg-Warner was formed in Chicago in 1928 when four Midwestern parts makers merged to gain bargaining power with automakers. It built Chrysler's first overdrive in 1934 and Ford's Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission in 1950, then spent the postwar decades diversifying into refrigerators, air conditioning, chemicals and security services. A hostile approach in 1987 led to a $4.2 billion leveraged buyout, the sale of most non-automotive units and, in 1993, the spin-off of Borg-Warner Automotive. Turbochargers came in 1998 with the purchase of Germany's KKK.
Where the profit comes from
BorgWarner still earns its money from what it calls Foundational products. In 2025 Turbos & Thermal Technologies and Drivetrain & Morse Systems sold $11.4 billion and generated $1.92 billion of segment adjusted operating income. The electrified segments, PowerDrive Systems and Battery & Charging Systems, sold $2.9 billion but lost $122 million on the same basis. That gap explains the company's results: adjusted operating margin rose to 10.7% and free cash flow to $1.2 billion, while $624 million of impairments cut net earnings to $277 million.
The electrification bet, recalibrated
The 2021 Charging Forward plan aimed to lift EV revenue from under 3% to about 45% of sales by 2030. BorgWarner bought Delphi Technologies, AKASOL, Santroll's e-motor unit and Rhombus, and spun off its fuel systems and aftermarket businesses as PHINIA in 2023. Demand came in slower. eProducts reached about $2.6 billion, or 18% of sales, in 2025, and CEO Joseph Fadool, who took over in February 2025, closed the charging business and now describes a balanced portfolio across combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles.
A new market: power for data centers
In February 2026 BorgWarner signed a master supply agreement to build modular turbine generators for TurboCell, a data center developer. The product reuses its turbo, thermal and power-electronics engineering, is due to start production in early 2027 and is expected to bring in more than $300 million in its first year. For 2026 the company guides to $14.0 to $14.3 billion of sales and adjusted EPS of $5.05 to $5.30.
