EMS/ODM contract manufacturer
Flex Ltd.
Flex is one of the world's largest electronics manufacturing services (EMS/ODM) companies, designing, assembling and managing supply chains for customer products across three segments: Regulated Manufacturing Solutions (industrial, automotive, healthcare), Integrated Technology Solutions (communications, lifestyle) and Cloud and Power Infrastructure (data center power and cooling). Revenue comes from OEM customers such as Alphabet (Google) and Palo Alto Networks, while costs go to component suppliers such as onsemi. The AI data center power and cooling business, CPI, reached $6.6 billion, 24% of FY2026 revenue, up 38% year over year, and Flex plans to spin it off as a separate public company in the first quarter of calendar 2027.
FLEX Updated Sep 5, 2026 4 AI consumers· 1 recurring
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, Flex Ltd. is directly linked to 4 companies (2 supply, 2 revenue relationships) and reaches 31 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 10 dated sources, 3 of them primary filings (as of 2026-09-05).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · $27.9B (FY2026, fiscal year ended 2026-03-31, per XBRL)
- Segments · RMS (Regulated Manufacturing Solutions) · ITS (Integrated Technology Solutions) · CPI (Cloud and Power Infrastructure)
Revenue from
- Alphabet (Google) High confidence
In the FY2026 Q4 earnings call (2026-05-06), CEO Revathi Advaithi and CFO Kevin Krumm directly named Google as a hyperscaler customer under a multi-year contract. The contract value was not disclosed; it spans power infrastructure, thermal systems and complex hardware manufacturing. J.P. Morgan sharply raised its price target immediately after the results.Mentions EN The Globe and Mail (newswire) Published May 8, 2026: J.P. Morgan Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Flex (FLEX) - Palo Alto Networks Medium confidence
Palo Alto Networks' 10-K filings from FY2015 through FY2019 named Flex (formerly Flextronics) as its EMS provider, and a 2022 Palo Alto Networks customer case study reaffirmed Flex as the manufacturer of its Next-Generation Firewalls. However, Palo Alto Networks' FY2025 10-K no longer names a specific manufacturer, so it is unconfirmed whether the relationship continues in the same form today (see open_questions).Confirms EN SEC EDGAR / Palo Alto Networks Published Sep 9, 2019: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Form 10-K (FY2019, filed 2019-09-09)
Pays to
- LG Electronics Medium confidence
This is at the MOU stage; no procurement volume or contract value has been disclosed. Classified as a cost edge because Flex would integrate LG Electronics' cooling hardware into its modular solutions, though a revenue-sharing structure cannot be ruled out (see open_questions).Confirms KO Seoul Economic Daily Published Nov 4, 2025: LG Electronics and Flex to co-develop 'modular cooling', targeting AI data centers - onsemi Medium confidence
This power module product, co-developed with onsemi, shows that Flex Power Modules (now part of the CPI segment) adopted onsemi's semiconductor controller for data center power supply. No specific purchase value was disclosed.Confirms EN Flex Published Oct 13, 2022: New ultra-small intermediate bus converter developed together with onsemi
Investments
- Anord Mardix High confidence· Amount $540M · 인수 거래대금(전액 현금) · Acquisition price for a critical power (medium-voltage switchgear, busway, power distribution) company for the data center market
This 2021 deal is older, but it marks the origin of Flex's push into data center power infrastructure (now the Anord Mardix brand within the CPI segment) and is one of the rare cases where the actual deal value was disclosed. Not an existing node in the index. The pack's recency requirement is satisfied by other, more recent sources.Confirms EN SEC EDGAR (Flex 8-K exhibit) Published Oct 18, 2021: Flex Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Anord Mardix (8-K exhibit press release) - Crown Technical Systems High confidence
Acquisition of an electrical switchgear and power infrastructure company for data centers. Not an existing node in the index. The deal value was not disclosed. - JetCool Technologies, Inc. High confidence
JetCool holds precision-jet liquid cooling technology for data center GPU racks and was folded into the Cloud and Power Infrastructure (CPI) segment after the acquisition. The deal value was not disclosed. Not an existing node in the index.Confirms EN PR Newswire Published Nov 14, 2024: Flex Acquires JetCool to Expand Data Center and Power Portfolio - Electrical Power Products, Inc. (EP²) Medium confidence
Acquisition to strengthen the utility-grade power products portfolio (substation controls, relay panels, integrated control buildings). Flex's earnings presentation gives only the month ("May") without an exact date; since this occurred within FY2026, it is presumed to be May 2025.
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eBay Inc. | lead2 | +33.8 | -36.5 | +7.7 | +44.8 | +42.7 | +19.8 |
| Colgate-Palmolive Company | lead2 | +2.1 | -5.4 | +3.8 | +16.6 | -11 | +14.4 |
| Cintas Corporation | lead2 | +26.5 | +3 | +34.8 | +22.2 | +3.8 | +7.4 |
| Costco Wholesale | lead2 | +51.8 | -19 | +49 | +39.6 | -5.4 | +6.7 |
| Honeywell Technologies | lead2 | -0.3 | +4.9 | +0 | +10 | -6.4 | +3.8 |
| Salesforce, Inc. | lead2 | +14.2 | -47.8 | +98.5 | +27.8 | -20.2 | -1.6 |
| MercadoLibre, Inc. | lead2 | -19.5 | -37.2 | +85.7 | +8.2 | +18.5 | -1.8 |
| Walmart Inc | lead2 | +2 | -0.5 | +12.9 | +74 | +24.5 | -3.2 |
| DoorDash, Inc. | lead2 | · | -67.2 | +102.6 | +69.6 | +35 | -6.5 |
| Uber | lead2 | -17.8 | -41 | +149 | -2 | +35.5 | -7.3 |
| Planet Labs | lead2 | · | -29.3 | -43.2 | +63.6 | +388.1 | -8.1 |
| Workday, Inc. | lead2 | +14 | -38.7 | +65 | -6.5 | -16.8 | -8.8 |
| Booking Holdings Inc. | lead2 | +7.7 | -16 | +76 | +41.3 | +8.6 | -9.3 |
| Recursion Pharmaceuticals | lead2 | · | -55 | +27.9 | -31.4 | -39.5 | -11.2 |
| AutoZone | lead2 | +76.8 | +17.6 | +4.8 | +23.8 | +5.9 | -12 |
| Stryker Corporation | lead2 | +10.2 | -7.4 | +23.8 | +21.3 | -1.5 | -13.3 |
| McDonald's | lead2 | +27.8 | +0.5 | +15.1 | +0.1 | +7.9 | -14.7 |
| LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton | lead2 | +46.6 | +12.7 | -1.8 | -7.3 | -20.4 | -20.3 |
| Intuit Inc. | lead2 | +70.3 | -39.1 | +61.8 | +1.2 | +6.1 | -49.3 |
| AppLovin Corporation | lead2 | · | -88.8 | +278.4 | +712.6 | +108.1 | -52.4 |
| Palo Alto Networks | lead1 | +56.7 | -24.8 | +111.3 | +23.4 | +1.2 | +80.9 |
| Alphabet (Google) | lead1 | +65.3 | -39.1 | +58.3 | +36 | +66 | +8.3 |
| Flex Ltd. | node | +1.9 | +17.1 | +41.9 | +67.2 | +57.4 | +81.2 |
| LG Electronics | benef1 | -16.2 | -20.9 | -5.8 | -9.5 | +19.2 | +105.5 |
| onsemi | benef1 | +107.5 | -8.2 | +33.9 | -24.5 | -14.1 | +37.4 |
| LG Innotek | benef2 | +78.2 | -22 | -28.8 | -22.1 | +66.8 | +130.7 |
| Applied Materials | benef2 | +83.6 | -37.5 | +68 | +1.1 | +59.6 | +77.6 |
| Qualcomm | benef2 | +22.3 | -38.6 | +35.1 | +8.3 | +13.8 | +0.2 |
| POSCO Holdings | benef2 | +13.9 | +19.9 | +43 | -37.3 | +38.3 | -1.4 |
| LG Chem | benef2 | -29 | +9.7 | -36.6 | -45.3 | +31.2 | -8.6 |
| LG Display | benef2 | -6.8 | -30.9 | -8.5 | -20.6 | +26.2 | -21.8 |
YTD as of 2026-09-04 · source: Yahoo Finance
This node shows most clearly where money moved inside the AI chain in 2026. Compute rose first (NVIDIA +239.0% in 2023, +171.2% in 2024). Hyperscalers followed (Alphabet +66.0% in 2025). In 2026 the move reached the layer that physically builds data centers. Flex compounded +67.2% in 2024, +57.4% in 2025 and +81.2% in 2026, moving in step with the rest of that physical layer: Equinix +37.3%, onsemi +37.4%, GE Vernova +44.4%. Its position in the chain is confirmed by results. The AI data center power and cooling segment, CPI, reached $6.6B in FY2026, 24% of revenue and up 38% year over year, with a spin-off planned for the first quarter of calendar 2027. So most of the growth comes not from the contract-manufacturing volumes that link Flex to Alphabet and Palo Alto Networks in this graph, but from the newer power and cooling axis. The counter-signal matters too. onsemi, a supplier, fell 24.5% in 2024 and 14.1% in 2025 before turning to +37.4% in 2026, meaning the component tier reacted later than the assembly tier and the chain did not propagate evenly. The CPI spin-off detaches the entire re-rating case from this node, so the multiple on the remaining EMS business is the open question.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-09-04