COWI A/S

Denmark · owned by COWIFONDEN (Denmark) · cowi.com · 44 vendors

COWI is a leading consulting group that creates value for customers, people and society through our 360° approach. With a team of 7,500 dedicated experts in engineering, economics, and environmental science, we handle challenges from many different perspectives to create more coherent solutions for our customers.

Resilience scores

Technology vendors

Insights

Last updated 2026-09-15 · revision 190

42 direct vendors, 394 subvendors

Direct vendors by controlling owner country (sample)

Subvendors by controlling owner country (sample)

Migration Readiness: 5/10

Assessed by AI based on technology stack characteristics (cloud-native vs legacy, containerization, microservices), regulatory environment, data residency requirements, financial stability, and vendor lock-in risks. The score ranges from 0-10, where higher scores indicate better readiness for technology migration.

COWI A/S exhibits a mixed migration readiness profile, characterized by a modern technical foundation but significant challenges stemming from extreme vendor lock-in and a highly complex regulatory and data residency environment. On the positive side, COWI's internal tech stack shows strong adoption of cloud-native technologies such as Microsoft Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Azure DevOps, and Python. This indicates a high level of technical capability and readiness for migrating to modern, agile cloud environments. The company's consistent financial growth also suggests it has the necessary resources to fund a substantial migration effort. However, the most significant impediment to migration readiness is the 'High' vendor lock-in risk, with only 2 vendors supplying 82 services. This extreme concentration means that migrating away from these deeply embedded services would be an exceptionally complex, costly, and time-consuming undertaking, likely requiring extensive re-platforming or re-negotiation. Additionally, the regulatory and data residency landscape presents formidable barriers. GDPR cross-border transfer restrictions are a primary concern for COWI's global operations, requiring robust mechanisms for data flows to non-EEA countries. The EU Data Act and NIS2 introduce further cybersecurity and data sharing requirements that must be meticulously addressed during any migration. Furthermore, sector-specific and client-specific data residency clauses, particularly for critical infrastructure and public sector projects, add layers of complexity to data placement and transfer strategies, making a 'lift and shift' approach difficult. Compliance with the Danish Data Protection Act and CSRD also adds to the regulatory burden during system changes. While the technical capabilities are strong, the vendor lock-in and regulatory complexities significantly reduce COWI's overall migration flexibility and readiness.

Compliance

10 in-scope frameworks identified; showing 3.

ISO 27001 (source) — Compliant

As an engineering consultancy managing critical infrastructure data, clients and regulators expect robust information security management. ISO 27001 is the leading international standard for this.

Certification is often a client requirement for handling sensitive project data. A loss of certification could impact their ability to win contracts, particularly in critical sectors. The limited scope of the current certificate is a mitigating factor.

Evidence: https://www.cowi.com/trust-center/, https://www.cowi.com/media/tgwfadfo/annual-report-2023.pdf

ISAE 3000 (source) — Compliant

Clients require assurance that service organizations have effective controls over processes that are not covered by a financial statement audit, such as the handling of personal data in projects.

This assurance report is crucial for satisfying client due diligence regarding the handling of their data, particularly personal data. A negative report or lack of one could be a barrier to winning contracts involving data processing.

Evidence: https://www.cowi.com/trust-center/

EU Public Procurement Directives — Compliant

COWI frequently bids for and works on large, publicly-funded infrastructure projects within the EU, such as airports and bridges. These activities are governed by the EU's public procurement legal framework.

Non-compliance with procurement rules could lead to disqualification from tenders and legal challenges, resulting in loss of significant revenue from public sector contracts. The risk is managed through their experience with public tenders.

Evidence: https://www.cowi.com/your-next-project-denmark/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COWI, https://www.cowi.com/news-and-press/news/2026/cowi-takes-another-step-up-and-delivers-record-profits/, https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/public-procurement/legal-rules-and-implementation_en, https://www.iisd.org/articles/explainer/european-union-public-procurement-directive-review, https://thenextweb.com/news/eu-public-procurement-act-european-preference-digital-marketplace

Financials

Three-year financials

Financial Resilience Score: 8/10

COWI demonstrates strong financial resilience underpinned by a debt-free balance sheet, foundation ownership providing long-term stability, and consistent margin expansion through its LEAP transformation programme. At group level, COWI had no financial debt at year-end 2024, with total financial resources (cash, marketable securities and committed undrawn credit facilities) of DKK 1,449 million, up from DKK 1,379 million in 2023. The equity ratio rose to 43% at group level in 2024, and standalone COWI A/S equity grew 32.8% in 2024 and a further 5.8% in 2025. Profitability has improved materially: standalone EBIT grew 35.6% in 2024 and 15.8% in 2025, while group profit more than doubled since 2022, reaching a record DKK 374 million in 2025 (+81% YoY) with EBITA* margin of 8.3%. A record order backlog of DKK 8 billion at end-2025 provides strong forward revenue visibility, and management guides ~5% organic growth in 2026 with a long-term EBITA* margin ambition of 10%. Key risks include geopolitical instability and shifts in energy policy affecting offshore wind/hydrogen investments, project execution risk on complex projects (notably the ongoing Oman airports arbitration with a substantial counterclaim), talent retention challenges after LEAP restructuring (engagement dropped from 78% to 64% in 2024, ~250 positions discontinued), and reputational risk from the 2024 'Black Swan' business-conduct incident in Denmark. Despite these, the diversified sector and geographic mix across Nordics, UK and North America, combined with foundation ownership by COWIfonden (~85%), provide substantial buffer against short-term shocks.

Key strengths: No financial debt at group level with DKK 1,449M in financial resources, Foundation ownership (COWIfonden ~85%) provides long-term stability, Record order backlog of DKK 8 billion at end-2025, Strong margin expansion: group EBITA* margin rose to 8.3% in 2025 (+1.0pp), Standalone equity grew 32.8% in 2024 and 5.8% in 2025, Diversified across Nordics, UK, North America and three market sectors, Group profit more than doubled since 2022, reaching DKK 374M in 2025

Risk factors: Geopolitical instability affecting offshore wind, hydrogen and green fuel investments, Project execution risk including ongoing Oman airports arbitration with substantial counterclaim, Talent retention: engagement score dropped from 78% (2023) to 64% (2024) after LEAP restructuring, Reputational risk from 2024 'Black Swan' business-conduct incident in Denmark, Competitive fee pressure in consulting engineering market, ~250 positions discontinued during LEAP transformation

Revenue by geography

Revenue by product/service

Workforce by country

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