Daikin Outlines U.S. Growth Strategy at J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference

Company highlights inverter technology advancements, data center cooling expansion, and role in powering U.S. economic growth

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Daikin, a world-leading HVAC company with products in more than 170 countries and $31.6 billion USD¹ (¥4.752 trillion) in global fiscal 2024 sales, presented its U.S. growth outlook at the 2026 J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference in Georgetown.

Nathan Walker, Senior Vice President of Environmental Business Development, Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, Inc., delivered opening remarks before joining J.P. Morgan analyst Stephen Tusa for a fireside chat alongside Yu Nishiwaki, Chief Operating Officer at Daikin Applied Americas.

"The U.S. is entering a new era of energy demand driven by AI, electrification, and economic expansion, and HVAC is no longer just a comfort category, it's critical infrastructure," said Walker. "Our technology can help the country grow by allowing consumers and businesses to do what they need - heating, cooling, and moving air - with few watts and a smooth load profile."

The March 16^th discussion focused on how Daikin's advanced technologies are designed to make comfort and cooling efficient and how that efficiency can create new capacity to support broader U.S. economic growth. The company sees residential efficiency and data center cooling as mutually reinforcing - the more efficiently Daikin delivers comfort to homes and buildings, the more capacity it can help create to power the next generation of digital infrastructure.

Walker outlined three technology levers driving Daikin's U.S. strategy: proprietary inverter compressors, low-GWP R-32 refrigerant, and heat pump adoption. He highlighted Daikin FIT, which brings inverter technology to mainstream ducted residential products, as central to North American residential growth.

"By bringing inverter economics into the mainstream of ducted unitary, we believe Daikin FIT can create a path to scale adoption across millions of homes," Walker noted. "That can mean real savings for homeowners and new capacity freed up to support economic growth."

Nishiwaki discussed Daikin Applied's North American data center cooling business, expected to more than triple by 2030. "We are evolving from an equipment manufacturer into an integrated thermal-infrastructure partner," said Nishiwaki. "Our teams engage at the pre-design stage - modeling loads, evaluating hybrid architectures, and developing thermal roadmaps that scale with our customers' compute strategies."

Throughout the presentation, Daikin outlined a clear path toward its anticipated sustained U.S. growth and expected improvement in returns, centered on vertical integration, a differentiated refrigerant strategy, and a full-stack thermal platform.

"Forums like this matter because the investment community increasingly recognizes that HVAC sits at the intersection of energy, infrastructure, and AI," Walker said. "We want investors to understand what we've built in the U.S. and where this technology is headed."

Nishiwaki added: "Events like this help us show how Daikin Applied's capabilities map directly to the infrastructure opportunities investors are tracking most closely."

About Daikin U.S. Corporation

Daikin U.S. Corporation is a subsidiary of Daikin Industries Ltd., a global leader in heating, cooling, ventilation, air purification, and connected lifecycle services with products in more than 170 countries. In the United States, Daikin employs more than 25,000 team members across 25 manufacturing sites and nine R&D centers, delivering advanced, energy-efficient solutions for homes, hospitals, office buildings, and data centers through a nationwide network of distributors, independent contractors, and sales representatives. Backed by decades of expertise and innovation, Daikin is committed to energy resilience and sustainable comfort for generations to come - all in pursuit of its mission: "Perfecting The Air We Share." For more information, visit www.northamerica-daikin.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that, to the extent they are not statements of historical or present fact, constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "expectations," "plans," "strategy," "prospects," "estimate," "project," "target," "anticipate," "should," and other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements may include, among other things, statements regarding Daikin's business strategy and plans; expectations relating to Daikin's industry, market conditions, trends, and growth; Daikin's market position; potential market opportunities; anticipated future expenses and investments; and Daikin's objectives for future operations.

In any forward-looking statement in which Daikin expresses an expectation or belief as to future results, such expectations or beliefs are expressed in good faith and are believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that any such statement, expectation, or belief will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, Daikin's ability to successfully execute its business and growth strategy; the financial condition of Daikin's customers and suppliers; delays and disruptions in the delivery of materials and services from suppliers; market acceptance of Daikin's products and services; the effects of increased competition in Daikin's markets; Daikin's ability to stay in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; and general market, political, and economic conditions, including interest rate fluctuations, inflation, changes in tariffs and trade restrictions, instability in the global banking system, economic downturns, and other global events, including regional conflicts and wars. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Daikin does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

¹ Exchange rate of $1USD = ¥153 - Daikin Industries, Ltd., "Presentation of Financial Results for FY2024," May 8, 2025, https://www.daikin.com/-/media/Project/Daikin/daikin_com/investor/data/kessan/20250508/Presentation-pdf.pdf.

SOURCE Daikin