Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 31st July 2025

ASIA

APAC stocks traded mixed in the aftermath of a hawkish Powell and strong mega-cap earnings stateside, while participants also digested the US-South Korea trade deal, disappointing Chinese PMIs and the BoJ policy announcement at month-end. ASX 200 was lacklustre amid losses in miners following weaker H1 earnings from Rio Tinto, and with a record drop seen in copper prices after the Trump administration excluded refined copper from planned 50% tariffs. Nikkei 225 outperformed and reclaimed the 41,000 level after recent currency weakness and better-than-expected Industrial Production & Retail Sales from Japan, while the BoJ policy provided no major fireworks as the central bank kept its short-term rates unchanged but highlighted trade-related uncertainty and raised its Core CPI projections. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured following disappointing official PMI data in which the headline Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing PMI figures missed expectations with the former remaining in contraction territory.

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Q2 (KRW) net 4.9tln (exp. 5.3tln), oper. profit 4.7tln (prelim. 4.6tln), rev. 74.6tln (prelim. 74.0tln). Commentary: Mobile division saw double-digit profitability in Q2. Mobile business expects continued uncertainty and materials cost burden in H2. AI demand is expected to remain robust in H2 due to continued investments by major cloud service providers. Signed chip deal with Tesla (TSLA). Server demand for both DRAM and NAND is expected to stay strong in H2. Q2 earnings for the foundry business remained weak due to inventory value adjustments from US export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China. Plans to continue a flagship-first approach for smartphone sales to increase market share in H2. Foundry business aims to improve factory utilisation and profitability through expanded sales to major customers in H2. Will pay a dividend of KRW 367 per common share. (Newswires)

US-South Korea Deal - South Korean Presidential Office confirmed US lowered tariffs on South Korean autos to 15% from 25%, while it added that chips and drug tariffs will not be worse than those applied to other countries and stated that USD 200bln of funds are allocated for chips, nuclear power, batteries, and bio sectors. Furthermore, it stated that the rice and beef market will not be opened and that South Korea demanded 12.5% auto tariffs but President Trump insisted on 15%. (Newswires)

EUROPEAN CLOSES

CLOSES: Euro Stoxx 50 +0.29% at 5,393, Dax 40 +0.23% at 24,273, FTSE 100 +0.01% at 9,137, CAC 40 +0.06% at 7,862, FTSE MIB +0.98% at 41,638, IBEX 35 +0.22% at 14,380, PSI -0.34% at 7,662, SMI -0.23% at 11,922, AEX -0.06% at 909

SECTORS: IT 0.80%, Utilities 0.56%, Consumer Stpl 0.50%, Financials 0.25%, Healthcare -0.18%, Industrials -0.34%, Materials -0.47%, Energy -0.50%, Telecoms -0.95%, Consumer Disc -1.14%

FTSE 100

Ex-Divs - Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY LN) will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend payout. (dividenddata)

Standard Chartered (STAN LN) - Q2 (USD) adj. PBT 4.68bln (exp. 4.22bln), Co. announces USD 1.3bln buyback. (Newswires)

OTHER UK COMPANIES

BROKER MOVES

Vodafone (VOD LN) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

WPP (WPP LN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux

DAX

BMW (BMW GY) - Q2 2025 (EUR): EBT 2.61bln (exp. 2.54bln), Revenue 33.93bln (exp. 36.01bln), EBIT Margin for Autos 5.4% (exp. 5.5%); tariff increases in the EU and US weighed on the margin by 1.5pp over H1. Confirms 2025 outlook. For 2025, expect a tariff-related impact of around 1.25pp on EBIT margin in the auto segment. (Newswires) Co. holds a 12% weighting within STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts, 1.4% within the DAX 40, 0.2% within the STOXX 600.

