Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 12th February 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks were ultimately mixed with price action somewhat choppy following the similar performance stateside in the aftermath of Trump's recent tariff announcements and with US CPI data on the horizon. ASX 200 traded higher as strength in the top-weighted financial sector and the industrials atoned for the losses in tech, while participants digested key earnings releases including from Australia's largest bank and most valuable company, CBA. Nikkei 225 advanced on return from yesterday's holiday closure amid recent currency weakness but momentarily pared all of its gains amid rising yields and tariff-related uncertainty. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were varied with outperformance in Hong Kong led by strength in tech stocks including Alibaba after reports that Apple partnered with Alibaba to develop AI features for iPhone users in China, while SMIC benefitted after it posted stronger-than-expected revenue and guided revenue growth. Conversely, the mainland was contained with price action choppy amid ongoing trade frictions and the PBoC's liquidity effort.

China Copper - China has introduced stricter rules for building new copper smelters, requiring companies to control sufficient copper mine supply through ownership or equity stakes, Bloomberg reports. The move aims to curb overcapacity in the world's largest producer of refined copper.

MSCI Indices - MSCI has further reduced the number of Chinese stocks in its global benchmarks, highlighting the waning appeal of the Chinese market despite recent gains, Bloomberg reports. The move reflects the ongoing shift in investor sentiment towards China, the report adds.

Softbank (9984 JT) - Q3 (JPY) Net -369.17bln (exp. -154.79bln) SoftBank Vision Funds -309.93bln (exp. +70.61bln); affirms FY24/25 dividend. (Newswires)

TSMC (2330 TT) - Board approves TWD 4.50/shr dividend for Q4 and will inject a maximum USD 10bln of capital into one of its units. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: DAX: +0.56% at 22,034, FTSE 100: +0.11% at 8,777, CAC 40: +0.28% at 8,029, Euro Stoxx 50: +0.64% at 5,392, AEX: +0.77% at 939, IBEX 35: +0.52% at 12,775, FTSE MIB: +0.91% at 37,582, SMI: +0.60% at 12,703, PSI: -0.01% at 6,563.

SECTORS: IT 1.26%, Energy 1.10%, Industrials 0.74%, Financials 0.64%, Telecoms 0.40%, Consumer Disc 0.10%, Consumer Stpl 0.07%, Materials -0.63%, Healthcare -0.69%, Utilities -0.90%                    

FTSE 100

Deliveroo (ROO LN) – Co. says CEO Will Shu has no plans to step down, amid reporting via Sky News that this could happen. (Newswires / Sky News)

NatWest (NWG LN) – Bank upgrades ambition to provide GBP 7.5bln lending to UK social housing sector between 1 Jan and YE 2026. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

DAX

Siemens Energy (ENR GY) - Q1 (EUR): Revenue 8.94bln (exp. 8.45bln). Orders 13.61bln (exp. 12.99bln). Net 463mln (prev. 1.88bln Y/Y). Affirms FY profit margin guidance. (Newswires)

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Carl Zeiss Meditec (AFX GY) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 490.5mln (exp. 481.7mln), +3.2%, EBITA 7.2% (prev. 9.7% Y/Y). 2025 Outlook: EBITA and EBITA margin are exp. to be stable or slightly higher in 2024/25 fiscal year. (Newswires)

Deutsche Boerse (DB1 GY) – FY (EUR): Net Revenue 5.82bln, +15% Y/Y, EBITDA 3.39bln, +15% Y/Y. 2025 Outlook: Expects further organic growth and net sales excluding the treasury result of around EUR 5.2bln. (Newswires)

TeamViewer (TMV GY) – Q4 (EUR): Adj. EBITDA 83mln (exp. 80.9mln), Revenue 177mln (exp. 174mln). FY 2025 outlook anticipates continues topline growth, with FY25 pro forma ARR expected to grow between +7.5 to +10.8% Y/Y. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Carrefour (CA FP) – Announces plan to acquire all outstanding shares in Carrefour Brazil. (Newswires)

Renault (RNO FP) - Foxconn (2317 TT) Chairman says looking at cooperation with Nissan (7201 JT) and not an acquisition, while it is also discussing cooperation with Renault (RNO FP). Says: Impact of Trump tariffs on the company will not be too big. This year looks pretty good for the company. Co. is open to buying Renault’s stake in Nissan. (Newswires)

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Alstom (ALO FP) – Co. expands its current technical support and spare supply contract with GTR to include an additional 30 trains. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

PAN EUROPE

Trump Tariffs Developments - US President Trump responded "We'll see" when asked if reciprocal tariffs are still coming on Wednesday. The first conversation between European Commission President von der Leyen and US VP JD Vance yesterday was said to be "very constructive" and focused on areas where interests aligned, according to sources cited by the FT. EU trade minister will meet for a video call this afternoon; not expected to go into detail on a potential retaliation to US tariffs, but the purpose is to "display unity". (Newswires)

Ahold Delhaize (AD NA) - Q4 (EUR): EPS 0.69 (prev. 0.58 Y/Y), Adj. Op. 958mln (prev. 996mln Y/Y), Revenue 23.3bln (prev. 23bln Y/Y); announces a 6% increase in dividend, in addition to annual share buyback program of EUR 1bln. Guides initial FY25 underlying EPS "growth mid- to high single digits at current exchange rates". (Newswires)

ABN AMRO (ABN NA) – Q4 (EUR): Net Income 397mln (exp. 382mln), CET1 Ratio 14.5% (exp. 14.25%), Net Fee & Commission Income 500mln (exp. 473mln). For 2025: Expects NII 6.2-6.4bln (exp. 6.28bln). Final dividend of EUR 0.75/shr. (Newswires)

Anima (ANIM IM) – Banco BPM (BAMI IM) is said to raise its bid to EUR 7/shr (prev. 6.20/shr), via Bloomberg (Bloomberg)

Banco BPM (BAMI IM) – Q4 (EUR): Net Income 244.6mln (exp. 179mln), Revenue 1.43bln (exp. 1.36bln). 2027: Sees Net Income 2.15bln, Op. Income 6.36bln. Elsewhere, Banco BPM secures undertakings from Poste Italiane (PST IM) and FSI to tender their shares, totalling 21% of Anima’s (ANIM IM) share capital, which could raise Banco BPM’s stake above 43%. (Newswires)

EU Gas - EU considers a temporary gas price cap to counter diverging costs with the US, although the proposals has spurred backlash from the industry which warned it could damage trust, according to FT. (FT)

Heineken (HEIA NA) - Q4 (EUR): Net Revenue 7.47bln (exp. 7.53bln). Announces 2-year EUR 1.5bln share buyback program. FY Organic beer volume +1.6% (exp. 1.39%). (Newswires)

Randstad (RAND NA) – Q4 (EUR): Underlying EBITA 200mln (prev. 265mln Y/Y), Revenue 6.08bln (prev. 6.18bln Y/Y). Guides Q1 gross margin “moderately higher” Q/Q. (Newswires)

Voestapline (VOE AV) - 9M (EUR): Net Income 207mln (prev. 415mln Y/Y), Revenue 11.7bln (prev. 12.4bln Y/Y). Cuts FY 24/25 EBITDA 1.3bln (prev. guided 1.40bln) (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Grifols (GRF SM) downgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

SMI

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

DKSH (DKSH SW) – FY24 (CHF): Core Net 226mln (prev. 205mln Y/Y), Revenue 11.1bln (exp. 11.1bln). (Newswires)

Schindler (SCHP SW) – FY (CHF): Revenue 11.23bln (exp. 11.34bln). For 2025: Expects low single digit rev. growth in local currencies and an EBIT reported margin of around 12%. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Aker BP (AKRBP NO) – Q4 (USD): EBITDA 2.7bln (exp. 2.64bln), Revenue 3.1bln (exp. 3.02bln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

UPM-Kymmene (UPM FH) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi

US

CLOSES: SPX +0.03% at 6,069, NDX -0.29% at 21,694, DJIA +0.28% at 44,594, RUT -0.53% at 2,276

SECTORS: Consumer Discretionary -1.23%, Health -0.22%, Communication Services -0.13%, Industrials +0.02%, Technology +0.18%, Financials +0.26%, Utilities +0.49%, Materials +0.54%, Real Estate +0.56%, Energy +0.76%, Consumer Staples +0.91%.

DoorDash (DASH) - DoorDash's shares climbed 5.75% in extended trading after it exceeded Q4 revenue and order estimates as holiday demand boosted its sales. Revenue rose 25% to USD 2.87bln (exp. 2.84bln), with gross order value of USD 21.28bln (exp. 20.92bln), and EPS of 0.33 (exp. 0.33). It also announced a USD 5bln buyback, and plans further investments in new categories and international markets. Sees Q1 gross order value between USD 22.6-23.0bln (exp. 24.43bln), and sees Q1 adj. EBITDA 550-584mln (exp. 585mln).

Gilead (GILD) - Gilead's shares rose 4.3% in extended trading after it reported a Q4 earnings beat, driven by a 16% rise in HIV drug sales and lower costs, and forecast FY earnings above analyst estimates. It reported Q4 adj. EPS of 1.90 (exp. 1.70), and Q4 revenue of USD 7.57bln (exp. 7.14bln). It plans to launch lenacapavir for HIV PrEP in summer 2025, expanding its HIV prevention products. Combined with its strong portfolio and improved efficiencies, exec said it expects to enhance patient impact and deliver strong shareholder returns. Exec said it anticipates a USD 1.1bln revenue loss due to Medicare changes. Sees FY25 adj. EPS USD between 7.70-8.10 (exp. 7.58), and sees FY25 product sales between USD 28.2bln-28.6bln (exp. 28.42bln).

Lyft (LYFT) - Shares tumbled by 11% in extended trading after its Q1 gross bookings forecast missed estimates, while competitive pricing and extreme weather also impacted earnings. Q4 revenue rose 26.6% to USD 1.55bln (exp. 1.56bln), with Q4 adj. EPS of 0.15 (exp. 0.22); Q4 gross bookings rose +15% to USD 4.28bln (exp. 4.32bln); active riders rose +10% to 24.7mln (exp. 24.63mln). It announced a USD 500mln buyback and plans to launch fully autonomous robotaxis, as soon as 2026. Sees FY gross bookings between USD 4.05-4.2bln (exp. 4.23bln), and sees FY adj. EBITDA between 90-95mln (exp. 93.7mln).

Super Micro (SMCI) - Super Micro plans to file delayed 10Q SEC report by 25th February. It sees prelim Q2 EPS between -0.58-0.60 (exp. 0.64) and sees Q2 net sales between USD 5.6-5.7bln (exp. 5.8bln). It cut its annual revenue forecast due to Nvidia (NVDA) processor delays; sees FY net sales between 23.5-25bln (prev. saw 26.0-30.0bln); Q3 sales are seen between USD 5–6bln (exp. 6.01bln), and sees Q3 adj. EPS between 0.46-0.62 (exp. 0.66). It announced the private placement of USD 700.0mln of new convertible senior notes due 2028, and amendments to its existing convertible senior notes due 2029. Shares rose +8% in extended trading.

12 Feb 2025 - 06:55- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk