EETNEaton Corporation, PLC

Eaton makes electrical equipment — power distribution and control where consumption is growing fastest.

The products are switchgear, circuit breakers, uninterruptible power systems and drives. Buyers are data centres, industry, commercial property and aerospace. The company sits where three structural flows converge: transport electrification, data-centre construction and grid modernisation.

The order backlog is long, and investors read it as a leading indicator: equipment is ordered a year or two before a site comes online. The flip side is the same inertia in a downturn — cancellations arrive with a lag, and recovery is slow.

The company reinvented itself from an automotive supplier into an electrical one, selling hydraulics and buying focused businesses. Aerospace adds stability through aftermarket service. Eaton has paid a dividend for many consecutive years.