OTHER GERMAN COMPANIES

Covestro (1COV GY) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 3.38bln (exp. 3.55bln), EBIT 49mln, -39.5% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Heidelberg Materials (HEI GY) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 5.68bln (prev. 5.51bln Y/Y). Affirms FY25 guidance. Second tranche of share buyback started in June, set to be complete by Dec 15 at latest. Confirms 2025 outlook. (Newswires)

Nemetschek (NEM GY) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue +30.5% Y/Y. (Newswires)

Lufthansa (LHA GY) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 10.3bln (exp. 10.8bln, Adj. EBIT 871mln (exp. 805mln, Net Income 1.01bln (prev. 469mln Y/Y), Revenue 10.3bln (prev. 10bln Y/Y). Turnaround measures expected to have gross earnings effect of EUR 1.5bln in 2026 and EUR 2.5bln in 2028. Demand for US remains strong despite weakness of USD, further growth has been planned in North America. FY forecast reaffirmed despite uncertainties. (Newswires) Shares +2% in pre-market trade

Knorr Bremse (KBX GY) – H1 (EUR): EBIT 432mln, Revenue 3.95bln. FY25 Revenue outlook in a 7.8-8.1bln range (prev. guided 8.1-84bln). (Newswires)

Fuchs (FPE3 GY) – H1 (EUR): EBIT 209mln, +4% Y/Y. Confirms outlook. (Newswires)

Wacker Chemie (WCH GY) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 1.41bln (exp. 1.44bln). 2025: Sales in range of EUR 5.5-5.9bln (prev. guided 6.1-6.6bln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

CAC

Airbus (AIR FP) - H1 25 (EUR): EPS 1.93, revenue 29.61bln, adj. EBIT 2.204bln, EBIT 1.617bln, adj. FCF -1.61bln. Q2 (EUR): Adj. EBIT 1.58bln (exp. 1.44bln). Revenue 16.07bln (exp. 15.69bln). Commentary: Continues to target 12 A350 in 2028 and a monthly A220 production rate of 14 aircraft in 2026.. CEO says meeting 2025 delivery target will not be a walk in the park, and it is more backloaded than they would like. CEO says it is now missing some Pratt & Whitney (RTX) engines as well as CFM (GE/SAF FP) engines for A320 family aircraft production. Co. expects to open a second China assembly line this year (Newswires)

Credit Agricole (ACA FP) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 7.01bln (exp. 6.95bln, prev. 6.8bln Y/Y), Net Income 2.39bln (exp. 2.12bln, prev. 1.82bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Scor (SCR FP) – Q2 (EUR): Insurance Revenue 1.83bln (prev. 2.03bln Y/Y), Adj. Net Income 226mln (prev. -308mln Y/Y), GWP 4.66bln (prev. 5.08bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Safran (SAF FP) – H1 (EUR): Revenue 14.8bln (prev. 13bln Y/Y), Adj. Recurring Op. Income 2.51bln (exp. 2.39bln). Increases FY Outlook Revenue Growth of “low teens” (prev. guided 10%), ups Op. Income 5-5.1bln (prev. guided 4.8-4.9bln). Elsewhere, chooses France as new carbon brake production facility. (Newswires)

Sanofi (SAN FP) - Q2 2025 (EUR): Net Sales 9.99bln (exp. 9.77bln). Gross Profit 7.74bln (exp. 7.53bln). Business EPS 1.59 (exp. 1.64), Business Operating Income 2.46bln (exp. 2.57). Business Net Income 1.94bln (exp. 2bln). Outlook: Sales are anticipates to grow by high single-digit percentage (prev. guidance "mid-to-high" single digits). R&D Expenses: EUR 1.91bln (exp. 1.87bln). Confirms expectation of strong business EPS rebound. Intends to complete EUR 5bln share buyback. Co. holds a 1.83% weighting in the Euro Stoxx 50, 0.87% in the Stoxx 600, 6.44% in the Stoxx Europe 600 Health Care Sector and 5.51% in the CAC 40.

Societe Generale (GLE FP) - Q2 (EUR) net income 1.45bln (exp. 1.19bln), announces EUR 1bln buyback. (Newswires)

Renault (RNO FP) - H1 2025 (EUR): Revenue 27.6bln (exp. 27.5bln), Operating Income -8.4bln (in-line with prelim.), Operating Margin 1.7bln (in-line with prelim.). Confirms 2025 outlook. Co. will appoint Francois Provost as new CEO. (Newswires)

Vinci (DG FP) H1 25 (EUR): 3.35, EBIT 4.14bln (exp. 4.04bln), revenue 34.852bln (exp. 34.916bln); confirms 2025 guidance

OTHER FRENCH COMPANIES

Arkema (AKE FP) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 2.40bln (prev. 2.54bln Y/Y). Guides FY25 EBITDA 1.3-14bln (prev. guided >= 1.53bln). (Newswires)

Ipsen (IPN FP) - H1 2025 (EUR): Revenue 1.82bln (prev. 1.66bln Y/Y), Operating Income 655mln (prev. 538mln), Net Profit 508mln (prev. 399mln). Upgrades 2025 guidance, total sales growth seen above 7% and core operating margin above 32% of total sales. (Ipsen)

JC Decaux (DEC FP) – H1 (EUR): Net Income 75.9mln (prev. 94.4mln Y/Y), Revenue 1.87bln (prev. 1.81bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Spie (SPIE FP) – H1 (EUR): Revenue 4.98bln (prev. 4.70bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Orange (ORA FP) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs

L’Oreal (OR FP) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan

PAN EUROPE

Arcadis (ARCAD NA) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 965mln (prev. 991mln Y/Y). Well-positioned for growth in H2’25. (Newswires)

ArcelorMittal (MT NA) - Q2 2025 (USD): Sales 15.9bln (exp. 15.48bln), Net Income 1.79bln (exp. 1.1bln), EBITDA 1.86bln (exp. 1.83bln). Due to ongoing tariff headwinds and economic activity remaining subdued, no restocking has been seen with customers maintaining a "wait and see" approach. Cuts 2025 world apparent steel outlook ex-China. (Newswires)

AB InBev (ABI BB) Q2 2025 (EUR): Revenue 15.0bln (exp. 15.3bln), Volumes -1.9% (exp. 0.05%), Beer Volumes -2.2%, EBITDA 5.3bln (exp. 5.34bln). CEO said "consistent execution of our strategy by our teams and partners drove a solid first half of the year and reinforces our confidence in delivering on our outlook for 2025.” Expect EBITDA to grow in line with the medium-term outlook of 4-8%. (Newswires)

Auto Sector - Ford shares fell over 1% in extended trading after it warned on trade tariffs. (full details in the US section below).

BBVA (BBVA SM) - Q2 2025 (EUR): NII 6.21bln (exp. 6.24bln), Net Profit 2.75bln (exp. 2.28bln), CET1 13.34% (exp. 13.21%). Expects to increase tangible book value per share plus dividends of c. 15%. (Newswires)

DSM-Firmenich (DSFIR NA) – Q2 (EUR): Revenue 3.24bln (prev. 3.23bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Finecobank (FBK IM) – Q2 (EUR): Net Income 153.6mln (exp. 149mln), Revenue 315.1mln (exp. 311mln), CET1 Ratio 23.46% (exp. 23.9%). (Newswires)

ING (INGA NA) – Q2 (EUR): NII 3.77bln (exp. 3.84bln), Net Income 2.37bln (prev. 1.78bln Y/Y). Expects CET1 Ratio by year-end 2025 of between 12.8-13%. Outlook excludes impact of intended sale of Russian business, where impact of EUR 0.8bln is expected. (Newswires)

Tech Sector - Meta's shares surged 12.6% in extended trading, Microsoft shares jumped 9% post-earnings, but in terms of chip names, Arm Holdings tumbled by 8% and Qualcomm (QCOM) shares fell by around 5% post-earnings (full details in the US section below).

Mediobanca (MB IM) – FY (EUR): Revenue 3.71bln (exp. 3.71bln), NII 1.97bln (exp. 1.96bln). For 2025-26: Sees CET1 Ratio over 14%. (Newswires)

Nexi (NEXI IM) - H1 2025 (EUR): Revenue 1.72bln (exp. 1.71bln), EBITDA 869mln (exp. 867mln),. Confirms 2025 guidance. (Newswires)

OMV (OMV AV) – Q2 (EUR): Clean CCS Op. Result 1.3bln. Says is well positioned to implement strategy 2030. (Newswires)

Prysmian (PRY IM) – H1 (EUR): Net Income 426mln, Revenue 9.65bln. Sees FY25 FCF in range of 1-1.07bln. (Newswires)

UCB (UCB BB) - H1 2025 (EUR): Revenue 3.49bln (exp. 1.85bl), Core EPS 3.52. Updates 2025 outlook: adj. EBITDA to at least 30% of revenue, revenue seen at least EUR 7bln (exp. 6.6bln). (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SMI

Avolta (AVOL SW) – H1 (CHF): EBITDA 612mln, +7.7% Y/Y. Medium term targets confirmed. (Newswires)

Clariant (CLN SW) – Q2 (CHF): Adj. EBITDA 359mln (prev. 164mln Y/Y), Revenue 968mln (exp. 995mln, prev. 1.06bln Y/Y). Confirms outlook. (Newswires)

Holcim (HOLN SW) – H1 (CHF): Recurring EBIT 1.44bln, +10.8% Y/Y. Guides 2025 Revenue to grow in a 3-5% range. (Newswires)

OTHER SWISS COMPANIES

Ams Osram (AMS SW) – Q2 (EUR): EPS 0.18 (prev. 0.00 Y/Y), Revenue 775mln (prelim 775mln). Affirms guidance. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

SCANDINAVIA

Aker (AKER NO) – Announce USD 1bln JV for AI infrastructure in Northern Norway. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB DC) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC; PT cut to DKK 360 (prev. DKK 680).

US

CLOSES: SPX -0.12% at 6,363, NDX +0.16% at 23,345, DJI -0.38% at 44,461, RUT -0.47% at 2,232

SECTORS: Materials -1.99%, Real Estate -1.43%, Energy -1.35%, Consumer Staples -0.94%, Consumer Discretionary -0.57%, Industrials -0.49%, Financials -0.19%, Health -0.17%, Communication Services +0.14%, Technology +0.43%, Utilities +0.69%.

Albermarle (ALB) - Shares spiked almost 7% in extended trading after reporting a surprise profit in Q2, driven by lithium demand. It reported Q2 adj. EPS of 0.11 (exp. -0.82), and Q2 revenue of USD 1.33bln (exp. 1.21bln). Exec noted successfully executed proactive measures to reduce operating and capital costs, and said it is maintaining its previous outlook considerations, assuming current lithium market pricing persists; additionally, due to recent cash management actions, now expects to generate positive FCF for the year. (Newswires)

Arm Holdings (ARM) - Shares tumbled by 8% in extended trading after a weaker-than-expected quarterly forecast, and plans to invest profits into developing finished chips and chiplets, marking a shift from its traditional IP licensing model. It reported Q1 adj. of EPS 0.35 (exp. 0.35), Q1 revenue of USD 1.05bln (exp. 1.05bln). Uncertainty from trade tensions weighed on smartphone demand, Arm’s main market. Sees Q2 adj. EPS between 0.29-0.37 (exp. 0.36), and Q2 revenue between USD 1.01-1.11bln (exp. 1.06bln). (Newswires)

eBay (EBAY) - Shares rose almost 11% post-earnings, after a Q2 revenue and profit beat, driven by strong US demand and collectables. It reported Q2 adj. EPS of 1.37 (exp. 1.30), Q2 revenue of USD 2.7bln (exp. 2.64bln), with GMV of USD 19.5bln. It sees Q3 adj. EPS between 1.29-1.34 (exp. 1.31), and Q3 revenues between USD 2.69-2.74bln (exp. 2.65bln); eBay cited tariff risks and US ‘de minimis’ exemption changes, but noted stable consumer demand.

Ford (F) - Ford shares fell over 1% in extended trading after it warned on trade tariffs. It reinstated FY guidance despite a USD 2bln net tariff hit, including USD 800mln in adverse tariff-related EBIT impacts. Tariff costs and a USD 570mln recall charge weighed on profits. It reported Q2 adj. EPS of 0.37 (exp. 0.32), Q2 revenue of USD 50.18bln (exp. 43.21bln). Sees FY Adj. EBIT between USD 6.5-7.5bln (exp. 6.77bln); FY net tariff-related headwind of about USD 2bln; FY adj. operating income between USD 6.5-7.5bln (exp. 6.77bln). (Newswires)

Meta Platforms (META) - Meta's shares surged 12.6% in extended trading after Q2 EPS and revenue beat expectations, and the company guided above for Q3; management said strong ad performance allows it to ramp up 2025 AI investments, calling it a key moment to accelerate spend. It reported Q2 EPS of 7.14 (exp. 5.85), Q2 revenue of USD 47.52bln (exp. 44.87bln); Q2 advertising revenue was USD 46.563bln (exp. 43.70bln); ad impressions across its Family of Apps +11% Y/Y, and average price per ad +9% Y/Y. It said it is aggressively pursuing opportunities to bring additional capacity online to meet the needs of AI efforts and business ops. With the enactment of the new US tax law, it anticipates a reduction in its US federal cash tax for the remainder of the current year. Daily Active People averaged 3.48bln (+6% Y/Y); and Meta AI has more than 1bln MAUs. Meta said superintelligence is now in sight, and launched Meta Superintelligence Labs; it is progressing on Llama 4.1/4.2 and expects its Prometheus cluster to be the first gigawatt-scale AI cluster. Sees AI glasses as key to daily integration and continues to grow video, Ray-Ban (ESLOY) sales, and hiring. Sees Q3 revenue between 47.5-50bln (exp. 46.18bln), though Y/Y revenue growth in Q4 is expected to be slower than Q3. It said FY25 total expenses will range between USD 114-118bln. 2025 CapEx, including principal payments on finance leases, will range between USD 66-72bln (exp. 68bln, prev. 64-72bln). 2026 Y/Y expense growth rate above 2025 expense growth rate. (Newswires)

Microsoft (MSFT) - Microsoft shares jumped 9% post-earnings and are set to reach a USD 4tln market cap after beating quarterly expectations, driven by strong cloud growth and record AI infrastructure spending of over USD 30bln this quarter. It reported Q2 EPS of 3.65 (exp. 3.35), Q2 revenue of USD 76.44bln (exp. 73.76bln); Q2 intelligent cloud revenue USD 29.88bln (exp. 29.1bln), More Personal Computing revenue USD 13.5bln (exp. 12.64bln), Productivity and Business Processes sales USD 33.1bln (exp. 32.20bln). Executive said it has over 800mln MAUs for AI features across its products, and the family of Copilot apps has surpassed 100mln MAUs across commercial and consumer. Sees FY26 revenue growth in double digits; Q1 Intelligent Cloud sales seen between USD 30.1bln-30.4bln (exp. 29.23bln); Q1 Productivity and Business Processes sales seen between USD 32.2bln-32.5bln (exp. 31.16bln); Q1 More Personal Computing sales seen between USD 12.4bln-12.9bln (exp. 13.41bln); Q1 Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of about 37%; Q1 capex is seen exceeding USD 30bln; Q1 oper. expenses seen between USD 15.7bln-15.8bln (exp. 16.69bln). Raised FY CapEx guide by USD 10bln to USD 85bln to support surging demand for its cloud services; FY26 capex growth will moderate vs FY25 levels, with a greater mix of short-lived assets. (Newswires)

MGM Resorts (MGM) - Q2 adj. EPS 0.79 (exp. 0.49), Q2 revenue USD 4.4bln (exp. 4.32bln); growth was driven by strong digital sports betting, and +9% Y/Y revenue rise in China to USD 1.11bln. Regional US revenue rose +4% Y/Y to USD 964.6mln; digital unit grew +14% Y/Y to USD 163.9mln, but posted a wider loss. (Newswires)

NVIDIA (NVDA) - China reportedly summons NVIDIA (NVDA) on H20 chip backdoor security risk, according to Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Qualcomm (QCOM) - Shares fell by around 5% in extended trading, despite beating Q3 sales and profit estimates, as reliance on high-end smartphone chips and losing Apple (AAPL) modem business overshadowed an upbeat forecast. Non-Apple chip revenue rose 15% this fiscal year, driven by higher average selling prices from flagship Android launches. It reported Q3 adj. EPS of 2.77 (exp. 2.70), Q3 revenue of USD 10.37bln (exp. 10.30bln). Sees Q4 revenue between USD 10.3-11.1bln (exp. 10.61bln), Q4 adj. EPS seen between 2.75-2.95 (exp. 2.84); expects Q4 chip sales around USD 9.3bln, also topping estimates. (Newswires)

Robinhood (HOOD) - Q2 EPS 0.42 (exp. 0.31), Q2 revenue USD 989mln (exp. 923.00mln). Exec said it was off to great start in July, as customers accelerated net deposits to around USD 6bln. Revenue growth was driven by surging crypto trading. Q2 net income more than doubled to USD 386mln; crypto revenue nearly doubled, supporting overall strength amid increased trading activity. Sees FY adj. operating expenses and SBC between USD 2.15-2.25bln, and sees FY net deposits rising to USD 13.8bln. (Newswires)

31 Jul 2025 - 07:04- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk